Help with Northern rail possible prosecution

[cosmo040180]

Hi From the beginning I know I was wrong but ..

I got in a Northern Rail train from Wavertree Technology park going to lime street.

when I got to liverpool Lime street I bought a single ticket from Edge hill from the staff on the barrier (one stop closer)

I was then stopped by a revenue protection officer as I left the barrier and advised I couldnt have got on the train at Edge hill as there were revenue officers there!

fisrty shouldnt the guy selling me the ticket of confronted me about this? preventing the need for the RPOs on the exit?

also the chap completed a form with me and asked why I had done it .. to wich I advised to simply save me money .. surely he should have advised me of my rights if they were completing this document for evidence??

I have not received another form asking for me to complete some details

whats the best cause of action for me to take to try keep this out of the court and as cheap as possible for me?
Many thanks

John

 

[Rich McLean]

Northerns prosecution team are normally very busy, so it could take a few months for the letter to come through.

When you get the letter, it should ask you to write down your version of events. Ensure that you tell them the truth, and explain that you are sorry and won't do it again.

Normally for first time offences, they will settle for an £80 fixed penalty notice, but this is not always a given.

Think yourself lucky this didn't happen on FGW, as for cases such as this, they are not accepting out of court settlements and going straight to court action.

Best thing you can do is sit tight, wait for the letter, and then come back at that point. There are plenty of people on here who may be willing to help

 

[bb21]

fisrty shouldnt the guy selling me the ticket of confronted me about this? preventing the need for the RPOs on the exit?

Because now they can prove you purchased a short ticket, hence can proceed with prosecution for a Regulation of Railways Act prosecution as intention to avoid paying the fare can now be proven, and particularly so now that you have admitted to it.

also the chap completed a form with me and asked why I had done it .. to wich I advised to simply save me money .. surely he should have advised me of my rights if they were completing this document for evidence??

What rights do you want to be informed of?

If he was completing an MG11 witness statement then you would have been cautioned. If he was simply completing a Travel Irregularity Report for further investigation then there is no need to caution you or read you any rights. You are required by law to provide your name and address.

I have not received another form asking for me to complete some details

They should arrive by post in due course. Of course if Northern felt that they had a good chance for a successful prosecution and had sufficient evidence then they could proceed straight to court.

whats the best cause of action for me to take to try keep this out of the court and as cheap as possible for me?
Many thanks

For a first offence, an out-of-court settlement is a good possibility. £80 is what Northern normally ask for. For subsequent offences, you would be looking at something more serious and probably a court appearance.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Administrative error.

Thread reopened.

 

[Emanresu_01]

Would this help?

http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/Protection_Enforcement_&_Prosecutions_Policy.pdf

 

[Chapeltom]

Would this help?

http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/Protection_Enforcement_&_Prosecutions_Policy.pdf

I think the advice given above is more relevant and useful if I'm quite honest.

 

[RPI]

Think yourself lucky this didn't happen on FGW, as for cases such as this, they are not accepting out of court settlements and going straight to court action.

And where did you get this from? FGW offer half cost's + fare avaided for first time offence.

 

[Deerfold]

And where did you get this from? FGW offer half cost's + fare avaided for first time offence.

Half what costs?

 

[Tibbs]

Half what costs?

Whatever they decide. It's not like they're ever going to give anyone a breakdown of the real costs.

If I were them I'd have a big Price is Right style wheel and give it a whirl whenever a letter neds to go out. Or a dartboard with amounts on it. That's likely to be just as robust as whatever method they're using right now.

Nice little earner, eh!

 

[jon0844]

You know people say that people who post on a forum are only a tiny percentage of people as a whole?

Well given the number of people who are on here saying they got caught the one and only time they tried to avoid paying the right fare by lying about where they travelled to, if you worked on the basis that this is just a small number of people who would bother to post, imagine how many people must be doing this every day?

Personally, for this offence, I'd never go for the out of court settlement but we all know it can be more cost effective for the TOC.