Need Advice on Southeastern Prosecution Letter - No Response to My Reply

[sajjad]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping someone here might be able to advise me on my current situation with Southeastern’s prosecutions team.

I received a prosecution letter from Southeastern and responded with my explanation by post around October 22, but I haven’t received any response from them as of mid-November. I’m now concerned about whether my letter was received and what my next steps should be.

Here are the details of my situation:

• Date of my reply: October 22, 2023
• Response method: Sent by post (regular mail, without tracking)
• Current status: No acknowledgment or reply received from Southeastern

I’m unsure if my letter got to them safely, and I don’t want to risk any penalties for a missed response. I’d like to know:

1. Has anyone else had a similar experience with Southeastern’s prosecution process and delays in their replies?
2. Would it be best to follow up by calling or emailing them directly, or should I send another letter via tracked post?
3. If I still don’t receive a response, should I seek legal advice?

I’d appreciate any suggestions on how to handle this, especially if there’s a specific contact method that could help speed up the process. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Titfield]

If you read through the posts on this forum you will see some examples where letters to South Eastern appear to have gone astray / not been taken into account.

You should adopt a belt and braces approach by resending them the letter making clear that you are concerned the original letter may have gone astray.

You should send both by email and tracked delivery.

You could also ring but this does not guarantee that what is discussed is taken into account / properly recorded.

Legal advice is not required at this stage.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

If you read through the posts on this forum you will see some examples where letters to South Eastern appear to have gone astray / not been taken into account.

You should adopt a belt and braces approach by resending them the letter making clear that you are concerned the original letter may have gone astray.

You should send both by email and tracked delivery.

You could also ring but this does not guarantee that what is discussed is taken into account / properly recorded.

Legal advice is not required at this stage.

I'd differ.

There have been problems with Southeastern moving to prosecution having apparently ignored the customer's earlier response. But I think I am right in saying that in all the cases where our advice has been sought, a further response has led to Southeastern agreeing an out of court settlement.

So I think the OP can safely wait until the railway gets back to them. If the railway offers a settlement then that's a good result. If they are looking to prosecute then that's the point to send the duplicate reply by all possible ways, with a suitable covering letter.

 

[Titfield]

I'd differ.

There have been problems with Southeastern moving to prosecution having apparently ignored the customer's earlier response. But I think I am right in saying that in all the cases where our advice has been sought, a further response has led to Southeastern agreeing an out of court settlement.

So I think the OP can safely wait until the railway gets back to them. If the railway offers a settlement then that's a good result. If they are looking to prosecute then that's the point to send the duplicate reply by all possible ways, with a suitable covering letter.

The examples we have seen do rather beg the question whether the passengers response has gone astray or has been ignored so that either the passenger responds again (a la chiltern railways methodology previously) to almost prove they are treating the matter seriously or to ignore and thereby almost permit the toc to do whatever they do.

An interesting dilemma. Do we think the poster would be disadvantaged by either approach?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The examples we have seen do rather beg the question whether the passengers response has gone astray or has been ignored so that either the passenger responds again (a la chiltern railways methodology previously) to almost prove they are treating the matter seriously or to ignore and thereby almost permit the toc to do whatever they do.

An interesting dilemma. Do we think the poster would be disadvantaged by either approach?

An early response would disadvantage them in that they would be taking action that might be unnecessary. And if we assume that this is deliberate on the part of Southeastern, I don't see that extra contact before Southeastern's next scheduled event (i.e. starting the prosecution) wouldn't also be ignored.

 

[Haywain]

Do we think the poster would be disadvantaged by either approach?

They are not going to be disadvantaged by continuing to try and contact Southeastern to resolve the matter. They may well be disadvantaged by doing nothing and waiting for a court date.

 

[WesternLancer]

They are not going to be disadvantaged by continuing to try and contact Southeastern to resolve the matter. They may well be disadvantaged by doing nothing and waiting for a court date.

I agree with this approach

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Nov 2024 ==

If you read through the posts on this forum you will see some examples where letters to South Eastern appear to have gone astray / not been taken into account.

You should adopt a belt and braces approach by resending them the letter making clear that you are concerned the original letter may have gone astray.

You should send both by email and tracked delivery.

You could also ring but this does not guarantee that what is discussed is taken into account / properly recorded.

Legal advice is not required at this stage.

I would do this (but probably not attempt to ring them at this stage)

 

[sajjad]

I'd differ.

There have been problems with Southeastern moving to prosecution having apparently ignored the customer's earlier response. But I think I am right in saying that in all the cases where our advice has been sought, a further response has led to Southeastern agreeing an out of court settlement.

So I think the OP can safely wait until the railway gets back to them. If the railway offers a settlement then that's a good result. If they are looking to prosecute then that's the point to send the duplicate reply by all possible ways, with a suitable covering letter.

Thanks for your response.
Is this response is good to write a follow up email?
Dear Southeastern Prosecutions Team,

I am writing to follow up on my response to a prosecution letter I received, with reference number .......

On October 21, 2024, I sent a letter via post with my reply to the prosecution notice, providing an explanation regarding the matter. However, I have not yet received any confirmation or response, and I am concerned that the original letter may not have reached you.

For your reference, I have attached a copy of the receipt from the post office as proof of posting.

I would like to express my willingness to resolve this matter amicably and out of court. Please let me know if there is an opportunity to settle this issue without further escalation.

Could you please confirm receipt of my original letter and let me know if any further action is required? I am keen to resolve this matter promptly and am happy to provide additional information if necessary.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for your response.
Is this response is good to write a follow up email?
Dear Southeastern Prosecutions Team,

I am writing to follow up on my response to a prosecution letter I received, with reference number .......

On October 21, 2024, I sent a letter via post with my reply to the prosecution notice, providing an explanation regarding the matter. However, I have not yet received any confirmation or response, and I am concerned that the original letter may not have reached you.

For your reference, I have attached a copy of the receipt from the post office as proof of posting.

I would like to express my willingness to resolve this matter amicably and out of court. Please let me know if there is an opportunity to settle this issue without further escalation.

Could you please confirm receipt of my original letter and let me know if any further action is required? I am keen to resolve this matter promptly and am happy to provide additional information if necessary.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

Largely fine - but it's not helping them in practical terms including a copy of your proof of posting your earlier reply, what would help is including a copy of what you sent them before, if you have kept a copy of course. If you don't have a copy of that earlier response then I can see why proof of posting is better than nothing.

Minor amend suggestions also: I would leave out the bit about resolving it promptly as it sounds a bit like you want to jump the queue. When really you are keen to know they have not lost your original reply so that is the focus of this.

 

[sajjad]

Largely fine - but it's not helping them in practical terms including a copy of your proof of posting your earlier reply, what would help is including a copy of what you sent them before, if you have kept a copy of course. If you don't have a copy of that earlier response then I can see why proof of posting is better than nothing.

Minor amend suggestions also: I would leave out the bit about resolving it promptly as it sounds a bit like you want to jump the queue. When really you are keen to know they have not lost your original reply so that is the focus of this.

Is this acceptable?
Dear Southeastern Prosecutions Team,

I am writing to follow up on my response to the prosecution notice, reference number XXXXXXXX.

On October 21, 2024, I sent a letter via post providing an explanation regarding the matter. However, I have not yet received any confirmation or response, and I am concerned that my original letter may not have reached you.

For your convenience, I am attaching the following documents for reference:

• A copy of the proof of posting from the post office.
• A copy of the representation I originally sent.

Could you kindly confirm receipt of my earlier reply? If you require any further information or if there are any additional steps I need to take, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Is this acceptable?
Dear Southeastern Prosecutions Team,

I am writing to follow up on my response to the prosecution notice, reference number XXXXXXXX.

On October 21, 2024, I sent a letter via post providing an explanation regarding the matter. However, I have not yet received any confirmation or response, and I am concerned that my original letter may not have reached you.

For your convenience, I am attaching the following documents for reference:

• A copy of the proof of posting from the post office.
• A copy of the representation I originally sent.

Could you kindly confirm receipt of my earlier reply? If you require any further information or if there are any additional steps I need to take, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

Looks good to me: as the consensus is that you should send something, I think this will do!

 

[WesternLancer]

Is this acceptable?
Dear Southeastern Prosecutions Team,

I am writing to follow up on my response to the prosecution notice, reference number XXXXXXXX.

On October 21, 2024, I sent a letter via post providing an explanation regarding the matter. However, I have not yet received any confirmation or response, and I am concerned that my original letter may not have reached you.

For your convenience, I am attaching the following documents for reference:

• A copy of the proof of posting from the post office.
• A copy of the representation I originally sent.

Could you kindly confirm receipt of my earlier reply? If you require any further information or if there are any additional steps I need to take, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your confirmation.

Looks good - I agree with @Fawkes Cat

and I can see no harm in sending it