Lost Metro Pass

[Roadkill]

Hello all!

I'm in a bit of a pickle so I thoaught I'd better ask for some advice. I'll try and keep this short.

I have just received a red letter from Northumbria with a £210 fine! It doesn't detail what it is for, so I'm hoping it's some kind of scam. The only thing I can think that it might be is an issue I had with a Metro fare over a year ago.

The situation was, I was travelling to uni to hand in an essay near the end of the year. All the ticket machines at monument were out of order (I'm not sure how I'd prove this though? Would that have it on file?) and I had misplaced my pass a week or so previously (Sunderland uni give out a free pass for anyone living in Newcastle) so I just hopped on and thought nothing of it.

It being the end of the year and me being a thoughtless person I completely forgot about it. I did get one letter saying that I can appeal, so I called them and told them about my pass, yet they said they could do nothing and didn't have records of those who own passes?! I still had deadlines so I just got on with it and moved back to my hometown about a week later. I assumed it was no big deal, but if this letter is genuine I'm really in trouble being that I'm literally penniless.

I'd really appreciate some advice to minimise the damage my carelessness has caused!

 

[Class377]

Burying your head in the sand rarely works. If it did nobody would pay penalty fares and the whole system would fall apart.

Given the letter is from Northumbria and it mentions a fine, I would assume that they added admin fees due to non-payment and then chased it through the courts. I'm not sure if the Tyne & Wear Metro operate on the Railway bylaws or have their own ones (or whether they even chased it as a debt) but it does seem strange that you received no other correspondence (such as a summons).

One option, if it has gone through the courts, potentially could be a statutory declaration, which resets the clock, so to speak, and allow you to deal with the case properly (and potentially give you time to offer an out of court settlement). However, for this you have to genuinely be unaware of any potential for prosecution, and I don't know whether the letter regarding the penalty fare would count, as it may have mentioned on it that it could lead to prosecution. Before making this, you have to think long and hard, because making one falsely could lead to a conviction for Contempt of Court.

 

[swt_passenger]

But who is 'Northumbria' in this context? It isn't the name of any transport organisation, so it'll be the magistrates court, so sounds like you've ignored a summons at some stage?

 

[Romilly]

It might be the Northumbria Central Enforcement Unit in North Shields (Tel. 0191-298 2280) which deals with collecting fines imposed by magistrates' courts in the area. If it is, that would suggest that the case has been heard in the magistrates' court in the OP's absence. In that case, it might be worth ringing them to find out what has happend. Others will be better placed to advise as to whether it is worth trying to set the conviction aside by making a declaration as to non-receipt of the court papers.

 

[island]

Can you give more details of what the letter says? Or scan it, with any personal details obscured, and upload it? From what is mentioned it seems like you may have been convicted of a criminal offence in court in your absence.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I'm not sure if the Tyne & Wear Metro operate on the Railway bylaws or have their own ones . . . . .

Fare Evasion on the Metro is dealt with by, either, the Tyne & Wear Metro Penalty Fare regulations, the Tyne & Wear Metro Byelaws or the Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Act.

£210 seems quite a low figure for an unpaid fare which has been ignored for over a year during an undefended prosecution .

 

[Fare-Cop]

Fare Evasion on the Metro is dealt with by, either, the Tyne & Wear Metro Penalty Fare regulations, the Tyne & Wear Metro Byelaws or the Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Act.

£210 seems quite a low figure for an unpaid fare which has been ignored for over a year during an undefended prosecution .

In general I'd agree with that Dave although I recall being at North Tyneside Magistrates on one occasion and whilst waiting for work I was involved with to get called on I sat in to observe some Tyne & Wear prosecutions.

I remember thinking it a little unusual without any confirmation of means, but there were a few cases proven in absence where the original statement included indication of the defendant being either a student or on benefits at the time of the alleged offence. The Bench treated these as minimal assessed income in deciding the order, so fine of £100, prosecution costs £100 plus a fare of a couple of quid would probably be about right.

Maybe this is the norm for such cases there whereas elsewhere the likelihood would have been a fine of £400 plus other orders.

I agree it does seem odd that there wouldn't be some further enforcement charges added for something a year or more old and where steps to trace the offender might have been taken.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

. . . . . the defendant being either a student or on benefits at the time of the alleged offence. The Bench treated these as minimal assessed income in deciding the order, so fine of £100, prosecution costs £100 plus a fare of a couple of quid would probably be about right.

That is quite a typical level of fine and costs - the maximum under the T&W Passenger Transport Act is £500 so we can work it back from there for first offences, early guilty pleas and mitigation.

I agree it does seem odd that there wouldn't be some further enforcement charges added for something a year or more old and where steps to trace the offender might have been taken.

This was the other factor I was puzzled by.
Dependant on actual circumstances, I would have expected that further costs might have been incurred and that an undefended Prosecution would not have had the benefit of mitigation.
But we are only speculating about the £210 at present. I guess that we can be sure that it has been correctly calculated, however it it is composed.