Caught with an altered ticket

[mikeg]

It reads as if they are quoting railway byelaws 18 and 20 in which case you are very lucky as you shouldn't get a criminal record upon conviction. This would have been a straightforward rora or possibly even fraud case had they decided to go down that route. It is however still preferable to settle out of court but I wouldn't personally instruct a solicitor on this one.

 

[Fare-Cop]

It reads as if they are quoting railway byelaws 18 and 20 in which case you are very lucky as you shouldn't get a criminal record upon conviction. This would have been a straightforward rora or possibly even fraud case had they decided to go down that route. It is however still preferable to settle out of court but I wouldn't personally instruct a solicitor on this one.

I haven't seen any indication in the OP's posts that the TOC is only considering a Byelaw prosecution.

The OP has indicate beliefs from own research that a Byelaw or an intent charge could be laid.

It will help to know which TOC is involved as some have a greater propensity toward prosecution than others.

Altering a ticket with intent to deceive someone into accepting it as genuine so as not to pay the fare due, will normally be charged under Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act (1889)

So far as writing a letter is concerned, any reasonably articulate person should be able to construct a perfectly effective letter appealing for clemency for themselves. Stick to the known facts, do not attempt to apportion blame elsewhere, be honest and contrite and offer an apology to the company & staff concerned

Offer to pay the outstanding fares and the reasonably incurred administration costs that your actions have cost the rail company in dealing with the matter. As a way of compensating the company and avoiding Court action

They do not have to say 'yes' to your offer, but if you have not been spoken to before about a ticketing issue, there is a reasonable chance that they may agree.

If not, and if this results in a Summons, then a good criminal defence Solicitor should be engaged and should prove invaluable.

 

[coxxy]

You are right the company will only see a certain % of the court outcome but they would see another % in terms of conviction for fraudulent travel. They pretty much have you over a barrel and whatever you say you need to be very careful not to incriminate yourself any further.

I know you said you had spoke to a law firm but speak to another.. and then another to try and get some help with this one.

 

[Fare-Cop]

Whether or not the OP made the alteration there is still the offence of using the altered ticket for travel.

Most TOCs have a policy of prosecuting deliberate fare evasion and this is very much adhered to in cases of fraudulent activity such as altering tickets to make them appear valid when they are not, or making fake tickets etc.

I think it most important to give a realistic summary of what might happen

In my honest opinion the best the OP can hope for is that the TOC prosecution manager is one who will permit a settlement if there is no past history of any other ticketing offence. They may take into consideration some other factors, which I'm not going to elaborate on here, but make no mistake, this is likely to go to prosecution of the offence of:

'Having not previously paid the fare due did attempt to use an altered rail ticket with intent to avoid payment of the correct fare contrary to Section 5(3)(a) of the Regulation of Railways Act (1899).'

If convicted for a first time offence this carries a maximum penalty of a Fine of up to £1000.

On conviction the Magistrates will impose a fine from that guideline figure and commensurate with their interpretation of any aggravating features that the prosecutor may draw to their attention.

The TOC prosecutor will ask the Court to award their costs incurred in pursuing the case and to award the compensation of loss of fare for the journey made by the OP. The total of this might be a few hundred pounds in addition to the fine.

If convicted and fined, the OP will also be ordered to pay the Courts 'Victim Surcharge', which amounts to a further 10% of the fine imposed.

All of the fine and victim surcharge goes to Courts central funds, the TOC only receive any prosecution costs awarded and compensation of the unpaid fare,

How high the fine and costs might be will depend on how the OP pleads. If the OP pleads 'Guilty' immediately they receive the Summons then the fine and costs will be at the lower end of the scale as the Magistrates will take into account an early plea, but if the OP enters a 'Not Guilty' plea, a full trial becomes necessary. If convicted at trial the fine and costs imposed will be considerably higher.

If the OP receives a Summons and intends to plead not guilty the help of a good Solicitor who specialises in criminal law will be costly, but advantageous.

Conviction for this offence also results in a 'criminal record', an entry on DBS

If I were the OP I would prepare for this eventuality, but it wouldn't stop me from attempting to elicit an alternative disposal by being very apologetic and asking if the TOC will allow payment of all costs & compensation immediately in order to settle the matter without Court action.

One or two TOC prosecution departments are more likely to accept this than others.

 

[snowghty]

Thanks for the guidance on this one. I will send them the letter apologizing and asking them if I can settle this matter out of court by paying them straight away a fine, the cost of loss of the ticket for the journey and any admin costs.

To answer, the TOC is Abelio Greater Anglia. Getting to know their "Prosecution Policy" they state this:

"Greater Anglia recognises that any court conviction is serious and may possibly be life changing, therefore the decision to prosecute will only be made after careful examination of all the evidence and mitigation. Such a decision will be made subject to the satisfaction of the following criteria."

And also in their policy says this:
"We may send a warning letter in lieu of a prosecution when the following conditions are met.
- Admittance of the ticket irregularity or Byelaw offence.
- Exceptional mitigation or information is provided so that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute.
- The offender being of previous good character has provided sufficient explanation to the fact that no subsequent offence will be perpetrated."

So I think is best to simply apologize, explain to them that this has never happened to me before and I have always paid for train journeys (prove comes with my record) and writing a convincing reassurance that this would not happen again.

On another note, do you think I was stupid to give them my UK details? Would it have made a difference if I have simply shown to the train inspector my foreign passport and say that I was visiting and unaware of how this ticketing works?

 

[najaB]

So I think is best to simply apologize, explain to them that this has never happened to me before and I have always paid for train journeys (prove comes with my record) and writing a convincing reassurance that this would not happen again.

Indeed it is.

On another note, do you think I was stupid to give them my UK details? Would it have made a difference if I have simply shown to the train inspector my foreign passport and say that I was visiting and unaware of how this ticketing works?

Personally I think it would have been stupid to lie.

 

[cjmillsnun]

So following up my thread from a few months ago http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135919

Now before you comment, I would ask you to retain from judging or being hateful about what has happened. We all make mistakes.

I've got the letter from the train company asking me to write them if I consider that there are further mitigating factors that may influence any decision that may be made whether legal proceedings are appropriate or not.

I was wondering if anyone can guide me what to write in the letter?

I am thinking to add the following:
- an apology,

- an explanation that on the day of my travel I was feeling stressed and under pressure and unable to think straight

As najaB says, Don't put too much on this.

- informing them that I am aware that I am in breach of certain laws
- offering them that I would pay a fine and any admin fees that this incident has caused (based on my research should be around £500)

Good but don't call it a fine. You're offering to pay the fare due and any fees caused.

- having no previous record for such thing, I am reassuring them that It would never happen again

great

- kindly asking them to settle the matter outside of court as it would affect my employment, future career opportunities and upcoming business plans that require VISAS and travel authorizations.

don't bother with this. They honestly don't care, they just care about getting the money due.

I would word the letter similar to the following.

Dear Sirs,

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere apologies for my actions on (date of offence).

This is out of character to me as I was under particular stress that day.

I now realise that not paying the correct fare is unlawful and therefore my actions were wrong and would like to reassure you that I have learned my lesson and this will not happen again.

I would like to offer to deal with the matter by means of an administrative settlement of the full fare due plus the costs involved in you investigating this matter.

Once again, my profound apologies for my actions on that day.

Yours faithfully

snowghty

I would also not bother with the solicitors unless it goes to court. £500 minimum on top of any settlement to make the matter go away is a rip off when you can put a similar letter together yourself for the price of some paper, a pen, an envelope and a stamp.

 

[najaB]

...don't bother with this. They honestly don't care, they just care about getting the money due.

I would include it, but just as support for why you aren't going to do it again, rather than as a reason that they shouldn't prosecute. So add it to the last line of your proposed letter:

Once again, my profound apologies for my actions on that day which, having had a chance to reflect, I now appreciate affects not only yourself and other passengers but also has the potential to have a significant impact on my future."

£500 minimum on top of any settlement to make the matter go away is a rip off when you can put a similar letter together yourself for the price of some paper, a pen, an envelope and a stamp.

We're in agreement on that, but to some people it might be money well spent.

 

[snowghty]

As najaB says, Don't put too much on this.
Good but don't call it a fine. You're offering to pay the fare due and any fees caused.
great
don't bother with this. They honestly don't care, they just care about getting the money due.

I would word the letter similar to the following.



I would also not bother with the solicitors unless it goes to court. £500 minimum on top of any settlement to make the matter go away is a rip off when you can put a similar letter together yourself for the price of some paper, a pen, an envelope and a stamp.

Thanks for the guidance!

 

[Pinza-C55]

Thanks for the guidance on this one. I will send them the letter apologizing and asking them if I can settle this matter out of court by paying them straight away a fine, the cost of loss of the ticket for the journey and any admin costs
On another note, do you think I was stupid to give them my UK details? Would it have made a difference if I have simply shown to the train inspector my foreign passport and say that I was visiting and unaware of how this ticketing works?

Wow.

Did you ever consider that somebody from the TOC may be reading this and put two and two together ?

 

[snowghty]

Wow.

Did you ever consider that somebody from the TOC may be reading this and put two and two together ?

Well I was just asking not to regret my decision of taking the high road and make it up for what I have caused. So even if they are reading this I think it should have more of a positive impact as I am asking an experienced community in what way I should apologize to them.

As if I have done it I could have simply pretending not to understand english and that I am on my way to my flight home, in that case they would have made me pay a penalty fare straight away and for me to be on my way but since I am a person of a good character I did not do that, I decided to take responsibility for my actions and make it up to the company for their loss of fare.

 

[Clip]

As najaB says, Don't put too much on this.
Good but don't call it a fine. You're offering to pay the fare due and any fees caused.
great
don't bother with this. They honestly don't care, they just care about getting the money due.

I would word the letter similar to the following.



I would also not bother with the solicitors unless it goes to court. £500 minimum on top of any settlement to make the matter go away is a rip off when you can put a similar letter together yourself for the price of some paper, a pen, an envelope and a stamp.

No offence here but why enter that they were stressed in the letter? They physically altered a ticket and if you are stressed then that's not the course of action one would take and lying about it will surely only heighten the revenue departments radar into thinking this may be a regular occurrence

 

[Pinza-C55]

Well I was just asking not to regret my decision of taking the high road and make it up for what I have caused. So even if they are reading this I think it should have more of a positive impact as I am asking an experienced community in what way I should apologize to them.

As if I have done it I could have simply pretending not to understand english and that I am on my way to my flight home, in that case they would have made me pay a penalty fare straight away and for me to be on my way but since I am a person of a good character I did not do that, I decided to take responsibility for my actions and make it up to the company for their loss of fare.

I visited Italy in 1985 and got on an express to Rome. When tickets were checked I was told that my international free rail staff ticket was not valid as it was a premium service therefore I had to pay up. Ignorance of the law or the language was no defence, I should have checked.

 

[Master29]

I visited Italy in 1985 and got on an express to Rome. When tickets were checked I was told that my international free rail staff ticket was not valid as it was a premium service therefore I had to pay up. Ignorance of the law or the language was no defence, I should have checked.

Really. If only things were that simple.

 

[najaB]

Really. If only things were that simple.

I'm not sure I understand the point you're making, could you expand on it please?

 

[Firsttimer]

Would love to hear an update from the OP on this? Have you heard anything back from GA on this?

 

[snowghty]

Following up my issue, based on my letter I have sent them and the fact that I have not been involved in any offence such as this before, the TOC agreed to settle things out of court in exchange of a settlement that needs to be paid in their account for the unpaid fare plus the admin costs for handling the case.

Thanks to everyone who have been of help responding to this issue.

 

[gray1404]

What amount have they asked for?

 

[najaB]

Thanks to everyone who have been of help responding to this issue.

That's excellent news. I'm glad we were able to help.

 

[Clip]

What amount have they asked for?

For a forged ticket I wouldnt think it was best for this to be in the public realm due to people weighing up the consequences of getting caught against how many journeys they could make for free before they did.