Explanation letter addressed wrong by DRPU

[berniesandra41]

My daughter is called Jordan and was travelling on a train with no ticket as the station ticket office was closed at the start of her journey. She was spoken to by an inspector and a letter has arrived at our home from the Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit.
However, the letter is addressed to Mr Jordan Monksfield and not MISS. The letter heading starts off by saying Dear Mr Monksfield which is why I opened it. I rang the DRPU and they said it must have been an administration error.
My point here is is the letter and subsequent fine enforceable if they can't even get the name and sex correct of the person they are writing to?

 

[yorkie]

Did she attempt to pay the fare at the first practicable opportunity?

 

[najaB]

My point here is is the letter and subsequent fine enforceable if they can't even get the name and sex correct of the person they are writing to?

Yes, it is. Basic administrative errors don't change the key facts of the matter. I'm pretty sure the RPI's report will have correctly recorded your daughter's gender.

 

[6Gman]

My daughter is called Jordan and was travelling on a train with no ticket as the station ticket office was closed at the start of her journey. She was spoken to by an inspector and a letter has arrived at our home from the Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit.
However, the letter is addressed to Mr Jordan Monksfield and not MISS. The letter heading starts off by saying Dear Mr Monksfield which is why I opened it. I rang the DRPU and they said it must have been an administration error.
My point here is is the letter and subsequent fine enforceable if they can't even get the name and sex correct of the person they are writing to?

If the station ticket office was closed - and she had no other opportunity to pay - then she will not need to look for technical errors to clear her name.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

. . . . is the letter and subsequent fine enforceable . . .

As najaB has already said, the answer is 'yes'.
Many offenders are successfully prosecuted every week for travelling by rail without a ticket. The facts which you appear to have declared on here already confirm that a criminal offence has been committed, and they also appear to confirm that the offender has been identified.

. . . . if they can't even get the name and sex correct of the person they are writing to?

Perhaps you are wondering if a person who commits an offence can escape the due punishment by seeking to exploit a defect in the Prosecution's evidence. If so, then the answer to that is also 'yes'. Again, there are regular incidences of Criminal suspects being aquitted where there are defects in the Prosecution's evidence.

But if you are asking for advice on how to avoid the due consequences of admitted ticketless travel, then I have to say that I will not offer you any more advice. There are law firms who will, specialising in Criminal Defence work.These are the firms who will also be helping the thiefs, drunk drivers, rapists and drug dealers in your community to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Having made that distinction, I have to leave you now, to decide how you want to go forward.

 

[sheff1]

The facts which you appear to have declared on here already confirm that a criminal offence has been committed,

Where is that confirmation ?

The OP said

My daughter is called Jordan and was travelling on a train with no ticket as the station ticket office was closed at the start of her journey.

Without more information as to what journey was being made and what, if any, other facilities to pay were available before, during or at the end of the journey how can anyone reading the thread know whether a criminal offence has been committed ? The fact that she was spoken to by an inspector proves nothing either way.

 

[rmt4ever]

As najaB has already said, the answer is 'yes'.
Many offenders are successfully prosecuted every week for travelling by rail without a ticket. The facts which you appear to have declared on here already confirm that a criminal offence has been committed, and they also appear to confirm that the offender has been identified.Perhaps you are wondering if a person who commits an offence can escape the due punishment by seeking to exploit a defect in the Prosecution's evidence. If so, then the answer to that is also 'yes'. Again, there are regular incidences of Criminal suspects being aquitted where there are defects in the Prosecution's evidence.

But if you are asking for advice on how to avoid the due consequences of admitted ticketless travel, then I have to say that I will not offer you any more advice. There are law firms who will, specialising in Criminal Defence work.These are the firms who will also be helping the thiefs, drunk drivers, rapists and drug dealers in your community to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Having made that distinction, I have to leave you now, to decide how you want to go forward.

Bit harsh. The booking office was closed!

 

[AlterEgo]

We don't know what, if any, payment opportunities the OP's daughter might have passed, so it is very difficult to offer advice. OP - which station was this, what was the journey, where was she stopped, and was there a ticket machine?

 

[lvlarky_130y]

As najaB has already said, the answer is 'yes'.
But if you are asking for advice on how to avoid the due consequences of admitted ticketless travel, then I have to say that I will not offer you any more advice. There are law firms who will, specialising in Criminal Defence work.These are the firms who will also be helping the thiefs, drunk drivers, rapists and drug dealers in your community to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Not very helpful to the OP at all and quite wrong to jump to conclusions.

What train line and what station?
Was there a TVM the OP's daughter missed?
Was the TVM out of service?
If there was a TVM, did it accept cash and cards?

So many other factors to consider. Also, why the need to mention thiefs, drug dealers, rapists etc etc?

Way out of line, unless I'm missing the relevance of the letter being from the "Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit"?

 

[cjmillsnun]

The only fact you have to be sure of is. Was there an opportunity for her to pay using her chosen payment method before boarding.

You're arguing the ticket office was closed. What time was she travelling? When did she arrive at the station? The questions lvlarky_130y has asked are also pertinent.

Make sure she is 100% telling the truth and if there was a working machine at the origin station then get her to own up, apologise and ask for an administrative settlement. It is not unknown for someone to bend the truth to their parents to make it seem like they are not in the wrong.

If she is 100% right and there were no available machines or ticket office (doesn't sound right to me as stations with ticket offices invariably have machines) then this needs to be sent with a full statement of the facts alone to the prosecutions department as there will have been no offence committed and the fare alone is due. A cheque should be enclosed for this.

 

[sheff1]

If she is 100% right and there were no available machines or ticket office (doesn't sound right to me as stations with ticket offices invariably have machines)

That is not the case.

 

[falcon]

My daughter is called Jordan and was travelling on a train with no ticket as the station ticket office was closed at the start of her journey. She was spoken to by an inspector and a letter has arrived at our home from the Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit.
However, the letter is addressed to Mr Jordan Monksfield and not MISS. The letter heading starts off by saying Dear Mr Monksfield which is why I opened it. I rang the DRPU and they said it must have been an administration error.
My point here is is the letter and subsequent fine enforceable if they can't even get the name and sex correct of the person they are writing to?

Now you have rung the DRPU more so than if you had not.

 

[Deerfold]

If she is 100% right and there were no available machines or ticket office (doesn't sound right to me as stations with ticket offices invariably have machines)

Two of my local stations have ticket offices. They also have ticket machines. Which are locked in the same building as the ticket office when it's shut.

 

[island]

To the more substantive point then, why was Ms. Monksfield spoken to by a revenue inspector? From time to time we get stories on this forum where a passenger who had a legitimate reason not to buy a ticket on commencement of their journey later committed an Offence by attempting at their destination to buy a fare which is lower than the correct fare for their journey.

Did that occur?

 

[DaleCooper]

I think a post from two days ago has prompted the OP to go elsewhere for advice. It's a shame as this forum could probably have helped him.