Caught using discounted oyster

[Bleep007]

Hi,

I'm 20 years old and tried applying for a Oyster card. However, there were problems with my application and it wasn't able to go through. Since I was starting college, I used my mums discounted Oyster card until I could sort it out. Through UCAS applications, job interview and exams, I didn't get much time to sort it out.

I used the card around 40ish times to go to and from college. I got caught one day by the inspector, panicked and said I picked up the wrong card. He took away the card and took my details. I didn't know they sent a letter until months later with a court date. Apparently, my mom received the letter and tried to fix it herself and emailed them saying it was her fault. I was only told when I got the court date.

I was just accepted to do nursing at university and said I didn't have any criminal convictions. I'm scared a conviction will affect my future prospects. I tried calling the solicitor named in the letter and ask him to settle when he informed me it was his team I needed to speak with and that settling might not be possible as it is a criminal conviction. But I don't understand how other people are able to settle but he's telling me I cannot.

If I enter a guilty plea by post, do I get a automatic criminal conviction? Is there any way I can settle this outside of court? I really want to avoid a criminal conviction but I am also not financially stable to hire a solicitor. Any advice?

 

[Wethebest838]

What happened after your mum emailed them saying it was her fault?they have your name so I think it’s kind of dug yourself a hole. It looks bad now in my opinion as your mum has lied to them and been dishonest saying it was her fault when you willingly used an oyster you’re not entitled to and you knew that.

I think it’s sweet and great she was willing to do that for you and shows she’s a great mum but they will see it as a bit iffy.

I was corrected in another post but TFL may have changed things and a lot more out of court settlements with TFL have been happening so there’s a chance to settle. @Hadders gives great advice for people looking for an out of court settlement. I took his and others advice and was able to do an out of court settlement for my cousin!

 

[Bleep007]

I'm not sure what happened after, but I think they just reached out to find out what happened, thats when my mum responded and then they replied with the court date.

Thank you, she is sweet and just panicked in the moment as well. Even though it was really thoughtful, it does look worse now, I'm just hoping they will be understanding about it.

Do I just message Hadders on here and explain my situation? I honestly hope they will accept a settlement, I'm just scared because of the amount of times I used it. Would you know if the amount of times a card has been used affects their decision to settle?

May I ask if the situation with your cousin was as severe as this or a one time thing? Just looking for consolation as I can't stop thinking about this without feeling the urge to cry.

Thank you for all your help anyway

 

[skyhigh]

I'm 20 years old and tried applying for a Oyster card. However, there were problems with my application and it wasn't able to go through. Since I was starting college, I used my mums discounted Oyster card until I could sort it out. Through UCAS applications, job interview and exams, I didn't get much time to sort it out.

I do not recommend using that as an excuse to TfL, as it is a pretty poor one. You can get an oyster card at any Underground or Overground station, some DLR stations and newsagents with an Oyster Ticket Stop. Not to mention, you can use contactless if you hold a contactless card - so to suggest you had to use an Oyster with a discount you weren't entitled to as you didn't have any other option is a very weak excuse.

I used the card around 40ish times to go to and from college. I got caught one day by the inspector, panicked and said I picked up the wrong card. He took away the card and took my details. I didn't know they sent a letter until months later with a court date. Apparently, my mom received the letter and tried to fix it herself and emailed them saying it was her fault. I was only told when I got the court date.

How many months ago were you stopped? What exactly did your mum tell them, and what did they say? I take it from what you say you now have a court date? What offence does the paperwork say they are looking to charge you with? You are 20, you are an adult and you need to contact them yourself. Do not delay this if it is imminently going to court.

I tried calling the solicitor named in the letter and ask him to settle when he informed me it was his team I needed to speak with and that settling might not be possible as it is a criminal conviction. But I don't understand how other people are able to settle but he's telling me I cannot.

There is no guarantee that they will offer you a settlement. A one off is completely different to using the Oyster 40 times (and they will assume you would have kept on if you hadn't been stopped)

 

[Bleep007]

I do not recommend using that as an excuse to TfL, as it is a pretty poor one. You can get an oyster card at any Underground or Overground station, some DLR stations and newsagents with an Oyster Ticket Stop. Not to mention, you can use contactless if you hold a contactless card - so to suggest you had to use an Oyster with a discount you weren't entitled to as you didn't have any other option is a very weak excuse.

I tried to go to my nearest station, but they told me to do it online and that they have stopped doing it in person. For my contactless, I am not financially stable, I don't have enough money for the fare or it will be used up. I am also not comfortable with using my contactless on the bus, theres a lot of people who watch where you keep your cards and then steal it. I know this isn't a good excuse to justify not using my contactless

How many months ago were you stopped? What exactly did your mum tell them, and what did they say? I take it from what you say you now have a court date? What offence does the paperwork say they are looking to charge you with? You are 20, you are an adult and you need to contact them yourself. Do not delay this if it is imminently going to court.

I was stopped at the end of January. I don't know exactly what she told them, but it was something like I am not the type of person to do this intentionally, and that she was the one who told me to use her pass. She was trying to take the blame so they wouldn't blame me. I don't believe they responded, but they did issue the court date in June, which I received last week and thats when they told me.

The charge is :"That you, being a passenger on a Public Service Vehicle operated on behalf of London Bus Services Limited being used for the carriage of passengers at separate fares, did use in relation to the journey you were taking a travel mandate which had been issued for use by another person on terms that it is not transferable. Contrary to Regulation 7(1)(b) of the Public Service Vehicles Regulations 1990 SI NO. 1020 and contrary to section 25(3) of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981.

There is no guarantee that they will offer you a settlement. A one off is completely different to using the Oyster 40 times (and they will assume you would have kept on if you hadn't been stopped)

I just read this case where someone used their mums freedom pass over 70 times and settled OOC, but I know that its different for each person. I just don't know what to do.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I was just accepted to do nursing at university and said I didn't have any criminal convictions. I'm scared a conviction will affect my future prospects

It would be a good idea to get in touch with the university you are hoping to go to. Fare dodging isn't great - but it's not the sort of thing that says you can't be a nurse in the way that an offence against a person (something like assault) would be.

Most likely the university will want full details and will then decide if they can still offer you a place. I think there's a decent chance that they will be okay and will let you in.

But if you don't tell the university, I do know what will happen. They will chuck you off the course. That won't be because of the fare dodging, but because you tried to cover it up - and people who try to hide problems aren't the sort of people who should be nurses.

Drop the university an email: it may make things better and can't make things worse.

 

[Bleep007]

It would be a good idea to get in touch with the university you are hoping to go to. Fare dodging isn't great - but it's not the sort of thing that says you can't be a nurse in the way that an offence against a person (something like assault) would be.

Most likely the university will want full details and will then decide if they can still offer you a place. I think there's a decent chance that they will be okay and will let you in.

But if you don't tell the university, I do know what will happen. They will chuck you off the course. That won't be because of the fare dodging, but because you tried to cover it up - and people who try to hide problems aren't the sort of people who should be nurses.

Drop the university an email: it may make things better and can't make things worse.

I was always planning on informing my course. I was just gonna wait after the court date and then inform them, as I heard a case where someone informed their university, got kicked out and then it turned out that they didn't have a criminal record anyway.

Thank you for your advice though, it really helps

 

[MikeWh]

I do not recommend using that as an excuse to TfL, as it is a pretty poor one. You can get an oyster card at any Underground or Overground station, some DLR stations and newsagents with an Oyster Ticket Stop. Not to mention, you can use contactless if you hold a contactless card - so to suggest you had to use an Oyster with a discount you weren't entitled to as you didn't have any other option is a very weak excuse.

I'd be fairly confident that what the OP was actually applying for was an 18+ Student Oyster. That can only be bought online and offers discounts on weekly and period travelcards and passes.

 

[some bloke]

If conviction would have a serious impact on your career, you and/or your mother might see if you can borrow money to hire a solicitor, perhaps even a more expensive solicitor who specialises in fare evasion cases.

The NMC says:

"If you’re charged with a criminal offence or receive a caution, conviction or conditional discharge while you’re studying, you must tell your education institution."

If you email them, the NMC might clarify whether as a prospective student you have to tell the university when you're charged. That would make sense, but the university may well not have told you that when you applied.
https://www.nmc.org.uk/education/becoming-a-nurse-midwife-nursing-associate/guidance-for-students/

You could call the student union to see if they'll offer advice even though you haven't started the course yet, and also ask the RCN whether they would give any advice even if you're not a member:
https://www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/contact-advice

Nacro and Unlock have helplines - best to read relevant material on the websites first:
https://www.nacro.org.uk/criminal-r...-and-training/applying-to-university/#nursing
https://unlock.org.uk/?s=nursing
https://unlock.org.uk/?s=university
https://unlock.org.uk/the-helpline/#flex-mod-2

I tried calling the solicitor named in the letter and ask him to settle when he informed me it was his team I needed to speak with and that settling might not be possible as it is a criminal conviction. But I don't understand how other people are able to settle but he's telling me I cannot.

Could you say more about what you told him, and what he replied?

If you upload images of the paperwork with identifying details removed, that might help people give advice. But you are in a weaker position than someone who is already on a course, because the university could fill the place with someone else - so hiring a solicitor may well be a good decision.

Many solicitors will offer a free initial consultation. @yorkie said:

"If you are looking for fare evasion specialists, I've heard good reports about Penman Sedgwick [https://penmansedgwick.com/fare-evasion/]"

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...t-with-fare-evasion-case.231461/#post-5650990

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 May 2022 ==

You might be able to get free help from a law centre/clinic or through Advocate:

http://www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk/finding-legal-help/

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,

I'm 20 years old and tried applying for a Oyster card. However, there were problems with my application and it wasn't able to go through. Since I was starting college, I used my mums discounted Oyster card until I could sort it out. Through UCAS applications, job interview and exams, I didn't get much time to sort it out.

I used the card around 40ish times to go to and from college. I got caught one day by the inspector, panicked and said I picked up the wrong card. He took away the card and took my details. I didn't know they sent a letter until months later with a court date. Apparently, my mom received the letter and tried to fix it herself and emailed them saying it was her fault. I was only told when I got the court date.

I was just accepted to do nursing at university and said I didn't have any criminal convictions. I'm scared a conviction will affect my future prospects. I tried calling the solicitor named in the letter and ask him to settle when he informed me it was his team I needed to speak with and that settling might not be possible as it is a criminal conviction. But I don't understand how other people are able to settle but he's telling me I cannot.

If I enter a guilty plea by post, do I get a automatic criminal conviction? Is there any way I can settle this outside of court? I really want to avoid a criminal conviction but I am also not financially stable to hire a solicitor. Any advice?

Hi - it's really important for you that you can continue with plans for nursing career I would think. So good luck with sorting this out. I think that should be possible but you will need to engage with them about all this - and my feeling is honesty and setting the record straight will help in the long run.

So my hunch would be:

a) before you advise your future university, try to contact them or their student union welfare advice service in confidence and ask them how they think this will impact on your recently accepted place. They should help you talk through this, help you understand what impact, and advise you what to do vis a vis informing the university. Ask them what consequences a conviction will have (you will not be the first student nurse in these circs).

b) Then I suspect advise your prospective university that you are being investigated for a ticketing offence and it may carry potential criminal conviction, tho you do not have one yet, and you wanted to let them know in the interests of honesty. You would inform them if you were found guilty in due course. Make it clear that this was an error of judgment and you do not wish it to prevent your future course of study which you are fully committed to.

c) Discuss all this with your mum, who was trying her best to help.

d) I think probably need to now be honest with TfL about all this (being honest about stuff will be better in the long run given your future career etc) - write and explain that you used the card, you know it was wrong to do so, you seriously regret your error of judgment in doing so, your only mitigating circs are presumably financial / low income - ask if they would consider settling the matter without court action. Even if they say now I really can't see that this would make things worse. In contrast trying to claim you are not guilty, would, I strongly suspect, make things worse.

e) Join the RCN as a student member ASAP (look v cheap) - as you have a nursing place this would seem like you will be eligible. You may need their advice so joining shows you understand how they help members.