Fair Evasion on TFL/solicitors?

[xtsarahx]

I was stopped at Piccadilly for using my partner’s 60+ card. The inspector took my details and charged me with fare evasion. I had used the card that day, as well as on and off a few other times in the past, though not for all my journeys. I’m not sure if CCTV footage will be checked for this.


I have a few questions, and if anyone is able to reply, I would really appreciate it:

1. What is the success rate for an out-of-court resolution versus getting a warning or ending up with a criminal record? (Is that possible without a solicitor help. Simple apology)


2. I’ve checked with a few solicitors and legal services. They are expensive (£240 for an initial consultation and at least £800 for writing the letter), and I out of work at the moment, so that’s beyond my means. Are they worth it? Any tips on crafting the letter myself and avoiding obvious mistakes that might harm my case?

3. What happens if I don’t reply? What’s the worst-case scenario? It’s just a ticket, not a crime against humanity! At this point, I value my mental health above all, and this is consuming me. Is there any support out there?

Thanks in advance for your advice and support.

 

[Wethebest838]

1.) TFL don't do 'out of court settlements'. 98% of the time it's prosecution under bylaws. However, there is 2% that get a warning but it's very rare. We have seen one recently. I think that was a solicitor?
2.) It's never 100% if a solicitor will secure what you want. It's down to TFL at the end of the day. It's a 50-50 gamble.
3.) If you don't reply, you will be convicted and still pay a fine, victim subcharge etc. If you plead guilty, it does knock off some money. Do not ignore it.

 

[alholmes]

Just to add to what’s been said…

Using a solicitor might improve the likelihood of only receiving a warning, but it will still depend on individual circumstances, still has no guarantee of success, and will cost you £££s as you’ve already discovered.

With regards your PTSD, you’ll need to be able to provide evidence, and more importantly explain why having PTSD could be a legitimate reason for using your partners 60+ card on multiple occasions. That’s the difficult part. Is there a veterans organisation which can help you?

Most importantly, don’t ignore the letters. TfL deal with many cases like this daily and you would just go through the process and be found guilty in absence, resulting in criminal record, fines, costs etc. and a bailiff eventually knocking on your door.

 

[xtsarahx]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Really appreciate what this community offers.

So all this info takes me to the point that with or without a solicitor, there is a high possibility of court conviction and a £1000 fine.

Interesting how the system is designed to criminalize citizens. Police state indeed. I’ve lived in so many countries and the rules are to accommodate not to capitalize punishments. They would easily fine you but never criminalize you over a ticket.

I would consult with a solicitor, and based on that would write a letter. Come what may!

Thanks,

 

[Haywain]

They are expensive (£240 for an initial consultation and at least £800 for writing the letter),

That seems to be the going rate.

Are they worth it?

The only cases we've seen recently where a warning has been the outcome have involved solicitors being used. Whether that is worth the outlay can only be judged by those involved.

What’s the worst-case scenario?

You get prosecuted for a minor offence and get fined. A fine will be based on your income, and the total is likely to be less than the cost of employing a solicitor. You will be convicted of a criminal offence but it will be 'spent' after 12 months and is not going to be something which causes major problems in your life.

 

[SuspectUsual]

The only cases we've seen recently where a warning has been the outcome have involved solicitors being used. Whether that is worth the outlay can only be judged by those involved

Just to put a bit of context around this....as you'd expect for such a well-used operator, we see a lot of cases involving TfL but it will only be a small proportion of the total number of prosecutions they commence. In turn, only a tiny proportion (maybe 1% or 2%) of these result in a final warning, and we believe these are generally where solicitors are involved. But the number of cases is so small you can't draw any real inference about success rates from it - yes, using a solicitor seems to be more likely to result in a warning, but it absolutely isn't a guarantee.

Or to put it another way, using a solicitor doesn't make it easier to get a warning, but it might just make it a little bit less difficult

 

[AlterEgo]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Really appreciate what this community offers.

So all this info takes me to the point that with or without a solicitor, there is a high possibility of court conviction and a £1000 fine.

The fine is a maximum of £1000, but instead will be linked to your income. You’ll also need to pay a surcharge on this, and any fares avoided as compensation. TfL will prosecute you under the Bylaws, a less serious but strict liability matter meaning no intent need be proven. This is a better outcome than being prosecuted under some other offences such as the Regulation of Railways Act, which requires intent be proven. They do have evidence of that intent here, too - being caught with someone else’s Freedom Pass is really a slam dunk RORA case, but they use the Bylaws instead for expediency.

Interesting how the system is designed to criminalize citizens. Police state indeed.

Sorry but it isn’t a police state for a train company to ask people for their tickets, and, when someone is found to be quite flagrantly pilfering fares, to prosecute them. It’s plain dishonesty no different to stealing things out of a shop…on multiple occasions.

There are lots of questions being asked of train companies who are going after people who’ve made innocent mistakes (expired railcard, got on wrong train by accident), but with the misuse of free passes here TfL have you bang to rights. I’m afraid they take a very dim view of this as you’ve found, and rightly so to be fair.

 

[BazingaTribe]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Really appreciate what this community offers.

So all this info takes me to the point that with or without a solicitor, there is a high possibility of court conviction and a £1000 fine.

Interesting how the system is designed to criminalize citizens. Police state indeed. I’ve lived in so many countries and the rules are to accommodate not to capitalize punishments. They would easily fine you but never criminalize you over a ticket.

I would consult with a solicitor, and based on that would write a letter. Come what may!

Thanks,

First up, I'm truly sorry for your situation. Particularly with your experiences I'm sure things aren't going well and whatever you have or haven't done, a panic attack is nasty and leaves scars of its own. This isn't the end of the world but I bet it feels like it and I can definitely understand you feel cornered and rather angry at the situation you find yourself in.

Unfortunately, while TOCs do tend to go after people who make small mistakes over-enthusiastically at times, on TFL it's a bit different. You made the decision to use that pass to enter and exit gated stations. The passes are generally attached to a photocard. It is paid for by London borough taxpayers to enable your partner to travel at a reduced or free rate because concessions made to people over 60, and I'm not quite sure how that can be anything other than wilful wrongdoing.

To get a successful resolution here, you need to understand that you actually did commit a crime here and they are entitled to take it seriously. To get the best result you do need to admit you are in the wrong, that they have the right to follow this up, and make your strongest possible case in mitigation. That does mean admitting to yourself you did the wrong thing and being able to write a sincere letter of apology. What you write when you are in this stage of panic and denial may not be the best tactic.

Take care of yourself first. I imagine money is tight but find something to do that helps you relax and come out of the panic mode (ice cream helps me but whatever you need to refocus yourself). Sleep on it. Then approach it with a bit of a more sober headspace and see what you can get together on your own before spending money on a solicitor. The folks here will help and support you in that -- but the first and biggest step here is to admit that what you did was wrong and against the law, and understand that that's why TfL are acting so aggressively. Then you can start to rebuild and maybe even get a good result.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

1. What is the success rate for an out-of-court resolution versus getting a warning or ending up with a criminal record? (Is that possible without a solicitor help. Simple apology)

TfL take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and prosecution under the TfL Byelaws is the usual outcome. TfL do not offer out of court settlements, very occasionally they will give a final warning instead of prosecution but there has to be a compelling reason to do this.

I suggest reading TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 which lists the factors in favour of and against prosecution.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

2. I’ve checked with a few solicitors and legal services. They are expensive (£240 for an initial consultation and at least £800 for writing the letter), and I out of work at the moment, so that’s beyond my means. Are they worth it? Any tips on crafting the letter myself and avoiding obvious mistakes that might harm my case?

Solicitors do not come cheap and they cannot change what has happened. What they can sometimes do is present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. The downside is if you will have to pay the solicitor's fee even if they unsuccessful in persuading TfL not to prosecute.

If you do decide to deal with the issue yourself then I normally recommend writing a short, concise reply that mentions:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

3. What happens if I don’t reply? What’s the worst-case scenario? It’s just a ticket, not a crime against humanity! At this point, I value my mental health above all, and this is consuming me. Is there any support out there?

If you don't reply then TfL will prosecute you. Prosecutions are normallu done through what is called the Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

If you fail to engage with the court process then the case will proceed in your absence. You will be convicted and a fine imposed. Ultimately payment of the fine would be enforced via a deduction from benefits or through bailiffs.

To give some context, I have PTSD from working in war zones, and this incident has hit me hard. I had a panic attack and started crying uncontrollably when it happened. I cooperated fully, but I don’t know if the officer made a note of this. Would mentioning this in my response help or hurt my case?

I am very sorry to hear about your PTSD. Try not to worry to much about the situation, although I appreciate it is easier said than done.

There is nothing wrong in mentioning your PTSD in your reply to TfL but to have realistic chance of getting them not to prosecute you would need to show proof of your condition from a medical expert and show how your condition impaired your judgement when it came to using the Freedom Pass.

If you are prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction. A criminal conviction for a railway ticketing matter won't normally affect future career prospects but I would always advise being honest if you are asked if you have a conviction.

Thanks in advance for your advice and support.

You're very welcome. If you decide to deal with this yourself feel free to post a copy of TfL's letter in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you. Do redact any personal information before uploading.

 

[xtsarahx]

Thank you, everyone! I can’t express how much this means to me. I truly value your time and advice. The information shared here has been incredibly useful, and I hope it helps others in similar situations as well.

@Hadders , the points you mentioned are going to be my guideline. I haven’t decided yet whether to go with a solicitor, but I feel you’ve provided the key information I was hoping to get from a solicitor’s consultation. If I follow these steps and draft a letter, would you kindly review it for me?

That would help me feel confident that I’m on the right track. If I had the extra funds, I agree that hiring a solicitor would probably be the best route.

I also really appreciate the emotional support. Sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart, and then something like this happens to make it even harder. This just feels like another link in a tough chain of events. I’m trying to cope with a lot right now, and once I regain my balance, I’ll focus on writing the letter and asking for help to fine-tune it.

I’ll be back with a draft later. In the meantime, here’s the letter I received from TfL. It should be what everyone else receives, right?

 

[SuspectUsual]

The first image has the case number on it - you might want to delete it and repost with it redacted

 

[xtsarahx]

The first image has the case number on it - you might want to delete it and repost with it redacted

Thanks, I think I fixed it now.