Penalty fare for oyster may be prosecuted!!

[Kelly320]

Hi, so I'm in desperate need of help here.

I got on the bus as and touched my osyter card in, later an inspector came and I presented my card. Tapped it on his reader and it said I had not paid my fare. I wasn't sure how this was and even got him to ask the driver how confirmed everyone has tapped in. However, this guy was having none of it so I agreed to pay a penalty fare as I was running late. We got off after giving my details etc, he phoned up to verify and then he came back and told me I would not be getting a penalty and he was referring me to be prosecuted. He said that person on the phone had said I was a repeat offender.
By this he means in May (now in Nov!) I was on the train that I get to London and I had picked up the wrong season ticket( I buy monthly) I still had the receipt from the proper one in my bag. anyway, got a fine from them while I was away for two weeks and didn't have time to send them the paid ticket in the post so just phoned and paid. End of. Now this has happened and I don't think it's fair at all for me to be prosecuted, I'm really scared I'm career will be over. I commute to London everyday for uni- training to be an osteopath. In my fourth year. I paid the fine before no questions and could prove I had the correct ticket this is a genuine mistake and I'm already paid my dues
what shall I do?

 

[Kelly320]

The inspector didn't caution me but the letter I've received asking for my side of the story did, does this mean they will prosecute? Also if anyone knows, what law would they be prosecuting me under and how is this punishable? I've seen either custodial sentence of fines of up to £1000!

 

[vrbarreto]

Is your Oyster card registered online? If so check and see if the fare is on your journey history...

How long ago was this? If very recently then I think the oyster card records the last 8 tap in and tap outs(?) You can get a print out at a ticket office

Don't know about the rest as there will be more knowledgeable people soon to advise about the legal aspects of it.. Have seen a large number of buses though recently where the card reader was playing up, had a permanent red light on the reader or the bus driver wasn't paying attention to the machine anyway.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I don't know if the events from your Oyster irregularity and the "fine" you paid from the TOC are linked in any way under your name (hence the "repeat offender" as you put it) but...

If you received a penalty fare for forgetting your season ticket on the train and you paid it, that is the end of the matter - case closed as I understand it

I don't think you will be prosecuted for your bus journey. From most of the journeys I make by bus in London, I hear the drivers calling passengers back where they think they have tapped in but the machine didn't register. Others have simply been ordered off the bus.

I don't know how the bus PF system works but I would expect at worst, a penalty fare of about £80

I'm sure the experts will be along to give definitive advice

 

[matt_world2004]

I would check your oyster history , Even if you for whatever reason didn't tap in on the bus you were checked on if you tapped in less than an hour before you were checked it would prove that there wasn't intent to defraud (as there would be no financial advantage in doing so) Another possibility is you accidentally tapped in with your contactless instead of your oyster and you handed your oyster card over for checking

 

[Kelly320]

This was my thinking, I've already paid my dues and I still have the season ticket to show that in fact I really had just picked up the wrong one so can prove I'm not a repeat offender.
as for the oyster I normally walk from Liverpool Street to my uni but it was freezing on that day and I was running late so haven't used my oyster since like two weeks before. So my previous history will show no transactions. I completely get that it's my responsibility to make sure it's gone through but it was a genuine mistake, I'm up at 5 am to commute in and walking around London like a zombie in the morning. Surely I can't end up with a criminal record for such a mistake?!

 

[cuccir]

Sorry for the long post - I've highlighted two key questions it would be useful for you to answer so we can help inform you accurately!

Can you confirm that in May you accidentally took an out of date season ticket with you on the train, and then paid a penalty fare a few weeks later (how much was the penalty)? It's useful to be precise over 'penalty fare' v 'fine' as legally, a fine only refers to court-imposed penalty, so it will just help us to know what happened before and what is more likely to happen now.

Unfortunately with regards to that issue - you paid the penalty fare, and that is now in the past. I don't think that any proof that you had paid for a season ticket at the time will help you now (how do they know that you hadn't purchased that season ticket and given it to someone else, perhaps the two of you trying to use one ticket?).

It is quite possible that if you had an existing penalty fare against you, that TfL might move to prosecution rather than offer a penalty fare in this case. It would be useful if you can check your Oyster and bank account history, as matt_world suggests, to see if you had actually tapped in to the bus or if you had accidentally used your contactless card.

With regards to prosecution: if you didn't tap in, for whatever reason, then yes it is a genuine possibility. I'm not certain the legislation that is open to TfL with regards to bus travel, as it will be different to the rail legislation that we are used to on this forum. Does your letter name any particular legislation (it will likely be 'Byelaws' of some kind or it may name a parliamentary Act)

What I will say is that whatever the outcome, it is unlikely to severely affect your career. A low fine and a criminal record is a possibility, but any criminal record would likely be 'spent' (ie you wouldn't have to declare it) after 1 year. Even if you applied for work with children/vulnerable people which requires disclosure of spent crimes, this does not automatically bar you: the nature of any offence is considered, and a fine for not paying a bus fare is clearly in the world of cirminal convictions a very minor issue (NHS guidance on crimes/jobs is here).

 

[swt_passenger]

Can the TOC be named?

If the earlier problem is related to a Liverpool St service then the TOC may be TfL Rail (i.e. Shenfield route) or London Overground (some other West Anglia routes) so that information may explain why TfL have more easily linked the incidents...