Identity theft!!

[BrunetteOne]

Hello,

My partner received a letter on the 13th Dec 2016 saying he has been summoned to court on the 21st December 2016 regarding a train fare he didn't pay in June 2016. This is the first letter he has received as he no longer lives at the address the letter was sent to and we only received it on the 13th.

My partner was no where near the train station at the time and was, in fact, at my home address which, at the time, was in another town. Also, the signature given when this person signed the prosecution letter is not my partners and looks nothing like my partners.
I tried phoning up the prosecutions department when we received the letter (Friday just gone) but by the time we got the letter the phone line was closed. We also went to the local police station regarding this matter and they have told us that it isn't a police issue and have told us to contact Greater Anglia regarding this.

I have just requested an appeal for this online for him but because it is after 21 days since the incident happened will they just ignore this? There was no way we could have completed the appeal any sooner as we only found out about the prosecution on the 13th of this month.

We believe it was my partner's cousin doing this as he had done this many times before to my partner.

Please can someone advise us. Should he still go to court on the 21st even though he did not do anything? Will the appeal go through in time? I am going to phone Greater Anglia tomorrow but just wanted some advice now as I am very worried that he will go to prison.

Thanks in advance.

 

[najaB]

First thing first: he is *NOT* going to go to prison. Only a persistent fare evader is at any risk of that (and I don't know of any examples of it happening).

Second thing, remember that it's up to them to prove their case - if you are sure that there is no way it could have been him then that's case closed.

Since a summons has already been issued then you need to inform both Greater Anglia and the Court of the mistake - reply to the summons letter as well as contacting AGA's prosecution department.

Edit: If you aren't able to resolve this before the 21st then yes, you should both attend Court. Hopefully he will be able to speak with AGA's prosecutor on the day and get them to drop the case. If not, then you can testify that he was not where they claim he was.

 

[222007]

I had a case exactly like this. I had caught a person and went through the due process only for a few months later for me to get a summons to give evidence against the person i had caught as he was claiming identity fraud. As it turns out the person did not attend and was found guilty the one thing though he offered at a previous hearing some ID and the signature was identical to the one given to me. I would have had to be honest though had he showed up, after 6 months i could not hand on heart have said he was the person was who i had caught.

 

[cuccir]

Just posting to double up on NajaB's advice. Calling the prosecutions department should be your priority, but contact the court too.

Rail companies are pretty familiar with this sort of scenario, so they are unlikely to be too surprised by it.

The court duty solicitor should be able to advise you (for free) on the day if you're unable to get this resolved before then.

While your own testimony should in this instance be enough evidence to stop this, it would clearly help your case if you could get any other evidence (written and signed testimony of friends/employers, shop receipts, photographs, copies from documents with your partners actual signature) that would support your claim and have them to hand, just in case.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Never underestimate the lack of communication in the legal system. Contact the court and make sure that the matter is withdrawn or a Not Guilty plea is entered, to allow you time to persuade the prosecutions department of GA that your partner is not involved.

Any communication with the court should be backed up in writing and signed for or faxed.

 

[185]

"....the local police station regarding this matter and they have told us that it isn't a police issue and have told us to contact Greater Anglia...."

Surprises me that. Depending on how the train company are proceeding - if a (rora?) prosecution were to be made, I may be wrong, but I believe it should be a police issue if fraud/sbd is alleged.

 

[najaB]

Surprises me that. Depending on how the train company are proceeding - if a (rora?) prosecution were to be made, I may be wrong, but I believe it should be a police issue if fraud/sbd is alleged.

The impersonation may well be a police matter, but the summons is for a private prosecution.

 

[Agent_c]

Attend unless you hear otherwise after reaching GA (and even then be sure its dismissed with the court). If he was elsewhere and you can substantiate it then it should be straightforward to get the claim dismissed.

 

[BrunetteOne]

Just posting to double up on NajaB's advice. Calling the prosecutions department should be your priority, but contact the court too.

Rail companies are pretty familiar with this sort of scenario, so they are unlikely to be too surprised by it.

The court duty solicitor should be able to advise you (for free) on the day if you're unable to get this resolved before then.

While your own testimony should in this instance be enough evidence to stop this, it would clearly help your case if you could get any other evidence (written and signed testimony of friends/employers, shop receipts, photographs, copies from documents with your partners actual signature) that would support your claim and have them to hand, just in case.

Thank you for commenting you have all put our minds at ease. I contact the prosecutions department today and they kindly gave me the court number however it was closed today (for whatever reason) so the prosecutions team told us to try again tomorrow. We will be going to court and, if I have to, I will give evidence regarding this.
He has a signature on his bank card if this is any good? It's the only signature he has (doesn't have a driving license or any form of ID).

Also, when he phones the court tomorrow, can he give a 'Not Guilty' plea over the phone as by the time we got the letter it was too late to send back the 'Not Guilty' plea slip as they would never have got it in time?

Thank you everyone for all your comments.

 

[cuccir]

If your partner pleads not guilty on the 21st, then the case will be adjourned for trial which will be scheduled for some point in the future. So while it's useful to have the evidence to hand, don't expect to need it immediately. I would suggest, if he hasn't already, that your partner writes down in a clear timeline his movements on the day, for his own memory as much as anything else.

Yes, I'd have thought that a bank card would be good evidence of a signature.

I don't know if you can make a not guilty plea over the phone, but it may be worth attending on the 21st anyway as the prosecutor for Greater Anglia will be there and you or the Duty Solicitor may be able to speak to them there and then about dropping the case.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Thank you for commenting you have all put our minds at ease. I contact the prosecutions department today and they kindly gave me the court number however it was closed today (for whatever reason) so the prosecutions team told us to try again tomorrow. We will be going to court and, if I have to, I will give evidence regarding this.
He has a signature on his bank card if this is any good? It's the only signature he has (doesn't have a driving license or any form of ID).

Also, when he phones the court tomorrow, can he give a 'Not Guilty' plea over the phone as by the time we got the letter it was too late to send back the 'Not Guilty' plea slip as they would never have got it in time?

Thank you everyone for all your comments.

You say you are going to court tomorrow. As you've already spoken to Greater Anglia there's not much else that can be achieved before tomorrow, other than gathering the evidence that you have to show that your partner was not the person stopped.

When you get to court, sign in and then seek out and speak to the GA prosecutor. The court ushers will help with this.

You may be able to persuade them to drop the case then. If so, you can go into court to hear the case withdrawn and all will be over. No need for you to say anything in court.

Should GA wish to continue, your case will be called on. Your partner will be asked to identify himself to the court and enter a plea, which I am assuming will be Not Guilty.

The court will then set a date for a trial - probably 2-3 months away. There will be paperwork to complete and your defence will need to be disclosed - mistaken/false identity.

Please come back here for further advice - or to post an update if the matter is dropped - after the hearing.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Surprises me that. Depending on how the train company are proceeding - if a (rora?) prosecution were to be made, I may be wrong, but I believe it should be a police issue if fraud/sbd is alleged.

With some specified exceptions, any criminal offence may be prosecuted by any person (or company, agency or other body). Fraud is certainly an offence which can be prosecuted by its victim, and it is an offence which regularly is.

 

[34D]

So what happened in court on the 21st?