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Please be very wary of pleading guilty - telling the court and Chiltern you acted without permission when it's not true.
Two possible ways forward are to:
- Keep trying to get them to drop the case. You can pay a solicitor £5, and £2 per copy, to witness a statutory declaration ("sworn...
What does the correspondence say about a deadline for the SJP notice?
I would probably write again:
- asking whether your last message reached the right person,
- enclosing copies of weekly tickets and/or evidence of frequent purchases of them if you haven't already;
- if appropriate...
The burden of proof on you is at most on the balance of probabilities.
So at most, the requirement is that you satisfy the court you *probably* had permission - not that it's beyond reasonable doubt.
That is the context for discussions with Chiltern.
If the inspectors were at the only entrance for the platform, then a court may think it's unlikely you could have got on the train without permission (unless you had, say, flashed an out-of-date ticket or boarded somewhere else).
If you can make Chiltern see this is a substantial problem for...
I think you were right in the draft not to overstate your confidence in what you've compiled. I'd advise not saying you believe it's complete unless you're pretty confident of that.
Fair enough. It's still an indication that they didn't intend to treat the two types of case the same. And the argument that the person should have kept a close eye on mail is weakened if the company takes five months to ask for simple proof of a railcard rather than a couple of weeks...
@fg123 , I note that you don't say it was completely your fault that you didn't see correspondence.
If you did take reasonable steps to see it by making a clear request but someone else failed to pass it on or there was a misunderstanding, then your position may be stronger.
We don't know whether they sent a letter asking for proof.
If they don't give a refund, I would ask if they sent that.
Opinions differ - personally I think someone who did turn out to have a railcard should be treated more leniently than someone who didn't.
After a few days, you can email the court asking whether the company has dropped the case.
I think it's worth asking for a refund, as the settlement offer was thought suitable for someone who didn't have a railcard at all.
You can post a draft on here of a letter asking for a refund, for...
Yes, that's how I read it.
1738000152
Writing about the delay should be straightforward as you can use John's formulation:
1738002395
You can quote the amended regulation:
"Amendment of regulation 17
10.— ....(2) After regulation 17(8) insert—
“(8A) If an appeal is against a penalty fare...
You could write to the prosecution and the appeal body "before I submit a third appeal" asking them to clarify whether they believe the penalty fare is still payable despite the delay, and if so on what basis.
1737999438
You can let them know the deadline, and say you would therefore appreciate...
Wouldn't simply paying up be under false pretences, that she was the person stopped?
That explains the Fraud Act reference (which is not to say they'd actually prosecute for fraud).
If it was a mistake, why did you say she thought it was clever?
She is, unsurprisingly, guilty of an offence, in this case under byelaw 22 even if a fraud prosecution is impossible or unlikely.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railway-byelaws/railway-byelaws#travel-and-fares-1
If she says it wasn't her who was stopped, it might seem sensible for...
You could call your student union and see if they'll put you in touch with a solicitor for some free help.
What exactly does the paperwork say about the deadline? Did TfL/you take the bank holiday into account?
Can you submit the SJPN response online?
Just to check, how old are you? If...
Appealing doesn't bar prosecution. That only happens where either the first appeal is decided or the appeal body fails to decide within the time limit, and the penalty fare hasn't already been withdrawn.
So in theory, if for example someone notices your date of birth doesn't match "child"...
Under the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 as amended, a single justice can only deal with the case if
"the accused has not served on the designated officer specified in the single justice procedure notice, within the period prescribed by Criminal Procedure Rules, a written notification stating...
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