Advice required: case heard in my absence

[sam1983]

Hi all

Would appreciate your advice on something. I'm kinda panicking at the moment.

So, back last year I tried to catch a train without a valid ticket. The ticket machine wouldn't accept my card, but I'm aware that's not a valid excuse. When I was caught I offered to pay the fare, or a penalty fare, but the inspector wasn't interested. He took a "statement of facts" which detailed the time, place, etc.

It seems a court summons was issued to my old address (which I knew nothing of until I collected my post) and the case was heard in my absence. The accusation was that I did contravene Byelaw No.9(2)... "in that you did, without permission from an authorised person, enter or leave railway premises without passing through the manned or automatic barrier in the correct manner". I wouldn't dispute the claim, but is it normal (allowed?) to be taken to court without being offered to pay a penalty fare? Given it's happened, I'm guessing they're within their rights, but optimistically I thought I may as well ask.

I can only assume I was found guilty (though I've not seen any correspondence to confirm this) as there was also a "further steps notice" telling me a had to pay £360. The deadline fast approaching and not having learned great deal from legal / citizen's advice, I decided to pay the money to stop things being taken any further.

The fine, though painful, I can deal with. My major concern is the consequences of the conviction (if I can call it that? Not that I've even seen documentation confirming a conviction). What exactly does it mean? I understand it's not a "criminal record" as such, but I'm still not sure whether or not it could show up in background checks, etc. I work in the city on a consultancy basis, so my background gets checked reasonably frequently.

Thanks in advance
Sam

 

[michael769]

If you are genuinly unaware that the case took place, you can visit your local court and ask to swear out a Statutory Declaration to this effect. If you contact your local court they will be happy to guide you through the process.

This will cause your conviciton to be quashed and the matter sent back to the prosecutors. They will then have to decide whether or not to re-try the case (this time giving you an opportunity to defend yourself). You may also be able to negociate with the prosecutors for out of court settlement.

If you receive further contact from the prosecutors in due course you can, if you wish post full details hee for further advice on your situation. To answer your question, penalty fares should only be issued where a passenger has made an honest error, and so it would not normally be appropriate to issue one for a byelaw 9 contravention.

Byelaw offences do not normally carry a criminal record, and will not usually show up on a DBS or Disclosure Scotland check, so if you do not dispute the matter and are willing to pay the fine rather than face a likely trial (and probably have to pay the prosecution costs for both prosecutions), you do have the option of paying the fine and putting it behind you.

 

[Swirlz]

Them using Byelaw 9, makes it sound as though Mr. RPI caught you tailgating through the ticket barrier.

In that case, I am surprised a Section 5(3) RoRA 1889 Offence wasn't used.

If you did actually commit the offence, paying the £360 and forgetting about it is probably the best thing to do.

If you make a Statutory Declaration, and you committed the offence anyway, on retrial, you're likely to be fined (again) around £250-£300 anyway. If you then consider the value of your time, trips to/from court, then it probably isn't worthwhile going through the whole process.

Saying that, if you didn't do anything wrong, and you would plead not guilty, you should make a Statutory Declaration.

You don't seem to fussed about the fine, just the criminal record. Unless you work in a particularly "security conscious" industry, (HMCS, MI5, Army, Police, Vulnerable people etc), you'll be fine. You've already paid the fine, so I'd move on.

Apply for a copy of your record here:
https://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/disclosureOnline/BDO_Instr.htm
(£25.00, and will provide a basic check, which is what employers will also be doing).