Caught with 11-15 zipcard

[jollybee]

Hello, I decided to create an account and write here my current circumstances. I was caught on 23/10 a Liverpool street station using my siblings 11-15 zip card. When caught, the inspector took my name and address and asked me the following questions: Have you used this card before? in which i replied to as yes. They then asked how long? and I said a couple of months. They then asked did you use this as an intent to avoid paying the correct fare? I said yes. I answered honestly and truthfully to all the questions and cooperated.

The inspector took a note of all of this, and then made me sign the notes, they also asked what station do you normally use? I mentioned liverpool street to my home station, although there are other station I use commonly too, but at the moment I was nervous and afraid and did not mention it. They then said TFL will send a letter, either issuing a final warning, a penalty fare, a fine of all the costs as I said I've been doing this for months, and if i decide to appeal the fine, I will have to do this via court. They then mentioned if I appeal, and lose, it can result in a criminal record. I agreed and used contactless for the rest of my journey. I decided to research what would happen once I got home, and clearly, what the inspector said is not true at all, I have now found out I will most likely be prosecuted and have a criminal record either way, and I'm not sure why the inspector would not just mention the true outcome, rather than make it seem like I'm paying a fine but then I end up getting shot with a prosection and criminal record instead.

For context, Im a 21 year old full time university student, I have currently been facing financial difficulties, I have no income at the moment. I am taking money out of my savings for my costs. I have been using the zipcard as a way to reduce my tfl fares, as if I pay regularly, this would amount to above £50 a week with the area I live in, with monthly costs of over £200. This would be quite hard for me considering I have no income. I was merely using this card as a temporary solution until I have source of income such as tutoring, or the student ambassador role I've recently applied to. I am not looking to work part time as I do not want this to affect my studies during my third year. This is obviously not an excuse for my behaviour, however this is just a reason as to why I was using it.

The prospect of me having prosecution has recently severly destroyed my mental health, I have been crying endlessly and no one seems to be supporting me during this time. I did not honestly understand the severity of using someone elses pass, I assumed foolishly that it is better to pay something rather than nothing and barge through the gates endlessly, however it seems like if i decided to just barge through the gaes this would have been a better option as I would only end up with a £100 penalty fare notice. Having influence from many young adults around me too using their parents freedome pass etc also acts towards why I thought using my siblings to save costs on my travel a good idea. Obviously this is wrong and I already admit my offence.

I just want some advice about what to do next. I understand I'll receive a verification letter, where I explain the situation. I am also fighting to not proceed to court, and end up with a record, especially as they know I have committed multiple offences. Having this record will impact my job prospects after uni, as the role I'm applying too requires a standard level of security clearance and enhanced DBS checks, across the industry. This has really taken a toll on me, i seriously never understood the seriousness until now, and if i did before, I would've never gone through with this foolish act. I have seen people appoint solicitors, but with my difficulty, I cannot afford this. However I really do not want a record, and I was wondering if hiring a solicitor for the court case if worth it than hiring one for the writing the verification letter.

I understand from section 8 of TFL's prosecution policy's they can issue a warning, if I show remorse, mitigating cirumstances and the evidence of me having a low risk of offending. If I write about all of this, what are my realistic chances? I was planning to confirm my student status, if that even means anything to them I was also planning to mention how I've taken initiative and used contactless since then, by showing proof and how I've researched my options for legal discounted travel and decided to purchase a weekly/monthly travelcard (haven't done this yet, waiting for start of novemeber so I get a full months worth).

I understand that they can assign me to court under SJP, but as I have committed multiple offences, I am worried this won't be the case, and my verification letter will be utterly useless. I just do not want a stupid decision of mine to affect my career upon graduation, as the distress I am in is already punishment enough, and I hope TFL don't want to permanently ruin lives, although yes it may be 'spent' after a year, my prospects in this industry will be gone. My parents are also ashamed and would forever resent me for obtaining a record for absolutely no reason and I do not want to give them current stress through their own financial difficulties. I just need honest advice please and reassurance

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum. You'll get good advice here.

On the day you were stopped, were you given any paperwork? If so it would help the advisers here to help you if you post it.

 

[jfollows]

We will help you, but you need to post paperwork here for us to see in order to give you best advice. Be aware that TfL tend to go to court and do not settle out of court. There is some evidence that engaging a solicitor can increase the chance of a settlement, but this will cost you £££, and otherwise the free advice and help you will get here will be good.

 

[AlterEgo]

I understand from section 8 of TFL's prosecution policy's they can issue a warning, if I show remorse, mitigating cirumstances

Out of interest, what mitigating circumstances do you hope to advance here? Section 8.2 explains which mitigation will be considered; it will also need to be evidenced.

You don't mention any relevant mitigation in your opening post. If you don't have any, you will be prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws - as are the vast majority of people who commit travel fraud by abusing free passes on TfL. You need to be under no illusions as to how seriously TfL look upon this sort of premeditated, long-term offending; they prosecute between 10,000 and 20,000 people a year.

It's also wrong to say people who barge the gates get £100 penalty fares; not usually, that's also a criminal offence and you can find people on the forum who have been prosecuted for that, too.

I assume you haven't received your verification letter yet as the offence was so recent, but if you come back here when you do receive it more detailed advice can be given.

 

[jollybee]

Hi, welcome to the forum. You'll get good advice here.

On the day you were stopped, were you given any paperwork? If so it would help the advisers here to help you if you post it.

Nope, I was not given any paperwork whatsoever. The inspector was just writing down our conversation and my details on a notepad.

We will help you, but you need to post paperwork here for us to see in order to give you best advice. Be aware that TfL tend to go to court and do not settle out of court. There is some evidence that engaging a solicitor can increase the chance of a settlement, but this will cost you £££, and otherwise the free advice and help you will get here will be good.

No paperwork was given to me. I am currently waiting for the verification letter as from reading these forums, I assume I will receive one as well. Is there any solicitors you highly recommend, especially with the nature of my case? and is it best to hire them after I receive a court notice?

 

[jollybee]

Out of interest, what mitigating circumstances do you hope to advance here? Section 8.2 explains which mitigation will be considered; it will also need to be evidenced.

You don't mention any relevant mitigation in your opening post. If you don't have any, you will be prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws - as are the vast majority of people who commit travel fraud by abusing free passes on TfL. You need to be under no illusions as to how seriously TfL look upon this sort of premeditated, long-term offending; they prosecute between 10,000 and 20,000 people a year.

It's also wrong to say people who barge the gates get £100 penalty fares; not usually, that's also a criminal offence and you can find people on the forum who have been prosecuted for that, too.

I assume you haven't received your verification letter yet as the offence was so recent, but if you come back here when you do receive it more detailed advice can be given.

I understand the concern. Under section 8 I read with remorse and proof of low offending my chances could probably rise by 0.1% of no prosecution. In terms of mitigating circumstances, I'm not sure what I could potentially say, as I doubt TFL would honestly care about financial difficulties.

If I am able to prove I now pay correct fares, is this reasonable rather than not doing so? I have also been extremely stressed due to this and I am looking to seek guidance from mental health facilities at Uni. Would a report from uni bout my current state help?

As I have mentioned to them a couple of months, how thorough would this investigation be? could they check every single journey recorded on this card?

 

[JBuchananGB]

You can expect that they will look into the complete history of the usage of the Zip Card, but it only takes one instance, i.e. the time they stopped you, for them to have all they need to prosecute you. If there have been many other journeys it will contribute the amount of money TfL ask the court to award them, which will be on top of the fine and the victim support costs.
It is also not at all relevant that you have decided that you will now pay the correct fares. Your poor decision was not to do that in the past, which has put you in the position you are now in. It was not wise to choose to commit crime to reduce your living costs. There should have been other ways to economise, but you made the call. The wheels of justice are now turning.

 

[AlterEgo]

I understand the concern. Under section 8 I read with remorse and proof of low offending my chances could probably rise by 0.1% of no prosecution. In terms of mitigating circumstances, I'm not sure what I could potentially say, as I doubt TFL would honestly care about financial difficulties.

If I am able to prove I now pay correct fares, is this reasonable rather than not doing so? I have also been extremely stressed due to this and I am looking to seek guidance from mental health facilities at Uni. Would a report from uni bout my current state help?

TfL don't care if the threat of being prosecuted is stressful. It's supposed to be stressful and unpleasant and they are mostly interested in getting all their money back and protecting taxpayer money. Those are consequences I'm afraid.

TfL will care about pre existing medical matters where it can be shown that either or both are true:

a) the medical condition was a substantial factor in the decision to commit the offences and therefore the culpability is reduced
b) the medical condition is so severe it would render any punishment or fine against the public interest because the outcomes of a criminal conviction would be disproportionate

These would likely need to be evidenced in detail by a GP or consultant.

Your financial difficulties are neither here nor there. TfL will not be interested much. You chose to commit crime to save money instead of getting a part time job. That was your choice. You are an adult and you will have to live with whatever the consequences are.

Paying the right fare now is obviously a better choice but they're not going to be interested in that. That's what you're supposed to do, and it rather holes under the waterline the assertion this wasn't a choice on your part. Of course you're paying your fares now you got caught.

As I have mentioned to them a couple of months, how thorough would this investigation be? could they check every single journey recorded on this card?

Yes. They may charge you with multiple offences for which you will be asked if you wish to take them into consideration at court. This means you will be sentenced for all the offending in one go. If they do this you will need to physically attend court - you MUST attend, by law.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello, I decided to create an account and write here my current circumstances. I was caught on 23/10 a Liverpool street station using my siblings 11-15 zip card. When caught, the inspector took my name and address and asked me the following questions: Have you used this card before? in which i replied to as yes. They then asked how long? and I said a couple of months. They then asked did you use this as an intent to avoid paying the correct fare? I said yes. I answered honestly and truthfully to all the questions and cooperated.

The inspector took a note of all of this, and then made me sign the notes, they also asked what station do you normally use? I mentioned liverpool street to my home station, although there are other station I use commonly too, but at the moment I was nervous and afraid and did not mention it. They then said TFL will send a letter, either issuing a final warning, a penalty fare, a fine of all the costs as I said I've been doing this for months, and if i decide to appeal the fine, I will have to do this via court. They then mentioned if I appeal, and lose, it can result in a criminal record. I agreed and used contactless for the rest of my journey. I decided to research what would happen once I got home, and clearly, what the inspector said is not true at all, I have now found out I will most likely be prosecuted and have a criminal record either way, and I'm not sure why the inspector would not just mention the true outcome, rather than make it seem like I'm paying a fine but then I end up getting shot with a prosection and criminal record instead.

For context, Im a 21 year old full time university student, I have currently been facing financial difficulties, I have no income at the moment. I am taking money out of my savings for my costs. I have been using the zipcard as a way to reduce my tfl fares, as if I pay regularly, this would amount to above £50 a week with the area I live in, with monthly costs of over £200. This would be quite hard for me considering I have no income. I was merely using this card as a temporary solution until I have source of income such as tutoring, or the student ambassador role I've recently applied to. I am not looking to work part time as I do not want this to affect my studies during my third year. This is obviously not an excuse for my behaviour, however this is just a reason as to why I was using it.

The prospect of me having prosecution has recently severly destroyed my mental health, I have been crying endlessly and no one seems to be supporting me during this time. I did not honestly understand the severity of using someone elses pass, I assumed foolishly that it is better to pay something rather than nothing and barge through the gates endlessly, however it seems like if i decided to just barge through the gaes this would have been a better option as I would only end up with a £100 penalty fare notice. Having influence from many young adults around me too using their parents freedome pass etc also acts towards why I thought using my siblings to save costs on my travel a good idea. Obviously this is wrong and I already admit my offence.

I just want some advice about what to do next. I understand I'll receive a verification letter, where I explain the situation. I am also fighting to not proceed to court, and end up with a record, especially as they know I have committed multiple offences. Having this record will impact my job prospects after uni, as the role I'm applying too requires a standard level of security clearance and enhanced DBS checks, across the industry. This has really taken a toll on me, i seriously never understood the seriousness until now, and if i did before, I would've never gone through with this foolish act. I have seen people appoint solicitors, but with my difficulty, I cannot afford this. However I really do not want a record, and I was wondering if hiring a solicitor for the court case if worth it than hiring one for the writing the verification letter.

I understand from section 8 of TFL's prosecution policy's they can issue a warning, if I show remorse, mitigating cirumstances and the evidence of me having a low risk of offending. If I write about all of this, what are my realistic chances? I was planning to confirm my student status, if that even means anything to them I was also planning to mention how I've taken initiative and used contactless since then, by showing proof and how I've researched my options for legal discounted travel and decided to purchase a weekly/monthly travelcard (haven't done this yet, waiting for start of novemeber so I get a full months worth).

I understand that they can assign me to court under SJP, but as I have committed multiple offences, I am worried this won't be the case, and my verification letter will be utterly useless. I just do not want a stupid decision of mine to affect my career upon graduation, as the distress I am in is already punishment enough, and I hope TFL don't want to permanently ruin lives, although yes it may be 'spent' after a year, my prospects in this industry will be gone. My parents are also ashamed and would forever resent me for obtaining a record for absolutely no reason and I do not want to give them current stress through their own financial difficulties. I just need honest advice please and reassurance

If you are finding this very stressful and difficult the your idea of contacting your uni mental health services is a good one even if that didn’t impact on what TfL would do.

You may also be able to get help from student union or uni advice service ref any action TfL might take against you. Eg they may give advice or have access to cheap or free legal help perhaps. Maybe also the hardship fund if costs of living for you are behind the cause of your decision to evade the fares to start with.

 

[Hadders]

@AlterEgo gives some excellent advice. Recent cases involving TfL do suggest that using a solicitor has a better chance of keeping the matter out of court. However, solicitors specialising in rail fare evasion are not cheap (there won't be much change out of £1,000) and there is no guarantee of success. You will have to pay their fee regardless of success.

 

[WesternLancer]

I guess important to weigh up in the great scheme of things this is not the most serious offence out there.

That might be a factor to consider when thinking about paying for solicitor fees.

The charity unlock might be a useful source to look over.

 

[jollybee]

If you are finding this very stressful and difficult the your idea of contacting your uni mental health services is a good one even if that didn’t impact on what TfL would do.

You may also be able to get help from student union or uni advice service ref any action TfL might take against you. Eg they may give advice or have access to cheap or free legal help perhaps. Maybe also the hardship fund if costs of living for you are behind the cause of your decision to evade the fares to start with.

Thank you. I will try this although I’m not sure how long it’ll take to achieve help as the admin is quite bad. And I’d need the help before any prosecution is confirmed

@AlterEgo gives some excellent advice. Recent cases involving TfL do suggest that using a solicitor has a better chance of keeping the matter out of court. However, solicitors specialising in rail fare evasion are not cheap (there won't be much change out of £1,000) and there is no guarantee of success. You will have to pay their fee regardless of success.

I have seen that using a solicitor is a good choice, however I am trying to think about costs. If hiring one costs £££ amounts and if I need to pay any court fines, I would not have any money to do so otherwise hiring a solicitor. Also with my circumstances, I doubt they can honestly do much and I’m worried it may put me at a higher financial burden.

I guess important to weigh up in the great scheme of things this is not the most serious offence out there.

That might be a factor to consider when thinking about paying for solicitor fees.

The charity unlock might be a useful source to look over.

For a minor offence such as this, how would it honestly impact my standard and enhanced DBS, as well as standard levels of security clearances to developed vettings etc. I keep seeing a mix of replies on every forum, so I honestly do not know what to believe. Considering the nature of the job I will be pursuing upon graduation and if prosecution happens, which will be recent, this can affect my clearances.

 

[jollybee]

Once I have received the verification letter I will attach and draft my first response and I hope you can all advise me.

 

[MotCO]

Whether you are taken to court, or have to pay a settlement fee and cost of tickets avoided, one thing you can start to do now is saving, or finding ways of raising money. If you are lucky enough to escape with just an out of Court settlement, you will have to pay it immediately; payment by instalments is not usually an option. You may find advice or help at your Students Office at Uni.

 

[AlterEgo]

Whether you are taken to court, or have to pay a settlement fee and cost of tickets avoided, one thing you can start to do now is saving, or finding ways of raising money. If you are lucky enough to escape with just an out of Court settlement, you will have to pay it immediately; payment by instalments is not usually an option. You may find advice or help at your Students Office at Uni.

The OP is dealing with TfL. There will be no out of court settlement.

The resolution is binary as per their own policy: A warning letter (rare), or prosecution in the Magistrates' Court (common, the default).

 

[30907]

On the subject of your future career:

1. TfL typically prosecute under their Byelaws for the (relatively minor) offence of not having a valid ticket. This is straightforward for them and they evidently consider it enough of a deterrent.

2. A conviction may show on an Enhanced DBS but a future employer needs to hear about it from you directly. Whether it will affect your prospects will depend on their policy about minor convictions.

 

[jollybee]

I have been looking more into the prosecution, and from my understanding as I've admitted I've used it before with intent to avoid fares, they will probably not prosecute under their by laws and instead their regulation act. This has severely caused detrimental impact to me, as I've been constantly researching how this can affect me and I am honestly not doing well.

I have filled in a form to speak to the uni but I don't how long they will take with circumstances of mental health. I am also planning to go and seek an emergency appointment with my GP as I am genuinely not doing well; the thought of a prosecution impacting my career this bad has made me stop eating, and focusing and having endless thoughts that are distracting me from my studies. I am hoping these services can calm me down, and I hope I can obtain a letter from my GP to show how badly I am doing right now, and that prosecution can lead to so much more harm to me.

If i manage to obtain a note, will this affect the outcome? I am trying my best to avoid prosecution, I wish i understood the seriousness before, and I please do not want anyone else on here telling me this is what I get for fare evading. I understand, I just want advice and reassurance and honesty right now, especially as I am seriously not doing well.

 

[Hadders]

TfL normally prosecute this sort of thing under the TfL Bylaws. I don't think I've seen a case on here of them using the RoRA.

 

[WesternLancer]

I have been looking more into the prosecution, and from my understanding as I've admitted I've used it before with intent to avoid fares, they will probably not prosecute under their by laws and instead their regulation act. This has severely caused detrimental impact to me, as I've been constantly researching how this can affect me and I am honestly not doing well.

I have filled in a form to speak to the uni but I don't how long they will take with circumstances of mental health. I am also planning to go and seek an emergency appointment with my GP as I am genuinely not doing well; the thought of a prosecution impacting my career this bad has made me stop eating, and focusing and having endless thoughts that are distracting me from my studies. I am hoping these services can calm me down, and I hope I can obtain a letter from my GP to show how badly I am doing right now, and that prosecution can lead to so much more harm to me.

If i manage to obtain a note, will this affect the outcome? I am trying my best to avoid prosecution, I wish i understood the seriousness before, and I please do not want anyone else on here telling me this is what I get for fare evading. I understand, I just want advice and reassurance and honesty right now, especially as I am seriously not doing well.

Easy for me to say of course but in the great scheme of things this is a minor offence. TfL will prosecute large numbers of people for this sort of thing every week. Of course it’s not great but please be reassured this will not have a massive career limiting impact in my view.

You are doing the right thing to take this seriously, and a good idea to seek out the help and advice you are doing. But this won’t ruin your life.

People here will help you know what to expect and how you can best approach things.

 

[AlterEgo]

I have been looking more into the prosecution, and from my understanding as I've admitted I've used it before with intent to avoid fares, they will probably not prosecute under their by laws and instead their regulation act. This has severely caused detrimental impact to me, as I've been constantly researching how this can affect me and I am honestly not doing well.

I have filled in a form to speak to the uni but I don't how long they will take with circumstances of mental health. I am also planning to go and seek an emergency appointment with my GP as I am genuinely not doing well; the thought of a prosecution impacting my career this bad has made me stop eating, and focusing and having endless thoughts that are distracting me from my studies. I am hoping these services can calm me down, and I hope I can obtain a letter from my GP to show how badly I am doing right now, and that prosecution can lead to so much more harm to me.

If i manage to obtain a note, will this affect the outcome?

Unless it is a pre-existing condition you had before you committed the offences it won't be very effective mitigation for those offences. It is not unusual for people to feel stressed and anxious after being caught committing crime, though it is of course prudent for you to see your GP if you feel your health is at risk.

If you're serious about avoiding a prosecution you really need to instruct a solicitor; they can help present any mitigation you do have in the best light.

TfL do not prosecute under the Regulation of Railways Act. They use their own Bylaws. By way of context they usually prosecute 10,000 to 20,000 people every year, so this is not an unusual situation and a Bylaw conviction is very minor in the scheme of things.

 

[styles]

On the career prospects front, while it's not a good look, a lot of employers may merely ask for an explanation and providing you're honest and show remorse/contrition, look beyond it. 1 in 4 working age adults in the UK have a criminal record, you're not the only one.

Regarding SC/DV/eDV, you're just going to have to be honest and hope for the best. This is a bit more of a tricky situation as vetting is about honesty, and openness to exploitation e.g. bribes. A combination of being in financial hardship and then committing a dishonest crime to get by, isn't a strong start, I'm sorry to say. We can't see into the future to see how your vetting officer will view this all, but the best thing you can do is being proactive and honest and remorseful. Even vetting officers recognise people make mistakes. In my interview I admitted to a crime which at the time was commonplace, and the vetting officer chuckled and said, "Who doesn't?" It mattered more that I was honest about it and this not open to blackmail.

 

[jollybee]

On the career prospects front, while it's not a good look, a lot of employers may merely ask for an explanation and providing you're honest and show remorse/contrition, look beyond it. 1 in 4 working age adults in the UK have a criminal record, you're not the only one.

Regarding SC/DV/eDV, you're just going to have to be honest and hope for the best. This is a bit more of a tricky situation as vetting is about honesty, and openness to exploitation e.g. bribes. A combination of being in financial hardship and then committing a dishonest crime to get by, isn't a strong start, I'm sorry to say. We can't see into the future to see how your vetting officer will view this all, but the best thing you can do is being proactive and honest and remorseful. Even vetting officers recognise people make mistakes. In my interview I admitted to a crime which at the time was commonplace, and the vetting officer chuckled and said, "Who doesn't?" It mattered more that I was honest about it and this not open to blackmail.

I understand it is a minor offence, however it would take a year to be 'spent' and before that, I would've already started my graduate job, hence for the SC and DBS, I would no longer be able to start the job I am hoping to do. This would set me back massively and cause serious issues to my mental wellbeing.
I understand after it is 'spent' it would be very minor, however for the industry im looking into (the defence industry) this would be detrimental, especially if recent, and I doubt they would maybe ask me for a mere explanation. I feel like my mind is all over the place.

 

[Egg Centric]

I understand it is a minor offence, however it would take a year to be 'spent' and before that, I would've already started my graduate job, hence for the SC and DBS, I would no longer be able to start the job I am hoping to do. This would set me back massively and cause serious issues to my mental wellbeing.
I understand after it is 'spent' it would be very minor, however for the industry im looking into (the defence industry) this would be detrimental, especially if recent, and I doubt they would maybe ask me for a mere explanation. I feel like my mind is all over the place.

They're more likely to be concerned by mental health issues than they are by your fare evasion. So long as you are up front I think it's highly unlikely it'll affect you.

A useful exercise is to put yourself in the mindset of a hiring manager considering a candidate. Under various circumstances, how much does a fare evasion conviction matter to you?

 

[styles]

I understand it is a minor offence, however it would take a year to be 'spent' and before that, I would've already started my graduate job, hence for the SC and DBS, I would no longer be able to start the job I am hoping to do.

On what basis do you say this though? I review 'adverse' Enhanced DBS' and Disclosure Scotland disclosures as part of one of my roles and somebody having a railway bylaw offence on their disclosure wouldn't be an automatic no to joining us. What it would be is a conversation with them to get an understanding of the circumstances of the event, and their attitude towards it now.

Having a conviction isn't an automatic bar to getting a job where there's an Enhanced DBS by any means.

It may be trickier for SC/DV because this offence was the result of dishonesty and financial pressure, which are big things in the vetting process. But I wouldn't go writing yourself off just yet. You don't actually have a conviction yet, and even then your best bet if you did get one would be to call your [prospective] employer and ask to speak to your vetting officer, and be up front and honest about it. The more you 'own' the mistake and are open about it, the better it's going to look.

This would set me back massively and cause serious issues to my mental wellbeing.
I understand after it is 'spent' it would be very minor, however for the industry im looking into (the defence industry) this would be detrimental, especially if recent, and I doubt they would maybe ask me for a mere explanation. I feel like my mind is all over the place.

You don't actually know this until you speak to your vetting officer, and that's assuming you actually get a conviction.

If it turns out to be incompatible with SC then really you'll just have to look at an alternative career or industry until the offence has 'aged' somewhat. The further back in the past, the less of a concern it'll be to vetting. There's millions of jobs, only a small fraction required SC/DV. If you're an engineer for example, work in rail or motor engineering for a couple of years then go back to try MOD again.

 

[AlterEgo]

They're more likely to be concerned by mental health issues than they are by your fare evasion. So long as you are up front I think it's highly unlikely it'll affect you.

A useful exercise is to put yourself in the mindset of a hiring manager considering a candidate. Under various circumstances, how much does a fare evasion conviction matter to you?

OP wishes to obtain a job which is subject to SC clearance.

A fare evasion conviction for deliberate misuse of someone else's pass following financial pressure is a serious matter in this context, as these employees will come into contact with Secret material and obtain knowledge which could, in the wrong hands, cause serious harm to the State. A vetting officer would be very wary of subjects both having been serially dishonest and those who have made the choice to commit crime following financial pressures. It should be noted the SC checks include delving into the subject's finances, relationships, and social media and forum posts. So they'll see everything anyway, and the OP will have to disclose everything that's been going on to a vetting officer anyway, whether they end up in court or not.

Regardless, the advice by @styles to speak to the employer and vetting officer is sound. The key here is disclosure, acceptance, and mental clarity. Panic, desperation, mental disarray and concealment are all ways to display vulnerability to pressure, and to end up not getting a security clearance.

 

[jollybee]

can anyone recommend a good solicitor, I’ve seen people mention reeds or manak, I want to know all my options, and who seems to be the best out here with the most chances of success.

Also would it be worth still spending all this money in my circumstances for a solicitor? I feel like I have not really much to say, and if I still get prosecuted I am wondering how I would pay out the fines after spending a high amount on a solicitor.

 

[WesternLancer]

can anyone recommend a good solicitor, I’ve seen people mention reeds or manak, I want to know all my options, and who seems to be the best out here with the most chances of success.

Also would it be worth still spending all this money in my circumstances for a solicitor? I feel like I have not really much to say, and if I still get prosecuted I am wondering how I would pay out the fines after spending a high amount on a solicitor.

Two solicitors firms that get mentioned on here regularly are

Manak

Makawana.

Also I think Gray Hooper Holt.

If you searched the forum for those names you’d find what people say about using them. But you need that in the context of a case with TfL to get a clear sense of how it relates to you.

You could obtain quotes if you want to try and work out if the value is acceptable to you. I don’t suppose they can gaurantee success.

Court fines can be paid in instalments. The fine is related to income if you fill in the correct court paperwork.

But I expect it’s the criminal record element of all this you are most keen to avoid.

 

[styles]

Also would it be worth still spending all this money in my circumstances for a solicitor? I feel like I have not really much to say, and if I still get prosecuted I am wondering how I would pay out the fines after spending a high amount on a solicitor.

Only you can really make this decision. Specialist solicitors in this area cost money, which by virtue of being a student, you don't have much of. They aren't guaranteed to succeed.

On the flip side, if they do succeed, you won't need to pay as much in penalties, and of course you get to keep a clean criminal record which will make getting work requiring a DBS or national security vetting job easier.

Just one aside to mention - for SC/eSC, a credit check will be taken, and if you take out say a credit card or overdraft to pay a grand to a solicitor, that might be probed, and they may ask to see bank statements or explain why you took out credit and spend it all straight away. For DV/eDV, a full financial assessment is part of the process anyway. So, there's a reasonable chance you might have to explain that you've paid a solicitor to try and defend something for you, which will then lead to questions about what they were trying to fend off, and you'll end up explaining the offence anyway. It's no guarantee though, and if the spend was a bit more in the past then it might not even be noticed, but I would be prepared to have to disclose the encounter with TfL and your zip card usage to a vetting officer even if you don't get a conviction. It'll be much less likely for SC than DV. As I said further up though, honesty will be the best policy, particularly for vetting as the whole process is basically about honesty.

 

[jollybee]

I was just wondering, is it okay to write my verification letter myself, and if I end up getting a letter saying I will be prosecuted in court, is it worth then to hire a solicitor to help me avoid it at all costs? How long do I have to seek legal advice if I get a notice of conviction?

 

[WesternLancer]

I was just wondering, is it okay to write my verification letter myself, and if I end up getting a letter saying I will be prosecuted in court, is it worth then to hire a solicitor to help me avoid it at all costs? How long do I have to seek legal advice if I get a notice of conviction?

I am not sure if this would work well, because if your own response doesn’t persuade them it seems to me that when the solicitor gets involved their option might then be to try and represent you in court on the day. I suspect that’s far more expensive fee to pay.

But I’m not an expert in this.

Others might have a better knowledge of if what you are thinking of would work.