Notice of Intent to Prosecute, Very Scared

[jkfan]

Hi There,

First time posting, so forgive me if this is all straight forward stuff or has been answers many times before.

My wife and I boarded a Great Northern train from Peterborough to London on 21st December at 12.46. We were travelling to London to pick up my kids from school, then onto Heathrow (flying out of the UK later that evening) as we were in a rush and the ticket machines seemed to be busy, I said I would buy the tickets on my phone for the both of us via the Trainline app.

We boarded the train while I tried to purchase the tickets for both of us, unfortunately due to connection issues and after several attempts to purchase the tickets on my phone, I was unsuccessful.

When the ticket inspector arrived, I explained that I was unable to purchase a ticket on my phone and requested to purchase one from him, as did my wife. The ticket inspector stated that he did not have to accept a ticket purchase from my phone and refused to allow me to purchase a ticket from him on board.

My wife and I were then instructed we needed to pay a penalty fine of £80. Which we felt was unfair as we had the intent to pay for a ticket and had shown our willingness to pay several times. We both apologised profusely for boarding the train without a ticket, this was clearly not our intention. My wife and I both travel to London from Peterborough multiple times a week and always purchase a ticket, all of which we have receipts for. (however this is probably irrelevant)

We filled out all our details correctly and were very calm and pleasant with the inspector, who had a less than positive attitude and sadly a thick accent so we had trouble understanding what he was saying, we didn't quite realise the severity of what was happening. I simply thought we were going to be challenging a fine.

However we have since both received letters stating a Notice of Intention to prosecute. Very scary stuff, mentioning criminal record and £1000 fines. I was totally ignorant to all this. I feel like a fool as my wife also didn't pay the fine (she's from Denmark) and I said it would all be fine

The letter has a second page where we are required to write our side of events, with the offence labeled as "Failing to hand over a rail ticket for inspection".

Has anyone had experience with this, do we offer to pay any fines? It says dont send money. Will we really get criminal records?? I've never been involved with anything like this in my life, nor has my wife. I'm terrified.

If anyone has any advice on what we should do, that would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies for the long post and thanks in advance.

 

[CheapAndNerdy]

Hi there,

To quickly ease your concern, "Failing to hand over a rail ticket for inspection" suggests a bye-law offence is being considered, which does not result in a criminal record should you be found (or plead) guilty in a magistrates court, and it may well transpire that the train company will accept an out of court settlement.

 

[island]

When you chose to join a train without a ticket you both committed a criminal offence. The ticket machines being busy is not a defence – not least as there are two ticket offices you could have used. Indeed, even if you had managed to buy tickets on an app you would still not have been covered as you would have needed to collect the tickets before travel. You were then offered the standard resolution of a penalty fare (which should be £63.60 for a journey from Peterborough to London Terminals, though if you were seen by the inspector at an early stage of the journey it would in principle be less). You chose not to accept this resolution and therefore the matter has escalated to a prosecution.

The good news is that Great Northern is usually inclined to accept an out of court resolution to these types of issue. Mention in your reply that you are very sorry for not buying a ticket before you boarded and that you commit to doing so in future, and that you offer to pay the cost of the ticket and GN's expenses in enforcing the matter. Expect to pay £100 each or upwards.

As mentioned, the offence mentioned so far does not carry a criminal record, but that is not to say that GN will not change its mind and prosecute a more serious offence which would carry one.

 

[najaB]

First time posting, so forgive me if this is all straight forward stuff or has been answers many times before.

It's a familiar story but it's the first time it's happened to you, so no apology needed.

We boarded the train while I tried to purchase the tickets for both of us, unfortunately due to connection issues and after several attempts to purchase the tickets on my phone, I was unsuccessful.

If purchasing tickets through the app you still need to collect them, unless it's an eTicket. But even eTickets have to be activated *before* you board the train, with the time of activation being recorded. This is to thwart the 'pay on demand' brigade - people who only buy a ticket if they see an inspector.

The ticket inspector stated that he did not have to accept a ticket purchase from my phone and refused to allow me to purchase a ticket from him on board.

That was the correct action on the part of the inspector as GN operate a Penalty Fare scheme.

My wife and I were then instructed we needed to pay a penalty fine of £80. Which we felt was unfair as we had the intent to pay for a ticket and had shown our willingness to pay several times. We both apologised profusely for boarding the train without a ticket, this was clearly not our intention.

While it might seem harsh, the aforementioned 'pay on demand' brigade means that on-board ticket sales are (or at least should be) an exception if allowed at all.

My wife and I both travel to London from Peterborough multiple times a week and always purchase a ticket, all of which we have receipts for. (however this is probably irrelevant)

Yup, you are correct - it is, unfortunately for you, irrelevant.

However we have since both received letters stating a Notice of Intention to prosecute. Very scary stuff, mentioning criminal record and £1000 fines. I was totally ignorant to all this. I feel like a fool as my wife also didn't pay the fine (she's from Denmark) and I said it would all be fine

The fine (if the matter even goes to Court) won't be anywhere near £1000. In the worst case, taking you on your word that you don't have a history of fare evasion, I would expect any fine to be less than £250. As already pointed out, the language used indicates that they are considering a prosecution under the Railway Byelaws, so a conviction wouldn't result in a criminal record.

The letter has a second page where we are required to write our side of events, with the offence labeled as "Failing to hand over a rail ticket for inspection".

Has anyone had experience with this, do we offer to pay any fines? It says dont send money. Will we really get criminal records?? I've never been involved with anything like this in my life, nor has my wife. I'm terrified.

You don't need to be terrified. It is entirely possible to resolve this matter without it going to Court. Reply to the letter you've received explaining (in summary) what you have told us here. Offer an apology for misunderstanding the process and offer to pay the outstanding fare plus a contribution to the costs incurred so far.

As always, feel free to post anything you intend to send to GN here first so that we can cast an eye over it to make sure it's as good as it can be.

 

[DaleCooper]

Reply to the letter you've received explaining (in summary) what you have told us here.

Best not to mention the "less than positive attitude" or the "thick accent", he may have thought you had a thick accent.

We filled out all our details correctly and were very calm and pleasant with the inspector, who had a less than positive attitude and sadly a thick accent so we had trouble understanding what he was saying,

 

[najaB]

Best not to mention the "less than positive attitude" or the "thick accent", he may have thought you had a thick accent.

Good point. Just say something along the lines of "I misunderstood what he was telling me." and leave it at that.

 

[Chrisgr31]

and read the thread on here about someone else that had a similar incident recently. They were travelling from Huntingdon

 

[falcon]

Good point. Just say something along the lines of "I misunderstood what he was telling me." and leave it at that.

Good advice. The TOC's don't like it when you complain about the singer when it is the song you don't like. It will just be a bye law offence with no criminal record.

 

[jkfan]

Thank you all so much for your kind words and advice. Very much appreciated. I feel much better now and will hopefully get this resolved without going to court.

Thanks again.