Advice for SJPN - Byelaw 18(1)

[ebolo]

Hi everyone,

Back in October 2025, I was travelling from Cambridge (CBG) to London St. Pancras (STP), operated by Thameslink. Prior to the train journey I bought an Advance Single ticket going the same route for the 5pm train. But because of a schedule change and I was carrying a lot of luggage, I boarded an earlier train departing at 3:23pm.

When I settled down on the train I saw an inspector, to which I panicked because I am aware my Advance ticket was invalid for this 3pm train, so I bought a full-priced Anytime Day Single from CBG to STP after the train departed, at around 3:28pm. I also have a valid 16-25 Railcard.

Of course, the inspection at Royston questioned me. I showed the Anytime ticket, but they noted the purchase time was after departure, indicating that I don't have a valid ticket for the time. So, they took my details including the Anytime train ticket and gave me a witness statement receipt. Important to note that in the heat of the moment, I didn't mention about the original Advance ticket that I held at the time as I was too focused on the Anytime Day ticket.

Anyways, months went by, I have been checking my mailbox every 2 weeks since then but nothing arrive at my mailbox. I didn't receive a "Notice of Intention to Prosecute" letter from GTR. Instead, I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) on April 1st for this offence, to which I did not expect, although I do understand situation changes across different cases.

I'm worried that because my field requires enhanced DBS checks, a criminal conviction for a Byelaw offence will affect my career. I understand Byelaw 18(1) is strict, and from the SJPN letter, it says that "it is too late" now to do anything else, but I am really hoping that I could, in some way, ask for a out-of-court settlement with GTR to avoid a court record.

Hope that all make sense.

Many thanks

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone,

Back in October 2025, I was travelling from Cambridge (CBG) to London St. Pancras (STP), operated by Thameslink. Prior to the train journey I bought an Advance Single ticket going the same route for the 5pm train. But because of a schedule change and I was carrying a lot of luggage, I boarded an earlier train departing at 3:23pm.

When I settled down on the train I saw an inspector, to which I panicked because I am aware my Advance ticket was invalid for this 3pm train, so I bought a full-priced Anytime Day Single from CBG to STP after the train departed, at around 3:28pm. I also have a valid 16-25 Railcard.

Of course, the inspection at Royston questioned me. I showed the Anytime ticket, but they noted the purchase time was after departure, indicating that I don't have a valid ticket for the time. So, they took my details including the Anytime train ticket and gave me a witness statement receipt. Important to note that in the heat of the moment, I didn't mention about the original Advance ticket that I held at the time as I was too focused on the Anytime Day ticket.

Anyways, months went by, I have been checking my mailbox every 2 weeks since then but nothing arrive at my mailbox. I didn't receive a "Notice of Intention to Prosecute" letter from GTR. Instead, I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) on April 1st for this offence, to which I did not expect, although I do understand situation changes across different cases.

I'm worried that because my field requires enhanced DBS checks, a criminal conviction for a Byelaw offence will affect my career. I understand Byelaw 18(1) is strict, and from the SJPN letter, it says that "it is too late" now to do anything else, but I am really hoping that I could, in some way, ask for a out-of-court settlement with GTR to avoid a court record.

Hope that all make sense.

Many thanks

Welcome - yes, this is urgent now due to issuing of SJPN but we do still see cases settled out of court.
Presumably they did have your correct postal address or otherwise you'd not have got the SJPN notice?

Rather than repeat it all because time is of the essence I'm going to dig out a recent thread of very similar problem (not the ticketing side of it but the aspects of urgency ref the SJPN) - will post the link in a bit for you to get the idea of what steps you need to take ASAP

Key question is When do ethe SJPN papers need to be back at the court? that is you window to tr to negotiate a settlement out of court - which should be available even now with some good luck

But basically for now

- do not return the court papers yet
- be prepared to get a hard copy letter off to Thameslink in the post tomorrow using trackable next day guaranteed delivery (the link I will find will give you an idea what that letter needs to look like)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Apr 2026 ==

Basically see this recent GTR case - a last minute SJPN served with no prior opportunity to respond and ask for OOC settlement

Look over all of it but eg see advice in post 16 and other posts useful (eg 12)

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...onths-later-what-do-i-do.300502/#post-7737062

Get drafting something based on examples / advice in that thread- your case seem less 'bad' than this one as you can probably claim no deliberate evasion (but you still broke ticket validity rules and would have looked like a 'pay when challenged' evader when the Inspector spoke to you I guess - which may not have happened had you shown both tickets, but outcome might still have been the same unfortunately, tho they may have opted to give you the less serious Pnealty Fare - but that's water under the bridge now)

Ask any questions you need to

Ideally you want to have something ready to post and e-mail them by mid afternoon toomorrow seeking a settlment out of court even at this late stage.

 

[ebolo]

Thanks for your rapid reply and for directing me to that recent thread. To answer your question, I need to return the SJPN papers within 21 days of the date of posting. Since the date of posting was April 1st this makes the deadline, I believe, 21st April 2026. Pretty sure they have the correct address as I received the notice without any issues.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for your rapid reply and for directing me to that recent thread. To answer your question, I need to return the SJPN papers within 21 days of the date of posting. Since the date of posting was April 1st this makes the deadline, I believe, 21st April 2026. Pretty sure they have the correct address as I received the notice without any issues.

OK - so as per advice in that other thread you must not miss the court deadline to rtn papers by 21st April to the court- but hold off posting them back to the court until a couple of days before 21st April (and see the advice in that thread about potentially pleading not guilty to secure an in person court date in order to buy yet more time if you need it).

Your objective now is to secure an out of court settlement offer from GTR / Thameslink by Friday 17 April - so immediate task is to prepare a letter to them requesting that.

They are under no obligation to offer that (but they are usually keen to settle matters like this out of court) so there is an element of 'grovelling' about how you ask - but with time critical the best thing to do is to keep it focussed on the objective, polite and as short as is reasonable whilst being suitably apologetic about what happened.

 

[ebolo]

Thanks for your reply, I followed the guidance from the other threads. Here is the draft I plan to send tomorrow (by post and email). Any amendment or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Urgent: Request to Settle Out of Court & Withdraw Action

REF: Case No. [Insert number] | URN: [Insert number]

To Govia Thameslink Railway (Prosecutions Department)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to urgently request an out-of-court settlement regarding the above-referenced case. I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) on April 1st and wish to resolve this promptly before the 21-day deadline.

I would like to sincerely apologise for my negligence and breach of the Railway Byelaws. I fully acknowledge that I committed an offence by boarding the train without a ticket that covered my journey.

On the day of the incident, I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service, but I boarded the earlier 15:23 train for due to a change in my travel plans and incorrectly attempted to rectify my error by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board.

I deeply regret my mistake and fully understand the importance of adherence to the rules and regulation set by Govia Thameslink Railway. I am extremely concerned about the impact a criminal record would have on my career, as my profession requires Enhanced DBS checks.

I respectfully ask for the possibility of reaching an out-of-court settlement in return for withdrawing the SJPN. I am fully willing to cooperate and pay for the outstanding fare and administration costs that may be imposed. I am eager to resolve this matter promptly.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for my actions, and I will be responsible and adhere to the rules in the future. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

I kindly request that this case can be settled out of court and withdraw the current legal action.

Yours Faithfully,
[Name]
[Address]
[Signed]

 

[Haywain]

A couple of small changes I would suggest:

I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service

...at a cost of £xx.xx

incorrectly attempted to rectify my error by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board.

...after the train had departed from Cambridge.

I think it is good, in the circumstances, to spell out how much you paid in total.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for your reply, I followed the guidance from the other threads. Here is the draft I plan to send tomorrow (by post and email). Any amendment or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Urgent: Request to Settle Out of Court & Withdraw Action

REF: Case No. [Insert number] | URN: [Insert number]

To Govia Thameslink Railway (Prosecutions Department)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to urgently request an out-of-court settlement regarding the above-referenced case. I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) on April 1st and wish to resolve this promptly before the 21-day deadline.

I would like to sincerely apologise for my negligence and breach of the Railway Byelaws. I fully acknowledge that I committed an offence by boarding the train without a ticket that covered my journey.

On the day of the incident, I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service, but I boarded the earlier 15:23 train for due to a change in my travel plans and incorrectly attempted to rectify my error by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board.

I deeply regret my mistake and fully understand the importance of adherence to the rules and regulation set by Govia Thameslink Railway. I am extremely concerned about the impact a criminal record would have on my career, as my profession requires Enhanced DBS checks.

I respectfully ask for the possibility of reaching an out-of-court settlement in return for withdrawing the SJPN. I am fully willing to cooperate and pay for the outstanding fare and administration costs that may be imposed. I am eager to resolve this matter promptly.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for my actions, and I will be responsible and adhere to the rules in the future. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

I kindly request that this case can be settled out of court and withdraw the current legal action.

Yours Faithfully,
[Name]
[Address]
[Signed]

Did you receive it on 1st April? I thought you meant it was dated 1st April ie that’s when they posted it.

They won’t be that interested in when you received it. The convention of stating the date on their paperwork is to help them find it I assume.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Apr 2026 ==

Also don’t in anything you send now actively admit to committing an offence.
If nothing else that makes it much harder / ‘illogical’ to plead not guilty on the SJPN which you may yet be advised to do to buy time.

Better for example to say you didn’t realise it wasn’t permitted to buy on board but now understand the seriousness of doing so.

So any bits like that need amending. Ie second para.

 

[30907]

Small point: the Railway Byelaws are not set by GTR, but ultimately by Parliament.

 

[ebolo]

Thank you all for the suggestions!

Did you receive it on 1st April? I thought you meant it was dated 1st April ie that’s when they posted it.

Yes - I meant April 1st is the "Date of Posting" listed in the SJPN. Sorry for the confusion, I'll make sure that is clarified in the letter.

Also don’t in anything you send now actively admit to committing an offence.
If nothing else that makes it much harder / ‘illogical’ to plead not guilty on the SJPN which you may yet be advised to do to buy time.

Better for example to say you didn’t realise it wasn’t permitted to buy on board but now understand the seriousness of doing so.

That is a helpful distinction. Truthfully, at the time, I didn't realise buying a ticket on board after departure was prohibited.

Regarding the advice to avoid actively admitting - does it mean I should phrase my apology around the situation or the misunderstanding rather than the offence itself? I want to ensure the letter feels genuine and shows GTR that I acknowledge my mistake, as I'm worried that being too "natural" might lower my chance at a potential out-of-court settlement.

My example on avoiding admitting:
"I boarded the 15:23 service from Cambridge to London St Pancras. I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service (£10.10), but I attempted to rectify my travel on the earlier service by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board (£21.20), after the train had departed from Cambridge. In total, I paid £31.30 for the two tickets.

I sincerely apologise for this situation. While I did not realise at the time that purchasing a ticket after boarding was not permitted, I now fully understand the seriousness of the Railway Byelaws."

Any advice how to strike that balance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Haywain]

Also don’t in anything you send now actively admit to committing an offence.

I think now that the OP has been charged with a strict liability offence it is too late to worry about that.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you all for the suggestions!


Yes - I meant April 1st is the "Date of Posting" listed in the SJPN. Sorry for the confusion, I'll make sure that is clarified in the letter.


That is a helpful distinction. Truthfully, at the time, I didn't realise buying a ticket on board after departure was prohibited.

Regarding the advice to avoid actively admitting - does it mean I should phrase my apology around the situation or the misunderstanding rather than the offence itself? I want to ensure the letter feels genuine and shows GTR that I acknowledge my mistake, as I'm worried that being too "natural" might lower my chance at a potential out-of-court settlement.

My example on avoiding admitting:
"I boarded the 15:23 service from Cambridge to London St Pancras. I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service (£10.10), but I attempted to rectify my travel on the earlier service by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board (£21.20), after the train had departed from Cambridge. In total, I paid £31.30 for the two tickets.

I sincerely apologise for this situation. While I did not realise at the time that purchasing a ticket after boarding was not permitted, I now fully understand the seriousness of the Railway Byelaws."

Any advice how to strike that balance would be greatly appreciated.

I think you've done your research for the draft but I thought it's perhaps a bit more the sort of narrative someone who has deliberately evaded might need to send - your narrative is a bit different and is essentially:

You had a ticket for a later train, you changed plans, sought to travel earlier and the ticket you had wasn't valid, so you sought to regularise that by buying a new ticket but didn't realise you could not do that after boarding. That to me is your 'argument' as to why they should grant you an out of court settlement (never mind that what you actually did means that you, albeit unwittingly, committed an offence for what is a strict liability offence, so you are in fact guilty of that if it went to court - but also never mind the fact that GTR almost always settle out of court with people who co-operate with them. Your objective now is to write to them to persuade them to withdraw it from court by being co-operative etc, and offering to pay etc

So with all that in mind I suggest your original draft could be amended as per the below - so long as this is all true - the strikethroughs will be obvious but there are some insertions too which you will probably notice:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Urgent: Request to Settle Out of Court & Withdraw Action

REF: Case No. [Insert number] | URN: [Insert number]

To Govia Thameslink Railway (Prosecutions Department)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to urgently request an out-of-court settlement regarding the above-referenced case. I have just received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) dated on April 1st 2026, but I am hoping I can be given the chance to resolve this without the need for court action. and wish to resolve this promptly before the 21-day deadline.

I would like to sincerely apologise for my negligence and breach of the Railway Byelaws. I fully acknowledge that I committed an offence by boarding the train without a ticket that covered my journey.

On the day of the incident (xxx date),I boarded the 15:23 service from Cambridge to London St Pancras. I had already purchased an Advance Single ticket for a later service (£10.10), but I attempted to rectify my travel on the earlier service by purchasing an Anytime ticket on board (£21.20), after the train had departed from Cambridge without realising that this was not permitted, and that there are serious consequences for doing this.

I deeply regret this my mistake and now fully understand the importance of adherence to the rules and regulations required for rail travel set by Govia Thameslink Railway. I am extremely concerned about the impact a criminal record would have on my career, as my profession requires Enhanced DBS checks.

I respectfully ask for your sympathetic consideration of this request to settle the matter out of court, and withdraw the court action. the possibility of reaching an out-of-court settlement in return for withdrawing the SJPN. I am fully willing to cooperate and pay for the outstanding fare and administration costs that may be imposed. I am eager to resolve this matter promptly.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for my actions, and I have learned from this incident and will ensure that I always have a valid travel ticket before boarding the train. will be responsible and adhere to the rules in the future. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

I kindly request that this case can be settled out of court and withdraw the current legal action.
In order to help resolve this as quickly as possible I am including my full contact details below.

Yours Faithfully,
[Name]
e-mail address:
[postal Address]
Phone number:
[Signed]

--------------------------------------------------------

Include all the contact details - make it as easy as possible for them to quickly go through your message / letter, find the case and contact you ASAP - hopefully with an offer as per that other recent case.

Hope this helps - I've also tried to include the suggestions of others in this revised suggested draft along with your own revised section posted above.

 

[ebolo]

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll get that done and get it both posted and email to GTR ASAP.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll get that done and get it both posted and email to GTR ASAP.

Good stuff
You probably picked up the addresses to use from other thread but these should be

Prosecutions Department, Govia Thameslink Railway, Eastside Offices, Kings Cross Railway Station, London N1C 4AX.

email: gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com

Expect an auto e-mail reply saying you can't use this e-mail to appeal - so you just have to hope that it gets picked up by someone on the e-mail due to the urgency - as did happen with that other recent case just before Easter - but that's why you need to post the hard copy next day delivery today too. Might help if you have it ready to get to a post office to send it before 12 noon if you can

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Apr 2026 ==

Now you have sent this off post 16 in this thread will be what i think are your next steps

That may start off with setting a date (maybe 15 or 16 April) when you might need to send a reminder message / letter to GTR if you have not hear from them by then (because you will have to be posting the court papers back on Sat 18th or Monday 20th to the court in order for them to reach the court by 21 April if that is the court papers due return deadline).

meanwhile have a look at post 16 here:

Travelled without railcard, received GTR SJP a few months later. What do I do?

Good afternoon, I was caught travelling using a discounted ticket without the appropriate railcard. At the time I was stopped I claimed I could not provide my 26-30 railcard due some diffulty on my phone and was issued a witness statement with a request to provide the claimed railcard within...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[ebolo]

Hi everyone,

Thank you again for all the help so far. Just looking for a bit of guidance on the next steps as the clock is ticking and deadline is looming.

Current Status:

• Email: Sent Wednesday 8th April. Received the expected auto-reply 10 minutes later.
• Postal: Sent Special Delivery on the 8th; confirmed delivered/signed for on Thursday 9th April.
• Response: No human response received yet via email or post.

Realistically, it has been 4 working days since they received the hard copy, so I do understand the current situation and that they are likely busy. However, I am aware of the SJPN deadline is coming fast, which is next Tuesday 21st April.

Questions for the group:

That may start off with setting a date (maybe 15 or 16 April) when you might need to send a reminder message / letter to GTR if you have not hear from them by then

Should I send a brief follow-up tomorrow morning (Thursday 16th) referencing the tracking number to ensure the letter hasn't been overlooked? Is a physical "nudge" worth it if it arrives Friday 17th? I'm worried that a Friday delivery gives them zero time to respond before I have to post the court papers on Saturday.

If I haven't heard anything back by Saturday morning (18th), is that when I should post the court papers? Or is waiting until Monday 20th a standard (but risky) move?

I understand the procedure to plea "Not Guilty" to buy more time in hopes for a out-of-court settlement, but in return does that risk losing the "early guilty plea" discount if GTR refuse to settle?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone,

Thank you again for all the help so far. Just looking for a bit of guidance on the next steps as the clock is ticking and deadline is looming.

Current Status:

• Email: Sent Wednesday 8th April. Received the expected auto-reply 10 minutes later.
• Postal: Sent Special Delivery on the 8th; confirmed delivered/signed for on Thursday 9th April.
• Response: No human response received yet via email or post.

Realistically, it has been 4 working days since they received the hard copy, so I do understand the current situation and that they are likely busy. However, I am aware of the SJPN deadline is coming fast, which is next Tuesday 21st April.

Questions for the group:


Should I send a brief follow-up tomorrow morning (Thursday 16th) referencing the tracking number to ensure the letter hasn't been overlooked? Is a physical "nudge" worth it if it arrives Friday 17th?

I'd try sending them a nudge e-mail this afternoon - ideally before 3.30pm if possible - keep it polite but brief- just stress your keen ness to engage and resolve before having to return court papers imminently

I think I saw a phone number for GTR on here recently - probably v hard to get through to someone with decision making ability - but I'll see if I can find it - you could then try the number on Friday morning if no result from an e-mail sent later today

Here was a number given some time ago
0204 566 9166

I'm worried that a Friday delivery gives them zero time to respond before I have to post the court papers on Saturday.

If I haven't heard anything back by Saturday morning (18th), is that when I should post the court papers? Or is waiting until Monday 20th a standard (but risky) move?

If you are prepared to pay for guaranteed next day delivery you can post on Monday and not miss the SJPN court papers deadline. Not sure how much more that costs than tracked 24 postage.

I understand the procedure to plea "Not Guilty" to buy more time in hopes for a out-of-court settlement, but in return does that risk losing the "early guilty plea" discount if GTR refuse to settle?

I think I've read on here in the past that you could still change the plea ahead of the court hearing when that date is set and still benefit from that 'discount'. @island or indeed others might know ref that with more certainty.

 

[ebolo]

Thanks - I have just sent the follow-up e-mail to the GTR Prosecution email address, and as expected I got an automatic reply immediately. Hopefully, someone on the team will pick up the email and give me a response soon. If there are still no updates, I will try the number on Friday morning.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks - I have just sent the follow-up e-mail to the GTR Prosecution email address, and as expected I got an automatic reply immediately. Hopefully, someone on the team will pick up the email and give me a response soon. If there are still no updates, I will try the number on Friday morning.

OK - good luck

 

[ebolo]

A quick update - just received an e-mail reply from GTR, it says:

“Your case is awaiting further review by our legal counsel. I would advise if you haven't already completed and sent off the court paperwork with your plea, then to do so as soon as you are able to.”

It seems like my request is now with their legal team. Given this, should I still call the number tomorrow morning, or is it better to leave it with them to review? Also, does the phrasing suggest they are they open to settle or rather hinting at they are proceeding to court?

 

[WesternLancer]

A quick update - just received an e-mail reply from GTR, it says:

“Your case is awaiting further review by our legal counsel. I would advise if you haven't already completed and sent off the court paperwork with your plea, then to do so as soon as you are able to.”

It seems like my request is now with their legal team. Given this, should I still call the number tomorrow morning, or is it better to leave it with them to review? Also, does the phrasing suggest they are they open to settle or rather hinting at they are proceeding to court?

I don't think I can recall a case on here with GTR where this has been said in reply to an urgent e-mail request to settle sent to GTR after an SJPN has been received. It's in contrast to one of the recent linked threads posted up thread where the passenger received a settlement more or less immediately - just before office shuts up for easter in that case IIRC - so not sure what to best advise on that question.

But it does at least show they read your e-mail...

I'd welcome thoughts from other forum members on this.

Your original 'offence' wasn't exactly big time fare evasion so it seems strange they are not indicating they are prepared to settle out of court on this occasion.

Can I ask if you have any sort of track record of previous fare irregularities that they may have stopped you for before, or might have found via an on line check of your fares records - that you have not told us about here but which might be influencing this?

Personally i would think that I would
a) hold off returning court papers as long as possible (so this means posting on 20th with next day delivery)
b) pleading not guilty to buy more time allowing you to write to them again seeking a settlement etc in the window / and also the possibility of turning up at court on the day seeking out the prosecutor, and request a settlement on the day before the case is heard in court (we have seen this work as a last ditch method)

I've regularly seen it advised on here about pleading not guilty in other threads - with no one setting out any reasons not to do that - but again I'd welcome other forum members views on this approach.

So I am not sure about ringing GTR on Friday or not - there may be nothing to lose by trying I suppose (or trying 1st thing Monday before going to a post office with the court papers you will need to send back by the next day delivery mailing deadline...)

 

[furlong]

Seems obvious they've built up a backlog of cases and this one isn't trivial because you're providing pertinent new information (that speaks to the public interest element) that they should have requested and taken into account BEFORE making any decision to prosecute.

I'd phone up to try to jump the queue.

 

[ebolo]

Thanks for your input, it's helpful to get these different perspectives.

Can I ask if you have any sort of track record of previous fare irregularities that they may have stopped you for before, or might have found via an on line check of your fares records - that you have not told us about here but which might be influencing this?

To the best of my knowledge - I believe I have a clean record. I was stopped by inspectors twice (roughly 3 and 5 years ago). But in both interactions, the inspectors were satisfied and let me go without taking any details or issuing a formal report.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for your input, it's helpful to get these different perspectives.


To the best of my knowledge - I believe I have a clean record. I was stopped by inspectors twice (roughly 3 and 5 years ago). But in both interactions, the inspectors were satisfied and let me go without taking any details or issuing a formal report.

Thanks - so nothing odd there then to explain the message you got back. So I guess my points in post 19 stand unless anyone else here has any different ideas.

 

[z444z]

I don't think I can recall a case on here with GTR where this has been said in reply to an urgent e-mail request to settle sent to GTR after an SJPN has been received. It's in contrast to one of the recent linked threads posted up thread where the passenger received a settlement more or less immediately - just before office shuts up for easter in that case IIRC - so not sure what to best advise on that question.

Agreed.

Your original 'offence' wasn't exactly big time fare evasion so it seems strange they are not indicating they are prepared to settle out of court on this occasion.

Also agreed. However it’s still entirely possible that they’ll offer a settlement after reviewing the case. I think it might be worth sending another email now thanking them for their response and again basically begging to settle out of court.

Personally i would think that I would
a) hold off returning court papers as long as possible (so this means posting on 20th with next day delivery)
b) pleading not guilty to buy more time allowing you to write to them again seeking a settlement etc in the window / and also the possibility of turning up at court on the day seeking out the prosecutor, and request a settlement on the day before the case is heard in court (we have seen this work as a last ditch method)

Agreed.

So I am not sure about ringing GTR on Friday or not

If you have a dedicated contact at the prosecutions team then I’d say nothing to lose. If you’re thinking of just contacting customer services I wouldn’t bother.

 

[ebolo]

Here was a number given some time ago
0204 566 9166

I managed to call this number on Friday morning.

If you have a dedicated contact at the prosecutions team then I’d say nothing to lose. If you’re thinking of just contacting customer services I wouldn’t bother.

It definitely seemed to be the dedicated line to the prosecution team. The person who answered was able to find my case immediately.

The person confirmed that the case is currently being reviewed by the legal team and said that they cannot speed up the process, even after I expressed my eagerness to resolve the matter immediately. However, they did confirm that they have noted the call on my file to show that I have proactively tried to settle as soon as possible. When the legal team finished reviewing the case, I should hear back from the legal team mainly by post, but could potentially through e-mail too.

 

[WesternLancer]

So that doesn’t sound like a wasted call.
But I guess you do need to get ready to make a plea and send it. Presumably not guilty.

 

[ebolo]

I am now preparing the SJPN and MC100 forms to post tomorrow and I have a few specific questions to make sure I handle the paperwork correctly:

1. Pleading Not Guilty makes the most sense to buy time for the GTR legal team to finish their review. What is the best way to phrase this in the "reason for pleading Not Guilty" box?
2. Does anyone know the average window between the court receiving the plea and the actual trial date being set?
3. There's also a mitigating circumstances box. Should this box be left blank if I'm pleading Not Guilty, or should my concern about DBS be put under here?
4. I'm a full-time student with no employment income, and so in the MC100 form, it's a bit confusing on how to fill it correctly as there is no box to state my status.
   • In addition to that, correspondence so far is at my home address, but I am living in university campus and no one is at home to check the mailbox for me. Should I stick with the home address for consistency, or safer to use university address so I don't miss legal deadlines?

I have attached the forms to this post. Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[ebolo]

Note - I may have the duplicate post asking same questions with redacted images of the form attached, but currently that post is awaiting moderator approval. To save time for the deadline, I’m posting the text here, hoping to get some initial advice on my SJPN paperwork.

I am now preparing the SJPN and MC100 forms to post tomorrow and I have a few specific questions to make sure I handle the paperwork correctly:

1. Pleading Not Guilty makes the most sense to buy time for the GTR legal team to finish their review. What is the best way to phrase this in the "reason for pleading Not Guilty" box?
2. Does anyone know the average window between the court receiving the plea and the actual trial date being set?
3. There's also a mitigating circumstances box. Should this box be left blank if I'm pleading Not Guilty, or should my concern about DBS be put under here?
4. I'm a full-time student with no employment income, and so in the MC100 form, it's a bit confusing on how to fill it correctly as there is no box to state my status.
   • In addition to that, correspondence so far is at my home address, but I am living in university campus and no one is at home to check the mailbox for me. Should I stick with the home address for consistency, or safer to use university address so I don't miss legal deadlines from the court?

Thanks for any guidance in advance.

 

[WesternLancer]

I am now preparing the SJPN and MC100 forms to post tomorrow and I have a few specific questions to make sure I handle the paperwork correctly:

1. Pleading Not Guilty makes the most sense to buy time for the GTR legal team to finish their review. What is the best way to phrase this in the "reason for pleading Not Guilty" box?
2. Does anyone know the average window between the court receiving the plea and the actual trial date being set?
3. There's also a mitigating circumstances box. Should this box be left blank if I'm pleading Not Guilty, or should my concern about DBS be put under here?
4. I'm a full-time student with no employment income, and so in the MC100 form, it's a bit confusing on how to fill it correctly as there is no box to state my status.
   • In addition to that, correspondence so far is at my home address, but I am living in university campus and no one is at home to check the mailbox for me. Should I stick with the home address for consistency, or safer to use university address so I don't miss legal deadlines?

I have attached the forms to this post. Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Just seen this. Will give it some thought and respond later this evening

Process wise I wonder if @island or @Puffing Devil might know answers to some of the specific questions so I’ve tagged them in case they get to see this in time.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Pleading not guilty is the only way to pull the emergency brake. You aren't losing out on much by doing this; even if you can't reach a settlement, magistrates are usually quite reasonable about fine discounts if you show you were trying to resolve things properly.

1. You don't need to overthink the "reason for pleading not guilty" box. Don't worry about a technical legal defence. Just write: "I am currently in active negotiations with the Prosecution (GTR) regarding an out-of-court settlement. I have provided them with mitigating evidence and require more time for their legal team to conclude their review of the case."

2. Once you send that plea, the case gets pulled from the automated stream and sent to a physical court to be listed. You’re looking at a window of about four to eight weeks before a hearing date is even set. This is your prime time to get GTR to agree to a settlement. If they do, they’ll just withdraw the prosecution, and the court date disappears.

3. Leave the mitigating circumstances box completely blank. Mitigation only matters if you've already been convicted or have pleaded guilty.

4. You can hold onto the MC100 form for now. Since you're pleading not guilty, the court doesn't need your financial details yet; they’d only need those if you were eventually convicted at a hearing. As for the address, use your permanent home address. If this drags on into the summer, you don't want a settlement offer or a court summons sitting in a college pigeonhole or a vacated student flat while you're away. Use the address where you know someone will open your mail and tell you about it immediately.

Get the plea form in the post tomorrow via Special Delivery so it hits the court by the 21st.

 

[WesternLancer]

I am now preparing the SJPN and MC100 forms to post tomorrow and I have a few specific questions to make sure I handle the paperwork correctly:

1. Pleading Not Guilty makes the most sense to buy time for the GTR legal team to finish their review. What is the best way to phrase this in the "reason for pleading Not Guilty" box?
2. Does anyone know the average window between the court receiving the plea and the actual trial date being set?
3. There's also a mitigating circumstances box. Should this box be left blank if I'm pleading Not Guilty, or should my concern about DBS be put under here?
4. I'm a full-time student with no employment income, and so in the MC100 form, it's a bit confusing on how to fill it correctly as there is no box to state my status.
   • In addition to that, correspondence so far is at my home address, but I am living in university campus and no one is at home to check the mailbox for me. Should I stick with the home address for consistency, or safer to use university address so I don't miss legal deadlines?

I have attached the forms to this post. Thanks in advance for any guidance!

With many thanks to @Puffing Devil who has given very clear answers on your questions now. I was going to suggest an 'if in doubt leave blank' approach for Q1 for example, but very helpful guidance in post 29 on all of this now.

Ref your final question about address - I too agree that you should use your permanent home address - but it seems that you are saying at the moment there is no one at that home address who can check your post on a frequent and regular basis?
Is there no trusted neighbour or family friend living nearby who could do this for you if the address is not occupied whilst you are at your university term time address?
How far away is it from you - would it be feasible for you to go and check post there once a week - or would that result in a lot of expensive train fares.

I had wondered if a Royal Mail redirect that you could set up for the rest of the university term time (see https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection ) might be an option - but looking briefly at that it seems to be geared up to permanent house moves and suggests the redirection is for a minimum of 3 months - which probably would not work for you.