TfL Single Justice Procedure Notice, Medical Student

[traveller1034]

Hi there,

I was issued a penalty fare notice by TfL (Tramlink specifically) in April and it was my completely my fault that I forgot to pay it even following getting a letter and now have been issued a Single Justice Procedure Notice. It was completely my fault, my only excuse is that I was focused on my exams in June. I really don’t know what to do. I am an incoming penultimate-year medical student and really don’t know what to do about this and the consequences on my record. Is there any way I can contact them to try and pay the fare without having to plead guilty? Thank you so much

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there,

I was issued a penalty fare notice by TfL (Tramlink specifically) in April and it was my completely my fault that I forgot to pay it even following getting a letter and now have been issued a Single Justice Procedure Notice. It was completely my fault, my only excuse is that I was focused on my exams in June. I really don’t know what to do. I am an incoming penultimate-year medical student and really don’t know what to do about this and the consequences on my record. Is there any way I can contact them to try and pay the fare without having to plead guilty? Thank you so much

welcome
This is a serious (ahem) 'oversight' on your part....and I fear whatever happens it's going to cost you significantly more than if you had paid the Penalty Fare asap - but you probably know that...
I doubt TfL will care about your medical exams although for what it's worth (which is zilch, obviously ) I don't think I'd fancy doing them and remembering other urgent things, so you do have my sympathy.

When is the deadline on the court papers to return the SJPN? That is the timeframe you are working to - as you must not miss that deadline set by the court.
But hold of sending the SJPN papers back to the court with a plea for as long as possible whilst you get and weigh up advice from here.

Hopefully someone here might / will know if there is a way you can urgently row back and see if they will accept the money owed and withdraw the SJPN but TfL do not mess about with this sort of thing (we know from FoI requests that they prosecute c15,000 people a year for various fares misdemeanours so it's a conveyor belt for them)

It's Friday afternoon so you have the weekend to make a plan and see what advice comes in - but it may be you need to seriously consider using a solicitor to try and sort this out for you now (I'm thinking career wise as a medic you have some significant earnings potential ahead of you so the solicitors fees might be 'an investment in avoiding court action') - it needs to be one that has a decent record of dealing with TfL fares related matters - there are several legal firms that get mentioned regularly on here with a record of good work in this area - as reported on the forum by people who have used them. Realistically their help might cost you in the region of £800 from what we see on here by people who have used solicitors for this sort of thing. I know that will sound like a v large sum to a student.
We can provide a list of some.
By Monday morning I suspect you will know if that's the best route to go down, given where things are, vs advice from experts here who might know if you can easily resolve this without legal help yourself.

Worst case scenario I don't know what an SJPN guilty plea would have career wise, but I can well understand that you'd prefer to avoid it given your choice of future work.

 

[srg]

I would strongly suggest you consider obtaining expert advice - presumably you are a member of a medical defence organisaton? If not, your students union. I also think you should seriously consider involving a solictor to assist.

I suspect you already have an obligation to tell your medical school about the SJPN. See section 106 of the GMC document https://www.gmc-uk.org/cdn/documents/agmp-2024-for-medical-students-english_pdf-108649541.pdf

Minor criminal offences aren't ideal, but what is disasterous is not being open and honest. Hence bear in mind the abve document.

 

[Swedenorer]

You must now look at it from their point of view.

Let's get to the basics of where you are. You were PFd and have failed to pay the discounted fee, the full fee or appeal.
The fact that, as far as they are concerned, you have ignored the PF and made no contact will not help you at all.

You are now faced with trying to get the SJP withdrawn and I presume disposing of the matter by paying £100 - or some other settlement.

This puts you now fairly and squarely within the TfL Prosecutions Policy https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf particularly sections 8.1, 8.4 and 8.5.

As far as I can see there is no provision in this policy for anything other than prosecution or a warning letter. They must already have decided that you meet their criteria for going ahead with prosecution especially since they offered you a way out in April for £50.

Yes the policy does say they will take account of 'satisfactory mitigation'. All you seem to be able to offer in mitigation is exam pressure - two months hence from the offence.

Also I can't recall a case on here recently or at all where prosecution has been triggered by failure to pay a PF.

I think this a hard one to deal with yourself - maybe legal advice on both disclosure and the effect of a TfL conviction is what you need as on the last post before you do anything else.

 

[davp]

I'm not going to comment on your chances of avoiding a conviction, but you will note others suggest a conviction is quite likely.

You'll certainly need to tell the GMC and your university if you are convicted, and you may need to do so sooner. If you are a member of the MDDUS or other medical defence union talk to them first thing next week. Also talk to your med school's students' union - it's very likely other people will have been in this situation before and they will be able to reassure you and give you relevant advice.

This shouldn't impact your career. The NHS will look at convictions after they have made you an offer, so it shouldn't affect your chances of getting a particular job. They will then take a view as to whether your conviction is compatible with the post you've applied for, and fortunately for you TfL usually prosecute for what reads as an administrative ticketing error rather than one that speaks directly to your honesty or probity. Expect that you will be asked about it; if you are be open and transparent about what happened and it would help if you can speak reflectively as to what you have learned from it / actions to ensure it doesn't happen again. I think it's very unlikely that if this is a one off that it will cause problems for you.

It's possible that this offence never appears on your disclosure/DBS, or appears on it then drops off after some time. In healthcare you will be subject to enhanced DBS and you will always need to declare any conviction to an employer, even when it is spent.

We expect doctors to be scrupulously honest. The greatest risk from a conviction like this is from you not disclosing it and your employer finding out about it. This would be seen as straightforward dishonesty, so always declare it (unless you are successful in avoiding a conviction).

It goes without saying that a second ticketing conviction would point to a pattern and be less easy to explain.

 

[srg]

I agree with almost all of what @davp says except you have to tell your university now. From the GMC document which I linked to:

You also have a responsibility to tell your medical school
immediately, and the GMC when you apply for provisional registration,* if you:
 accept a caution† for a criminal offence while you are at medical school
 have been charged with or found guilty of a criminal offence while at medical school
 have any serious concerns about the impact your health condition might have on you

 

[WesternLancer]

I agree with almost all of what @davp says except you have to tell your university now. From the GMC document which I linked to:

You also have a responsibility to tell your medical school
immediately, and the GMC when you apply for provisional registration,* if you:
 accept a caution† for a criminal offence while you are at medical school
 have been charged with or found guilty of a criminal offence while at medical school
 have any serious concerns about the impact your health condition might have on you

All good advice and important information

Also important for the op to know their medical school will have seen this sort of issue loads of times and that will include deliberate evasion, and it won’t be the end of the world.
We’ve certainly seen medical students on here with fare problems so there will be plenty more with the same who don’t make it to this forum.

If @traveller1034 wants to post about what they are minded to do we can advise them on how best to progress that on Monday morning.

 

[Egg Centric]

Be interested in hearing what e.g. @Manak has to say about this sort of case. I would have thought that "failed to pay FPN" is the sort of situation which handled correctly could get the SJPN cancelled if TfL were engaged with correctly but I certainly don't know that.

While a different offence, you can get an FPN for speeding etc often dealt with by the Mags/Single Justice at FPN levels if it was otherwise FPN eligible and due to some screw up of some kind went to court.

 

[Manak]

Thank you for inviting my view. If the facts of this case are correct, then the chances of a warning are good. I would recommend the OP seeks legal advice.

 

[SECR 65]

Given the recomendation to seek legal advice, here you will find a list of some firms often used on the forum. The first company in this list is that which @Manak works for, in case it is not apparent. Note that I have no connection to any of the firms, but on the forum you will find favourable comments from people who have experience of the services of these firms. The charge is likely to be in the region of £750 but this will vary between firms and you could seek quotes.

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors | Kent & London | Manak Solicitors

Makwanas

Fare Evasion Solicitors London | High Success Rate | TFL Solicitors

www.makwanas.co.uk

http://www.grayhooperholt.co.uk/default.asp?id=30

https://penmansedgwick.com/fare-evasion/

 

[jumble]

Be interested in hearing what e.g. @Manak has to say about this sort of case. I would have thought that "failed to pay FPN" is the sort of situation which handled correctly could get the SJPN cancelled if TfL were engaged with correctly but I certainly don't know that.

While a different offence, you can get an FPN for speeding etc often dealt with by the Mags/Single Justice at FPN levels if it was otherwise FPN eligible and due to some screw up of some kind went to court.

I don't see your speeding example as being the same as in the magistrates case one can indeed end up concluding the matter by paying the same penalty but in TFL case one is asking TFL to leave one better off as they their policies do not allow them to recover the money and the fare dodger would get away scott free.
( if a warning is given as a result of a solicitors intervention then presumably TFL consider that a payment to someone else of £800 or so is an excellent deterrent to possible future misbehaviour)

 

[Egg Centric]

I don't see your speeding example as being the same as in the magistrates case one can indeed end up concluding the matter by paying the same penalty but in TFL case one is asking TFL to leave one better off as they their policies do not allow them to recover the money and the fare dodger would get away scott free.
( if a warning is given as a result of a solicitors intervention then presumably TFL consider that a payment to someone else of £800 or so is an excellent deterrent to possible future misbehaviour)

It's not the same of course but it's a similar principle of not being materially worse off just because of paperwork. Remember TFL offered a penalty fare, the OP was just disorganised.