Help Over £510 Rail Fine

[pedr]

Oh! Wonderful. The person on the phone today did not point that out and said they had found it.

They will probably interpret it as a request to make a statutory declaration in court (or, perhaps not technically correctly) as a request to reopen the case in the interests of justice. The actual declaration can then be made when the court schedules the hearing.

It is worth having as much evidence that attempts to pursue this were made diligently and consistently from the initial awareness of the problem, to explain the apparent delay between May and the email you have a record of having been sent.

 

[ademac]

T

They will probably interpret it as a request to make a statutory declaration in court (or, perhaps not technically correctly) as a request to reopen the case in the interests of justice. The actual declaration can then be made when the court schedules the hearing.

It is worth having as much evidence that attempts to pursue this were made diligently and consistently from the initial awareness of the problem, to explain the apparent delay between May and the email you have a record of having been sent.

Thanks We are currently checking over the timeline and printing anything that’s been sent in etc. plus proof of addresses and anything else we can think of

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello, I’m sorry I’ve not been more active here, my father has been very unwell.

We’ve been on the phone to the single justice dept at Leeds court today and we’ve had one lner letter emailed across that had been sent to an old address. We’ve not been given access to any other letters that will have been sent out unfortunately.

Long story short, they denied she had sent the last email within which was her statutory declaration. She pointed out it was sent in October and they miraculously said it had arrived just today while we were on the phone??! Obviously we had proof it was sent back in October so I really don’t know what is going on. We’ve been told in around a week she will receive a date for a new court hearing. So this afternoon my daughter has been printing off proof of ticket, railcard, the strike timetable for that day etc. I’m dubious we will hear anything let alone within a week but we live in hope. I’ll update if any of that happens. As nothing has been responded to so far I’m hesitant that anything will actually happen. Fingers crossed.

Thanking you all, once again for your time and patience with us!
Have a lovely Christmas

Thanks for this update @ademac - sorry to hear about your father - you will no doubt have had a lot on.

I can see you have had some useful posts and info from people.

It may be an idea if your daughter joined this forum so she could get the advice direct and act on it as she requires?

I fear that ringing or visit the court is just not cutting through to them for whatever reason (it may be that you don't get to speak to someone who really knows the answer to things, or it may be that they are doing something as per @pedr suggests in post #91 because that is the process they advised your daughter to use, but that is not actually the best process to use to move this on, so the discussion is to some degree at crossed purposes....)

I think the following actions would be what you should try to do - if at all possible this week before we get into Christmas week when the holiday period means that things will be even more difficult to progress.

1) I think you should almost certainly try and cut through that by your daughter following the advice set out by @Puffing Devil in post #75 - and copied below for your ease of reference. Doing this step by step as set out. I can see no reason not to do this even if your daughter thinks she has already submitted an SD (welcome corrections by pothers however)

2) can you upload an anonymised copy of the document from LNER that you have obtained from the court (it will help experienced people here interpret for you what LNER think your daughter did wrong I suspect)

3) Carry on with getting your timeline together as you say you are doing. Feel free to share a copy if you think it will result in helpful advice from people here

Post #75

here is one final option that cuts through the administrative "black hole" you are experiencing. It involves a small cost, but it removes the need for the court to schedule a hearing.

Currently, by handing in the forms at the front desk, the court has likely interpreted this as a request for a hearing to swear the oath. Because courts are backed up, this request is likely sitting in a queue.

You can bypass this queue by having your daughter swear the oath in front of a local solicitor instead. She then posts the completed, sworn legal document to the court, and they are legally obliged to process it.

Download the official "Statutory declaration of ignorance of proceedings" form from the government website here:

Statutory declaration of ignorance of proceedings​

Use this form to make a declaration of ignorance of proceedings

www.gov.uk

Complete the Form using Word & print it off (but DO NOT sign it yet)
She must fill in the case details. For the "Extension of time" section (since it is past the 21 days), she must provide a clear reason. I suggest using this wording:
"I was unaware of the proceedings until an Attachment of Earnings Order was applied to my salary in February 2025. Since then, I have attempted to engage with the court to rectify this. I have already submitted two Statutory Declaration forms to the court office requesting a hearing (on [Insert Date 1] and [Insert Date 2]). Still, I have received no response, no hearing date, and no correspondence. I am now submitting this sworn declaration via a solicitor to resolve the matter without further delay to the court."

Find a local high-street solicitor. Call them and ask if they can "witness a Statutory Declaration for a Magistrate's Court fine."

• There is a statutory fixed fee for this (often £5 cash), though some may charge a small appointment fee.
• She must sign the form in front of them. They will stamp and sign it. It is now a legal document.
• Ask them for a certified copy of the declaration for your records. Again, there will be a small fee for this.

Write a covering letter to go with the form. This ensures the court staff know exactly what to do with it:

Re: Case Number [Insert Case Number]

To the Court Manager,

Please find enclosed a sworn Statutory Declaration in relation to the above case.

As detailed in the declaration, I was unaware of these proceedings until enforcement action began. I have previously attempted to submit this declaration via the court front desk on two occasions, but have received no response.

A solicitor has now witnessed this document. As a validly sworn Statutory Declaration, I request that the court now accept this, declare the original proceedings void (under s.14 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980), and reset the case to the plea stage.

Please confirm receipt of this document and the cancellation of the enforcement action by return of post/email.


Send the SD and the letter to the court by signed for post. Do not just use standard post. You need the tracking proof that it was delivered and signed for. Or hand-deliver it and get a signature on a receipt from the front desk. Do not deliver without a receipt - make your own for them to sign.

Keep a copy of the letter and your copy of the declaration.

If you do this, the court has no "scheduling" decision to make. They have to process the document you have given them.