Magistrates court summon rec’d

[Rha_ta]

Hello,
I’m hoping to get some advice. Here is some background:
In January, I was running late for my usual AM train to work. It was at the platform when I arrived at my station, and I jumped on the first carriage I could find, and sat down. I travel a 4 minute journey from Home Station to Connecting Train Station. Long story short, I was in first class but didn’t realise until I got up to leave. As I left the train, I was asked to present my ticket- which at the time was a standard weekly travelcard.
I was cautioned and asked if I was “guilty” of purposefully fare evading. I said it was an accident and a mistake on my part, offered to pay the fine, but in black and white terms yes I was guilty. I was not offered the chance to pay a fine or fare on the spot.
About three months later, I received notice of a conditional offer, and was asked to sign and return acceptance of said offer. The notification I received with the offer did not stipulate how I should pay, and on calling the prosecutions dept of SWT I was advised they’d be in touch.

I have now received a court summons, at the
Magistrates court.
I just want to pay my fine or fare out of court, I’ve never not tried to pay the fine and I was, at the time of apprehension, in tears and mortified. I’m not trying to get one over on SWT or anyone else.

A conviction would lead to me losing my job and unlikely to secure employment in the area I work in again (I work in education).
I am unable to instruct a solicitor due to not having, in short, two pennies to rub together outside of my strict monthly budget. I am unable to borrow funds to do so.

I am not sure what to do next- other than contact prosecutions at SWT and plead for an out of court settlement- explaining the above. There is other mitigation, I have poor attention to detail and concentration due to mental health issues, indeed - these result in extreme insomnia which is why I was exhausted and running late in the first place hiwever, I don’t want to “get off” from paying the fine. I just want to settle and move on.
Does anyone have any advice? Thank you in advance.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Hello,
I’m hoping to get some advice. Here is some background:
In January, I was running late for my usual AM train to work. It was at the platform when I arrived at my station, and I jumped on the first carriage I could find, and sat down. I travel a 4 minute journey from Home Station to Connecting Train Station. Long story short, I was in first class but didn’t realise until I got up to leave. As I left the train, I was asked to present my ticket- which at the time was a standard weekly travelcard.
I was cautioned and asked if I was “guilty” of purposefully fare evading. I said it was an accident and a mistake on my part, offered to pay the fine, but in black and white terms yes I was guilty. I was not offered the chance to pay a fine or fare on the spot.
About three months later, I received notice of a conditional offer, and was asked to sign and return acceptance of said offer. The notification I received with the offer did not stipulate how I should pay, and on calling the prosecutions dept of SWT I was advised they’d be in touch.

I have now received a court summons, at the
Magistrates court.
I just want to pay my fine or fare out of court, I’ve never not tried to pay the fine and I was, at the time of apprehension, in tears and mortified. I’m not trying to get one over on SWT or anyone else.

A conviction would lead to me losing my job and unlikely to secure employment in the area I work in again (I work in education).
I am unable to instruct a solicitor due to not having, in short, two pennies to rub together outside of my strict monthly budget. I am unable to borrow funds to do so.

I am not sure what to do next- other than contact prosecutions at SWT and plead for an out of court settlement- explaining the above. There is other mitigation, I have poor attention to detail and concentration due to mental health issues, indeed - these result in extreme insomnia which is why I was exhausted and running late in the first place hiwever, I don’t want to “get off” from paying the fine. I just want to settle and move on.
Does anyone have any advice? Thank you in advance.

Whether or not a conviction would lead to a criminal record (i.e. whether it is "recordable" and hence declarable) depends on the exact offence under which you are being prosecuted. Usually people in your situation (using first class with a standard class ticket) would be prosecuted under one of the following offences: Byelaw 19 (or possibly 18) of the Railway Byelaws 2005 (sometimes a mention is also made of Section 219 of the Transport Act 2000, under which the Byelaws were made), or Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 ("RoRA").

There are 'pros and cons' to being prosecuted under either offence.

The Byelaw offence does not create a criminal record upon conviction, and, since a Byelaw conviction is immediately "spent" for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, you do not need to disclose a Byelaw conviction other than where you are specifically instructed to also disclose spent convictions (e.g. if you hold a high-level security clearance or, in some limited cases, if you have clearance to work with vulnerable people).

However, breaching the Byelaws is a strict liability offence - that is to say, your intentions do not matter, similarly to how your intentions do not matter if you're caught speeding. Hence the fact that your venture into first class was not, as you said, intentional, is irrelevant and you nevertheless commit a Byelaw offence in remaining there with a standard class ticket.

A RoRA conviction is more serious. It does lead to a criminal record and it is an unspent conviction (i.e. it must be declared when asked about any unspent convictions) for 1 year following conviction. After this time it is spent in the same way the Byelaw conviction is spent immediately.

The 'good' news with a RoRA prosecution is that it is not a strict liability offence and therefore the prosecution must be able to prove that you had intent to avoid the fare due. That is a higher bar than requiring no intent whatsoever; however it is a lower bar than some might think - your actual mental intentions are irrelevant (as otherwise everyone would claim that they 'did not intend' to avoid the fare!). Rather, it is your actions which determine how your intentions are deemed to be. So, for example, directly passing by an open ticket office where you could have upgraded your season ticket to first class for its duration or just for today may be sufficient evidence of intent to avoid the fare due, as the implication is that any reasonable and honest passenger would pay as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

The other good news about a RoRA prosecution is that the penalty upon conviction is, at least for a first conviction, exactly the same as the Byelaw offence. It is a level 3 fine, meaning it is capped at £1000, and it ranges from approximately 75-150% of your weekly income, depending on various factors in your specific case (such as the impact of your offence, as well as your culpability and your criminal history). You will usually also be ordered to pay the prosecution's costs (usually in the region of £100-200), plus any fare outstanding (probably a few pounds at most in your case).

As for the possibility of an out of Court settlement, there is more mixed news. The bad news is that SWR are under no obligation to offer you, or accept any offer by you, an out of Court settlement - unlike what might be the case in a civil dispute. The good news is that it may still be possible to avoid a criminal conviction, either by discussing the matter with the prosecutions department now, or if all else fails by attempting to discuss it with the prosecutor on the day at Court.

I will leave advice as to the way in which you should approach a possible out of Court settlement (given that you have missed the apparent deadline for the offer they already made you) to other posters.

However, I don't think you should get sleepless nights or anxiety over this. Yes, it's not a great situation to be in, but unless you hold a very specific clearance, it is unlikely that a criminal conviction will impact your job. The settlement or fine will probably be expensive for you, but it will not be the end of the world. Relax and take a deep breath!

 

[furlong]

About three months later, I received notice of a conditional offer, and was asked to sign and return acceptance of said offer. The notification I received with the offer did not stipulate how I should pay, and on calling the prosecutions dept of SWT I was advised they’d be in touch.

Do you know that they received your reply - or did you send it in an untrackable way that might have got lost somewhere? Contact them again to find out - it might not be too late to settle. And in any case like this it is always worth checking the timetable yourself to confirm that the train was indeed advertised as carrying First Class accommodation. Too late now, but you could also have taken photographs of the carriage and the entrance you used and and signs and checked it was labelled correctly as First Class (there has to be signage conforming to particular requirements). It's rare, but we do hear of mistakes (declassified trains, missing signage). If you didn't notice it was First Class, perhaps it's because the signs were missing or wrong?

 

[najaB]

About three months later, I received notice of a conditional offer, and was asked to sign and return acceptance of said offer. The notification I received with the offer did not stipulate how I should pay, and on calling the prosecutions dept of SWT I was advised they’d be in touch.

Did you sign and return the offer letter?

 

[Rha_ta]

Do you know that they received your reply - or did you send it in an untrackable way that might have got lost somewhere? Contact them again to find out - it might not be too late to settle. And in any case like this it is always worth checking the timetable yourself to confirm that the train was indeed advertised as carrying First Class accommodation. Too late now, but you could also have taken photographs of the carriage and the entrance you used and and signs and checked it was labelled correctly as First Class (there has to be signage conforming to particular requirements). It's rare, but we do hear of mistakes (declassified trains, missing signage). If you didn't notice it was First Class, perhaps it's because the signs were missing or wrong?

Hi,
They definitely received it as a copy (signed, stamped with a “received on x date” of the form was included in the court summons documents.

 

[Rha_ta]

Did you sign and return the offer letter?

Yes I did, and proof of this has been included in the court summons documents sent to me.

 

[Rha_ta]

Whether or not a conviction would lead to a criminal record (i.e. whether it is "recordable" and hence declarable) depends on the exact offence under which you are being prosecuted. Usually people in your situation (using first class with a standard class ticket) would be prosecuted under one of the following offences: Byelaw 19 (or possibly 18) of the Railway Byelaws 2005 (sometimes a mention is also made of Section 219 of the Transport Act 2000, under which the Byelaws were made), or Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 ("RoRA").

There are 'pros and cons' to being prosecuted under either offence.

The Byelaw offence does not create a criminal record upon conviction, and, since a Byelaw conviction is immediately "spent" for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, you do not need to disclose a Byelaw conviction other than where you are specifically instructed to also disclose spent convictions (e.g. if you hold a high-level security clearance or, in some limited cases, if you have clearance to work with vulnerable people).

However, breaching the Byelaws is a strict liability offence - that is to say, your intentions do not matter, similarly to how your intentions do not matter if you're caught speeding. Hence the fact that your venture into first class was not, as you said, intentional, is irrelevant and you nevertheless commit a Byelaw offence in remaining there with a standard class ticket.

A RoRA conviction is more serious. It does lead to a criminal record and it is an unspent conviction (i.e. it must be declared when asked about any unspent convictions) for 1 year following conviction. After this time it is spent in the same way the Byelaw conviction is spent immediately.

The 'good' news with a RoRA prosecution is that it is not a strict liability offence and therefore the prosecution must be able to prove that you had intent to avoid the fare due. That is a higher bar than requiring no intent whatsoever; however it is a lower bar than some might think - your actual mental intentions are irrelevant (as otherwise everyone would claim that they 'did not intend' to avoid the fare!). Rather, it is your actions which determine how your intentions are deemed to be. So, for example, directly passing by an open ticket office where you could have upgraded your season ticket to first class for its duration or just for today may be sufficient evidence of intent to avoid the fare due, as the implication is that any reasonable and honest passenger would pay as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

The other good news about a RoRA prosecution is that the penalty upon conviction is, at least for a first conviction, exactly the same as the Byelaw offence. It is a level 3 fine, meaning it is capped at £1000, and it ranges from approximately 75-150% of your weekly income, depending on various factors in your specific case (such as the impact of your offence, as well as your culpability and your criminal history). You will usually also be ordered to pay the prosecution's costs (usually in the region of £100-200), plus any fare outstanding (probably a few pounds at most in your case).

As for the possibility of an out of Court settlement, there is more mixed news. The bad news is that SWR are under no obligation to offer you, or accept any offer by you, an out of Court settlement - unlike what might be the case in a civil dispute. The good news is that it may still be possible to avoid a criminal conviction, either by discussing the matter with the prosecutions department now, or if all else fails by attempting to discuss it with the prosecutor on the day at Court.

I will leave advice as to the way in which you should approach a possible out of Court settlement (given that you have missed the apparent deadline for the offer they already made you) to other posters.

However, I don't think you should get sleepless nights or anxiety over this. Yes, it's not a great situation to be in, but unless you hold a very specific clearance, it is unlikely that a criminal conviction will impact your job. The settlement or fine will probably be expensive for you, but it will not be the end of the world. Relax and take a deep breath!

Hello,

Thank you for such a detailed reply!
I have a job with high security clearance in terms of disclosure and funding AND I work with vulnerable people. I’m also facing redundancy so it is likely that I will be looking for another job soon, meaning I’m terrified of a conviction as it would certainly mean I wouldn’t be able to be re employed in my industry.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Hello,

Thank you for such a detailed reply!
I have a job with high security clearance in terms of disclosure and funding AND I work with vulnerable people. I’m also facing redundancy so it is likely that I will be looking for another job soon, meaning I’m terrified of a conviction as it would certainly mean I wouldn’t be able to be re employed in my industry.

If this is the case, then you will want to find a way to get the money you will need to pay in either the event of a settlement, or in the event of a conviction. Either will cost you - the only scenario in which you would not pay anything would be if you defended yourself at Court and were found not guilty. Unless they are going for a truly "ambitious" (read: out on a limb) prosecution then I would not recommend trying this. It doesn't matter if it comes from an overdraft, or where it comes from (though payday loans and the like should be avoided) - being in debt is better than having a criminal record which bars you from your career.

 

[swt_passenger]

Did you sign and return the offer letter?

Yes I did, and proof of this has been included in the court summons documents sent to me.

I’m struggling with what’s happened here. The TOC, SWR, must have a firm belief that their ‘offer’ (if it was an offer), has been ignored.

 

[Puffing Devil]

If you have a received an offer to settle and have complied with the terms of that offer then there is a reasonable expectation that you will not be prosecuted for that offence, and there is case law for formal Fixed Penalty Notices to support this.

As a matter of urgency, I suggest you contact the TOC prosecutions department, by phone initially, and ask them why you are being prosecuted when you accepted the offer to settle. It may be that a means to pay has not been sent or did not arrive and they are prosecuting based on that. You may then be able to offer to settle and end the matter there and then.

Any agreement should be backed up in writing and sent by special delivery together with the settlement cheque.

If they do not agree to settle, or there is another issue, please post back with the details.

 

[island]

On what date in January did this happen, and on what date does the summons say the information was laid before the magistrates?

If it’s more than 6 months then the prosecution will be out of time.

 

[najaB]

Yes I did, and proof of this has been included in the court summons documents sent to me.

That might mean that a settlement is still possible.

If it’s more than 6 months then the prosecution will be out of time.

Is it likely that a summons would have been issued if that were the case?

 

[Rha_ta]

I’m struggling with what’s happened here. The TOC, SWR, must have a firm belief that their ‘offer’ (if it was an offer), has been ignored.

I’m not sure what’s happened but I accepted the conditional offer, and the proof of offer has been included in the court documentation that has been sent to me. The conditional offer was £95- I haven’t paid this (yet) as I wasn’t given details on how to do so. I called up prosecutions several times and was informed I would be contacted on the ways to pay. That didn’t happen.

 

[Rha_ta]

If you have a received an offer to settle and have complied with the terms of that offer then there is a reasonable expectation that you will not be prosecuted for that offence, and there is case law for formal Fixed Penalty Notices to support this.

As a matter of urgency, I suggest you contact the TOC prosecutions department, by phone initially, and ask them why you are being prosecuted when you accepted the offer to settle. It may be that a means to pay has not been sent or did not arrive and they are prosecuting based on that. You may then be able to offer to settle and end the matter there and then.

Any agreement should be backed up in writing and sent by special delivery together with the settlement cheque.

If they do not agree to settle, or there is another issue, please post back with the details.

A means to pay letter or form was never sent, however this was mentioned in the court documentation (ie we are enclosing a means to pay form). Again, this form wasn’t included in the court documents sent to me.

 

[swt_passenger]

I’m not sure what’s happened but I accepted the conditional offer, and the proof of offer has been included in the court documentation that has been sent to me. The conditional offer was £95- I haven’t paid this (yet) as I wasn’t given details on how to do so. I called up prosecutions several times and was informed I would be contacted on the ways to pay. That didn’t happen.

Thanks for explaining in more detail. Will be interesting to see how this turns out for you.

 

[Rha_ta]

On what date in January did this happen, and on what date does the summons say the information was laid before the magistrates?

If it’s more than 6 months then the prosecution will be out of time.

Happened on 16 Jan. court docs are stamped 28 June, sent out 13 July and I received them 14 July.

 

[Rha_ta]

On what date in January did this happen, and on what date does the summons say the information was laid before the magistrates?

If it’s more than 6 months then the prosecution will be out of time.

And the court date has been set for 6 Aug.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Happened on 16 Jan. court docs are stamped 28 June, sent out 13 July and I received them 14 July.

Unfortunately in that case they were just about in time - they had to lay the information before the Court within 6 months - the hearing etc. may occur at any time, as long as the initial 6 month limit for laying the information before Court have been adhered to.

 

[Puffing Devil]

A means to pay letter or form was never sent, however this was mentioned in the court documentation (ie we are enclosing a means to pay form). Again, this form wasn’t included in the court documents sent to me.

Call them tomorrow. It appears that they have prosecuted as they have not received payment. You need to find out how and when those payment requests were sent and offer to pay tomorrow. You need to remind them that you have already called to make payment.

 

[Rha_ta]

If you have a received an offer to settle and have complied with the terms of that offer then there is a reasonable expectation that you will not be prosecuted for that offence, and there is case law for formal Fixed Penalty Notices to support this.

As a matter of urgency, I suggest you contact the TOC prosecutions department, by phone initially, and ask them why you are being prosecuted when you accepted the offer to settle. It may be that a means to pay has not been sent or did not arrive and they are prosecuting based on that. You may then be able to offer to settle and end the matter there and then.

Any agreement should be backed up in writing and sent by special delivery together with the settlement cheque.

If they do not agree to settle, or there is another issue, please post back with the details.

Hello, an update.
I called today, just now in fact, and prosecutions did not have a record of the means to pay notice being sent out. They also acknowledged I’d called up, and enquired about payment. I’d also worked out that a lot of the papers I was meant to be sent with the summons were missing. I work in dealing with appeals and complaints and I had a feeling that omission of appropriate documentation meant that there had been a flaw in the process/procedure.
Given the above, they settled the fine/notice. I paid the original conditional offer (£95) and the matter is now closed.
The person I spoke to was extremely helpful, which was a bonus.
Thank you all for your help and advice.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Hello, an update.
I called today, just now in fact, and prosecutions did not have a record of the means to pay notice being sent out. They also acknowledged I’d called up, and enquired about payment. I’d also worked out that a lot of the papers I was meant to be sent with the summons were missing. I work in dealing with appeals and complaints and I had a feeling that omission of appropriate documentation meant that there had been a flaw in the process/procedure.
Given the above, they settled the fine/notice. I paid the original conditional offer (£95) and the matter is now closed.
The person I spoke to was extremely helpful, which was a bonus.
Thank you all for your help and advice.

Thanks for updating us with the outcome. Hopefully your future rail travel can be less stressful!

 

[cuccir]

Good news! Just reading this thread for the first time and glad to see that this has been resolved. Well done to all who offered the advice.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Good news and thanks for updating us.

For a belt and braces approach, I would call the court where the matter was listed a week before your appearance date to ensure that your case has been de-listed. If not, you'll have time to get back in touch with the TOC and put a lid on the matter. If they forgot to send out a payment notice........

 

[najaB]

Given the above, they settled the fine/notice. I paid the original conditional offer (£95) and the matter is now closed.

Glad to hear it. It sounds like common sense has prevailed. I second @Puffing Devil's advice to ensure that the Court is also aware that the case is settled.

 

[Rha_ta]

Thanks for updating us with the outcome. Hopefully your future rail travel can be less stressful!

Thank you. The irony is that the rail service from my home station to work is so unrealiable that I no longer travel to work by rail! I was making about 80% of my ticket back per week via delay repay, and it became a bit of a joke.

 

[Rha_ta]

Good news and thanks for updating us.

For a belt and braces approach, I would call the court where the matter was listed a week before your appearance date to ensure that your case has been de-listed. If not, you'll have time to get back in touch with the TOC and put a lid on the matter. If they forgot to send out a payment notice........

Thank you - I will be doing this. I also have a bank auth number and the person I spoke to this morning’s name, and will be following up to confirm the matters in writing (first class recorded delivery).

 

[DaveNewcastle]

For a belt and braces approach, I would call the court where the matter was listed a week before your appearance date to ensure that your case has been de-listed.

. . . and I too urge you to do this. All too often the 2 parties to a dispute think they have reached an agreement, but forget that there is a third party: the state, in the form of the Court. If the case is still listed, then it goes ahead in your absence, and if the prosecution are there with their bundles of evidence and you are not, then you're likely to be Convicted.
I usually recommend appearing in Court on the appointed day nust in case your incident is heard.