Thanks to the (good) advice on this forum I was able to settle this matter out of court for £200.
To the scaremongers trawling this forum and posting antagonising messages you need to get a life.
The majority of people that will come to this forum for advice will be concerned about the threat of a criminal record and will be first time ‘offenders.’
I very much doubt that repeat ‘offenders’ (I guess that have abused/insulted the former/current ticket inspectors posting on the forum) would even bother to look into the potential consequences of court action/fines.
Based on my experience I can safely say that people should not overly concern themselves about this. The process will take about five months. You will NOT receive a criminal record nor a fine anywhere near some of the ridiculous numbers posted on this thread and on other discussions I have read on this forum.
I think how a situation resolves itself varies very much on how it is dealt with by the passenger / accused.
It certainly is possible to get a big fine and criminal record for a first time matter such as this, but it is - as you have found out - no means inevitable.
Just perusing some recent court results I note that of 24 cases for a certain week, 3 were settled out of court, 1 person wrote in to the court and pleaded Guilty, and 14 were found guilty at court based on the written statement of the inspector (probably in their absence). (a few were adjourned or withdrawn for various reasons). The settled out of court paid the company total monies of £140, £70 and £80. The one who pleaded guilty got fined £115, plus £130 costs plus the fare avoided. The rest got fined between £200 and £300 plus costs, plus the fare avoided.
Most of the "avoided fares" were low in value. This just shows the different outcomes that occur depending on how it is handled. In this case I suspect the 3 who settled out of court approached it like you did, dealt with it when they should, and got to pay a lot lower amount by not leaving it too late or burying their head in the sand. The 1 who pleaded guilty to the court let it go a bit further but dealt with it before it was too late and got away with a lower fine. The rest, who seemingly did nothing, got the noticeably higher fines.
Another week, a different court, and I noted 10 Out of court settlements agreeing figures between £60 - £130 plus the fare avoided. 3 pleaded guilty to the court and got fined £30 plus costs of £130 plus the fare avoided. 13 got found guilty based on the written statement of the inspector and got fined between £175 and £525, plus £130 costs, plus the fare avoided.
It should also be noted that courts do vary - some magistrates take the matter more seriously and levy a much higher fine that others.
I think it is helpful to be aware of the potential outcome, which can be very serious. However, it should also be impressed upon folk reading this that the severe outcome is never guaranteed, but will depend on how you handle it, what you say in your statement, and how quickly you deal with it. Importantly, don't bury your head in the sand and leave it till it gets to court.
