Fare evasion - 60+ Oyster card - TfL prosecuting

[loveaccstan]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago my brother was stopped at the beginning of his journey (immediately after going through the barriers) and was asked to display his Oyster card. Unfortunately, he used a TfL 60+ Oyster card that didn't belong to him. When asked about it he admitted that it didn't belong to him and that he shouldn't have been using it. A few days later they sent a verification letter asking for his side of the story which he replied to.

Today he received a letter saying:

You are required to appear on XXX before XXX Magistrates' Court to answer the following charge:
That you on XXX at Victoria you did enter a compulsory ticket area without having with you a valid ticket. Contrary to Bylaw 17(1) of the Transport for London Railway Byelaws Made under paragraph 26 of Schedule 11 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and confirmed under section 67 of the Transport Act 1962.

Further investigation into the usage of the pass identified a further 25 journeys that the passenger was suspected of making using the pass, avoiding fares of £175.00
An application will be made in court for a £375 contribution towards the costs of Transport for London.

The letter then gives the option of whether to plead guilty or not and also includes a breakdown of the further 25 journeys.

I have a few questions:
1. Would a solicitor be able to help him settle out of court? And what kind of solicitor should we look for? Any specific recommendations?
2. If he does plead guilty how serious of a conviction is it? Would the conviction be "spent" after a certain period of time? And would it affect job / visa applications?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dazzler17]

1. Probably not. TfL very rarely don’t prosecute. Normally it takes a lawyer to be taken on and even then chances of avoiding a conviction are slim and the lawyers are expensive.

2. Its not a super serious conviction and would only be found on deep dives into his background. If he does plead guilty it would only be something worth noting if he wanted to go into law or medicine or something similar (where character and integrity are questioned at application stage)

This forum is not allowed to speak about visas.

 

[Titfield]

The question of TfL Prosecutions and whether employing a solicitor is worthwhile is a much debated topic on this sub forum. Unfortunately we have only a very limited number of cases to go on (compared to the thousands of prosecutions each year) so any view would have to be seen in that light.

I would suggest that the OP uses the search facility in the top tight hand corner of the page to search for such threads.

A number of solicitors who specialise in this area are mentioned. Self evidently this is their line of work and they wish to promote their services. EDIT It does appear that they have succeeding in persuading TfL not to prosecute in some cases. I would suggest the OP considers the circumstances of those cases carefully.

The Op has to try and come to some conclusion as to the chances of success and its costs versus the true impact of being convicted. It is our view that most TfL convictions for fare evasion are immediately spent. As has been stated above a conviction has to be seen in the light of the impact on the individual and their career. If the individual has a regulated profession then perhaps they should investigate that careers regulators view of such a conviction. It seems to vary by career.

The OP should also read: TfL Prosecutions

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago my brother was stopped at the beginning of his journey (immediately after going through the barriers) and was asked to display his Oyster card. Unfortunately, he used a TfL 60+ Oyster card that didn't belong to him. When asked about it he admitted that it didn't belong to him and that he shouldn't have been using it. A few days later they sent a verification letter asking for his side of the story which he replied to.

Today he received a letter saying:

You are required to appear on XXX before XXX Magistrates' Court to answer the following charge:
That you on XXX at Victoria you did enter a compulsory ticket area without having with you a valid ticket. Contrary to Bylaw 17(1) of the Transport for London Railway Byelaws Made under paragraph 26 of Schedule 11 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and confirmed under section 67 of the Transport Act 1962.

Further investigation into the usage of the pass identified a further 25 journeys that the passenger was suspected of making using the pass, avoiding fares of £175.00
An application will be made in court for a £375 contribution towards the costs of Transport for London.

The letter then gives the option of whether to plead guilty or not and also includes a breakdown of the further 25 journeys.

I have a few questions:
1. Would a solicitor be able to help him settle out of court? And what kind of solicitor should we look for? Any specific recommendations?
2. If he does plead guilty how serious of a conviction is it? Would the conviction be "spent" after a certain period of time? And would it affect job / visa applications?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

How old is your brother - this may impact on how TfL might handle this - although so far they seem to be indicating they will prosecute so I am guessing he is over 18.

In addition to the sums they mention in the letter there will also be a court fine (this is the punishment for the crime) and a victim surcharge. Court paperwork to declare income can reduce these sums according to a formula. Also I believe there is a discount on the fine for an early guilty please which sounds like an option in the paperwork sent from the court / TfL

A solicitor can't change what has happened but may be able to help - you'd be looking at probably £600 in legal fees and they can't guarantee that it won't still g to court
There are several firms that get mentioned on here that specialise in this area of legal work - you could get quotes but bear in mind the good advice in post #3 from @Titfield

TfL do not appear to settle out of court but on occasion they do issue warnings and do not proceed to prosecution - they will decide the basis of this based on their policy as set out in the document linked in post 3 (the pdf policy document you can download)

Those firms I have noticed get mentioned are as below (I have no connection nor have ever used any of them):

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors | Kent & London | Manak Solicitors

Manak Solicitors: Skilled legal defence for fare evasion cases. Rely on our experienced team to protect your rights, challenge penalties, and guide you through the process.

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Makwanas
Fare Evasion Solicitors London | High Success Rate | TFL Solicitors

Facing prosecution for fare evasion? Our expert fare evasion solicitors in London fight to protect your record. With deep expertise in TFL solicitors' defence, we help you avoid fines, criminal convictions, and lasting consequences. Act now—secure expert legal representation today!

www.makwanas.co.uk

and Gray Hooper Holt

Gray Hooper Holt LLP Solicitors

Solicitors offering a wide range of legal services

www.grayhooperholt.co.uk

Personally I'd be weighing up the consequences of a conviction for this against future job application and career prospects, vs the costs of spending money on legal help etc - this charity gives information on this sort of thing ref declaring convictions and other things so may be worth looking at their website to help weigh this up
Unlock:

Unlock

For people with criminal records.

unlock.org.uk

I would assume that there are a great many people with convictions for fare evasion so i suspect on the range of offences this is considered at the lower end of crimes, though clearly it is always going to be better to not have a record for something than it is to have one.

You ask about Visas - was this in terms of asking about visa's to stay / live in the UK? (which needs advice given by a regulated immigration advisor so you should be able to find one if you need one) or visa applications to go to visit places like USA or Australia? I think ref the latter there have been threads on here where people have shared views and info so you may be able to find and read those.

 

[tatitiliti]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago my brother was stopped at the beginning of his journey (immediately after going through the barriers) and was asked to display his Oyster card. Unfortunately, he used a TfL 60+ Oyster card that didn't belong to him. When asked about it he admitted that it didn't belong to him and that he shouldn't have been using it. A few days later they sent a verification letter asking for his side of the story which he replied to.

Today he received a letter saying:

You are required to appear on XXX before XXX Magistrates' Court to answer the following charge:
That you on XXX at Victoria you did enter a compulsory ticket area without having with you a valid ticket. Contrary to Bylaw 17(1) of the Transport for London Railway Byelaws Made under paragraph 26 of Schedule 11 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and confirmed under section 67 of the Transport Act 1962.

Further investigation into the usage of the pass identified a further 25 journeys that the passenger was suspected of making using the pass, avoiding fares of £175.00
An application will be made in court for a £375 contribution towards the costs of Transport for London.

The letter then gives the option of whether to plead guilty or not and also includes a breakdown of the further 25 journeys.

I have a few questions:
1. Would a solicitor be able to help him settle out of court? And what kind of solicitor should we look for? Any specific recommendations?
2. If he does plead guilty how serious of a conviction is it? Would the conviction be "spent" after a certain period of time? And would it affect job / visa applications?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TfL will almost always prosecute for misuse of high-value passes - final warnings (exceptionally rare without expensive and repeated solicitor involvement and mitigating circumstances) are even rarer for repeated misuse on this scale.

Personally, I’d just turn up in court, plead guilty with as much humility as possible and pay the fine. Provided this is all you were doing, it’s not an incredibly serious conviction and will rarely show up.

 

[Hadders]

Personally, I’d just turn up in court, plead guilty with as much humility as possible and pay the fine. Provided this is all you were doing, it’s not an incredibly serious conviction and will rarely show up.

This sort of thing is normally dealt with through the Single Justice Procedure Notice system. If you plead guilty then you don't have to go to the court in person. You simply indicate that you're going to pead guilty on the form, give any mitigation and you'll be notified of the outcome and fine by post.

There is an option to plead guilty and request a personal hearing. A personal hearing cannot change the outcome, if you've pleaded guilty then you're guilty, but you do get the opportunity to give your mitigation in person.

 

[Haywain]

This sort of thing is normally dealt with through the Single Justice Procedure Notice system. If you plead guilty then you don't have to go to the court in person.

The "further 25 journeys" suggests that there will be additional offences to be taken into consideration which precludes use of SJP and does require attendance at court.

 

[tatitiliti]

This sort of thing is normally dealt with through the Single Justice Procedure Notice system. If you plead guilty then you don't have to go to the court in person. You simply indicate that you're going to pead guilty on the form, give any mitigation and you'll be notified of the outcome and fine by post.

There is an option to plead guilty and request a personal hearing. A personal hearing cannot change the outcome, if you've pleaded guilty then you're guilty, but you do get the opportunity to give your mitigation in court.

Given the number of journeys, I doubt OP will get away with an SJP.