Ref the post grad / post study visa ask your university overseas student team for advice on that.Hi all, I've received a Single Justice Procedure notice charged with byelaw 18.2- failure to produce a valid ticket. Can someone tell me what I need to do further and how screwed am I? Will this affect my visa status ? I'm so scared
So I was supposed to travel from Paddington-Cardiff Central-Cardiff bay for an exam course on April 22 and I think I accidentally entered the wrong date while booking and I had a ticket for April 23. My ticket was checked at Paddington, on the train to Cardiff central and to Cardiff bay, and I got "caught" once I alighted at Cardiff bay. I've told the ticket inspector why it happened. I've then received an email from travel to Wales company and I appealed/requested to them to waive off the fine because 1. It was accidental and not intentional 2. My ticket went through at all the scanners. 3. I'm a broke student . This was in May.Is this the first correspondence you’ve received from them? What exactly happened, and how were you caught without a valid ticket? Ordinarily it is possible to settle these matters out of court.
Understood.where can I find more about this ?No one on here can or should offer you advice on immigration matters.
Okay.thanm youRef the post grad / post study visa ask your university overseas student team for advice on that.
Ref the ticket problem people here can help with that but you need to give more info. See the guidance at top of this part of the forum about what information is generally needed to give you advice on what to do.
So I was supposed to travel from Paddington-Cardiff Central-Cardiff bay for an exam course on April 22 and I think I accidentally entered the wrong date while booking and I had a ticket for April 23. My ticket was checked at Paddington, on the train to Cardiff central and to Cardiff bay, and I got "caught" once I alighted at Cardiff bay. I've told the ticket inspector why it happened. I've then received an email from travel to Wales company and I appealed/requested to them to waive off the fine because 1. It was accidental and not intentional 2. My ticket went through at all the scanners. 3. I'm a broke student . This was in May.Is this the first correspondence you’ve received from them? What exactly happened, and how were you caught without a valid ticket? Ordinarily it is possible to settle these matters out of court.
Ok. So when you replied to transport for wales did you then hear back from them? If so do you have a copy of that letter. I guess it arrived when you had those set backs. Can you remember what it said or post a copy of it if you still have it.So I was supposed to travel from Paddington-Cardiff Central-Cardiff bay for an exam course on April 22 and I think I accidentally entered the wrong date while booking and I had a ticket for April 23. My ticket was checked at Paddington, on the train to Cardiff central and to Cardiff bay, and I got "caught" once I alighted at Cardiff bay. I've told the ticket inspector why it happened. I've then received an email from travel to Wales company and I appealed/requested to them to waive off the fine because 1. It was accidental and not intentional 2. My ticket went through at all the scanners. 3. I'm a broke student . This was in May.
In June I had a series of professional+ mental setbacks and I completely forgot about this until now. I know I'm screwed and I know no one cares that I didn't intentionally evade but I'm scared and feeling hopeless.
Where is the letterI don't have the letter now, but it said the same I think - that I was a ticket less traveller , I remember I mailed them and they said that it is my responsibility to check the ticket and I didn't.
Yes.in LondonAre you currently attending a uk university?
Ok. So when you replied to transport for wales did you then hear back from them? If so do you have a copy of that letter. I guess it arrived when you had those set backs. Can you remember what it said or post a copy of it if you still have it.
What that letter said is vital to help understand what has happened now and what options might exist now.
If the court paper you sent (is it from a court it would help to see the full page with your personal details and ref numbers covered up) says you have until 2 October to make a plea you still have time to try and sort this out and hopefully avoid being prosecuted.
If you can avoid prosecution there is no visa issue to be worried about that might be caused by this issue.
But you will need to follow advice from here on what to do.
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Don’t get distracted by the visa issue now. Focus now on resolving the rail ticket prosecution problem. That is your first priority.
Please cover up your name and address and the ref number on that upload to protect your personal info. Then re upload it
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I received a bunch of papers, this is the first page.
That post I think you are referring to was not directed at you. I asked it if other forum members.I have no idea what that means.
Definitely.Do other forum members know could this be TIL acting on behalf of TfW?
Thanks Haywain (and further upload from OP confirmed it). Looks like a case of TIL not accepting the 1st response and then the OP not being aware they could go back to TIL and ask again for some leniancy...Definitely.
Thanks - I really need you to use my numbering so this can be clear (ie what notice) - if you need to set out your responses using a computer and not a phone for example please do that - please make it easy for us to help you.From what I recall, I received the notice from transport for Wales and not TIL.
The TIL logo is on the paperwork shown.Do other forum members know could this be TIL acting on behalf of TfW?
I see the name on the paperwork E Ashby which brings a bell.
Thanks - do not make a plea yet - wait for advice on here as to what to do. You can then consider the options tomorrow.7. I haven't made the plea yet. I just received it today.
It is now! But I have asked that this be taken down as it reveals all personal details. No logo on the upload in post #1 hence my question originally.The TIL logo is on the paperwork shown.
1.YesPlease cover up your name and address and the ref number on that upload to protect your personal info. Then re upload it
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That post I think you are referring to was not directed at you. I asked it if other forum members.
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OK I have now switched to my lap top to reply instead of posting with my phone so that I can try and set out more clearly what is required and what I would suggest you do.
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This is what I think probably happened. Please correct any of this if it is wrong:
1) earlier in the year you travelled to Cardiff but by genuine mistake booked a ticket with the wrong date on. This was noticed by Transport for Wales (TfW) railway staff as what is called a 'ticket irregularity' which they reported for investigation.
TfW contract out this sort of investigation to a company called Transport Investigations Ltd (TIL). This is not great because TIL are not very easy to deal with.
2) TIL then wrote to you about this, and you replied by e-mail explaining what happened (if you can find a copy of the e-mail you sent please can you post a copy of it here without your personal details showing).
3) TIL then wrote again to you as a reply to your e-mail, but seemed not to have accepted your explanation of the ticketing mistake (sadly this is quite common for TIL - they seem to need people to make 2 or 3 requests for them not to prosecute before they accept your explanation and agree to the alternative, much more preferable option, to settle the matter out of court without a prosecution
4) This reply from TIL came when you were having some work/personal difficulties and you did not respond to it.
5) You have lost that response from TIL and can not now show us exactly what it said presumably? But you recall it did not accept your explanation of the mistake
6) You have recently received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) asking you to plead guilty or not guilty. This plea needs to be made by 2nd October
7) Have you sent back your plea to the court yet? (I hope you have not)
Using my numbers above please can you correct any of the above that I have got wrong and answer any of the questions I have asked where possible.
That will help provide advice for the next things to do.
1.YesThanks - I really need you to use my numbering so this can be clear (ie what notice) - if you need to set out your responses using a computer and not a phone for example please do that - please make it easy for us to help you.
OK - thanks for these answers - its helpful to have and thanks for setting them out clearly.1.Yes
2.As far as I remember it was TFW and not TIL. But Im not really sure.
3. Again,same . I remember sending emails twice to TFW.
4.
5. I am searching for the emails. But they just said the same-cant accept because I was at fault.
6.Yes. 7.Havent made a plea yet. Seeking advice regarding the same.
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queries@transportinvestigations.co.uk
This is mail id Ive replied to .
The following images seem like the most recent correspondence.
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1.Yes
2.As far as I remember it was TFW and not TIL. But Im not really sure.
3. Again,same . I remember sending emails twice to TFW.
4.
5. I am searching for the emails. But they just said the same-cant accept because I was at fault.
6.Yes. 7.Havent made a plea yet. Seeking advice regarding the same.
Apologies. Im trying to figure out how post to the right question.
Thank you, I will wait for your advice. Thank you very much again.OK - thanks for these answers - its helpful to have and thanks for setting them out clearly.
I do strongly think you should be removing your personal details from the things you are uploading however. You do not want everyone on the internet to know about this and have your name etc
We should be able to suggest your next steps to try and persuade TIL to drop the prosecution. I don't think I can do that until the morning but of course others may give you good advice too.
So you may be able to get advice on the Graduate Visa (assume this is what you mean) from your University student union or overseas student advice service. If they do not offer advice directly they will probably have an arrangement with an authorized immigration advisor that meets an acceptable standard of advice help to be able to give you help about that. But unless you need to get the visa sorted out before 2 October then best to try and sort the train fare problem out first if at all possible.Yes.in London
Thanks. I think from the copy of what you sent TIL seem to be being particularly unhelpful here.Thank you, I will wait for your advice. Thank you very much again.
So you may be able to get advice on the Graduate Visa (assume this is what you mean) from your University student union or overseas student advice service. If they do not offer advice directly they will probably have an arrangement with an authorized immigration advisor that meets an acceptable standard of advice help to be able to give you help about that. But unless you need to get the visa sorted out before 2 October then best to try and sort the train fare problem out first if at all possible.
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Thanks. I think from the copy of what you sent TIL seem to be being particularly unhelpful here.
Your message to them wasn’t perfect but it made it clear it was unintentional and you apologised for the mistake.
Are you sure TIL didn’t reply and ask you for any money? Eg that you may have thought was a request to buy another ticket which you might have thought wasn’t fair.
Or did they reply to say that they still planned to prosecute you?
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UPDATE FRIDAY - what I think you should do ASAP
I think what you need to do now is to try and secure an 'Out of Court' settlement from TIL which is a sum of money they will ask you to pay in exchange for which they will not take you to court and withdraw the prosecution action they have commenced.
This needs to happen by trying to persuade TIL to offer this. Essentially you have until the deadline for the return of the court documents to try and achieve this.
Unfortunately this will come at financial cost since they will look to charge you for a replacement ticket and some sort of 'admin fee' for what they have done so far - which could perhaps have been avoided had you replied to their earlier response to your request for leniency. But it's too late now. I think this will be better than letting it go to court because:
- the money you will have to pay the court if it goes to court and you are found guilty (and I suspect you would be even if it was not your intention to evade the fare) will be higher than a settlement sum of money
- if you are found guilty at the court you will have a criminal record and it is a good idea to avoid that if at all possible
I would suggest you send TIL a letter / e-mail along the following lines in the hope that they can be persuaded to offer you a settlement at this late stage - this needs to go to TIL not the court:
Dear Sir / Madam
Ref {Insert case ref number / court ref number]
My details: [Insert your name, date of birth and postal address and e-mail address]
I have recently received court paperwork in association with the above.
I am now writing to see if you would be prepared to settle the matter without the need for court action.
As I explained in my previous communication, the situation happened due to a mistake with the ticket booking for my journey, at no time did I have any intention to evade my train fare or travel with a ticket that was not valid. However, I apologise for any mistake that may have happened.
My ticket was checked by the gate line where I boarded the train, and on the train journey and the error was not drawn to my attention. It was only on arrival when this was noticed.
As a result of what has happened I have learned to be very careful in checking that my travel tickets are correct, and I will be sure to do this in future.
As a student studying in the UK I have limited resources and am anxious to avoid this needing to be dealt with by way of a prosecution. I was unable to respond more fully to previous communications due to some personal difficulties at the time. I apologise for this.
I would be most grateful if you could look at my case again and I would like to respectfully ask if you would be prepared to consider withdrawing the court action and allow the matter to be settled out of court. I would be prepared to pay any sums that I owe in respect of the travel and your administrative costs in dealing with this.
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours faithfully
[Insert your name]
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You may wish to wait a bit to see if experts have any suggested amends to what I think you should send - but I think you need to send this ASAP so later this afternoon.
But getting this to TIL is your absolute priority as the clock is ticking to the court date
- you should send this to the e-mail address you have / had for TIL
- you should also print a copy of it and post it to TIL if you have their postal address on any paperwork - not posted to the court - (you should take it to a post office and ask for a 'tracked' postal service so that you know when it gets delivered. You may wish to pay extra for next day delivery. If you are posting it today you need to get to a local post office by about 4pm - or by tomorrow by 11am on a Saturday. They will be able to provide that postal service
- keep copies of everything you have received and everything you send.
- Keep a copy of your postal tracking reference that the post office will give you so you can log on and see when it is delivered
- when you have sent this off you can get advice here on what to do about the documents from the court ahead of the 2nd October deadline - but that can probably wait until early next week so you can be prepared about what to do with them.
Good luck - if you have any questions please ask, but I hope this advice is clear.
| Thank you for the advice. I just sent this email to this id : queries@transportinvestigations.co.uk. TIL/TFW not sure who, levied a fine, which I appealed in June, and then I honestly got into a brainfog mode due to my personal life. |
I just got this reply to my email.So you may be able to get advice on the Graduate Visa (assume this is what you mean) from your University student union or overseas student advice service. If they do not offer advice directly they will probably have an arrangement with an authorized immigration advisor that meets an acceptable standard of advice help to be able to give you help about that. But unless you need to get the visa sorted out before 2 October then best to try and sort the train fare problem out first if at all possible.
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Thanks. I think from the copy of what you sent TIL seem to be being particularly unhelpful here.
Your message to them wasn’t perfect but it made it clear it was unintentional and you apologised for the mistake.
Are you sure TIL didn’t reply and ask you for any money? Eg that you may have thought was a request to buy another ticket which you might have thought wasn’t fair.
Or did they reply to say that they still planned to prosecute you?
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UPDATE FRIDAY - what I think you should do ASAP
I think what you need to do now is to try and secure an 'Out of Court' settlement from TIL which is a sum of money they will ask you to pay in exchange for which they will not take you to court and withdraw the prosecution action they have commenced.
This needs to happen by trying to persuade TIL to offer this. Essentially you have until the deadline for the return of the court documents to try and achieve this.
Unfortunately this will come at financial cost since they will look to charge you for a replacement ticket and some sort of 'admin fee' for what they have done so far - which could perhaps have been avoided had you replied to their earlier response to your request for leniency. But it's too late now. I think this will be better than letting it go to court because:
- the money you will have to pay the court if it goes to court and you are found guilty (and I suspect you would be even if it was not your intention to evade the fare) will be higher than a settlement sum of money
- if you are found guilty at the court you will have a criminal record and it is a good idea to avoid that if at all possible
I would suggest you send TIL a letter / e-mail along the following lines in the hope that they can be persuaded to offer you a settlement at this late stage - this needs to go to TIL not the court:
Dear Sir / Madam
Ref {Insert case ref number / court ref number]
My details: [Insert your name, date of birth and postal address and e-mail address]
I have recently received court paperwork in association with the above.
I am now writing to see if you would be prepared to settle the matter without the need for court action.
As I explained in my previous communication, the situation happened due to a mistake with the ticket booking for my journey, at no time did I have any intention to evade my train fare or travel with a ticket that was not valid. However, I apologise for any mistake that may have happened.
My ticket was checked by the gate line where I boarded the train, and on the train journey and the error was not drawn to my attention. It was only on arrival when this was noticed.
As a result of what has happened I have learned to be very careful in checking that my travel tickets are correct, and I will be sure to do this in future.
As a student studying in the UK I have limited resources and am anxious to avoid this needing to be dealt with by way of a prosecution. I was unable to respond more fully to previous communications due to some personal difficulties at the time. I apologise for this.
I would be most grateful if you could look at my case again and I would like to respectfully ask if you would be prepared to consider withdrawing the court action and allow the matter to be settled out of court. I would be prepared to pay any sums that I owe in respect of the travel and your administrative costs in dealing with this.
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours faithfully
[Insert your name]
---------------------------
You may wish to wait a bit to see if experts have any suggested amends to what I think you should send - but I think you need to send this ASAP so later this afternoon.
But getting this to TIL is your absolute priority as the clock is ticking to the court date
- you should send this to the e-mail address you have / had for TIL
- you should also print a copy of it and post it to TIL if you have their postal address on any paperwork - not posted to the court - (you should take it to a post office and ask for a 'tracked' postal service so that you know when it gets delivered. You may wish to pay extra for next day delivery. If you are posting it today you need to get to a local post office by about 4pm - or by tomorrow by 11am on a Saturday. They will be able to provide that postal service
- keep copies of everything you have received and everything you send.
- Keep a copy of your postal tracking reference that the post office will give you so you can log on and see when it is delivered
- when you have sent this off you can get advice here on what to do about the documents from the court ahead of the 2nd October deadline - but that can probably wait until early next week so you can be prepared about what to do with them.
Good luck - if you have any questions please ask, but I hope this advice is clear.
Did you also post a copy of that letter I suggested to TIL as I suggested? If not do that this morning at a post office.
Thank you for the advice. I just sent this email to this id :
queries@transportinvestigations.co.uk. TIL/TFW not sure who, levied a fine, which I appealed in June, and then I honestly got into a brainfog mode due to my personal life.
I didnt get a chance to post today because I had uni work. The maild id in the above link is the same as the one I mailed to. I will post it nowDid you also post a copy of that letter I suggested to TIL as I suggested? If not do that this morning at a post office.
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Use address on previous letters to send to them or send to
Prosecution Team
Transport Investigations Ltd
1 Station Approach
March
PE15 8SJ
As per here
Contact | TIL
transportinvestigations.co.uk
Get that in the post today next day delivery
That response to your e mail is unhelpful and suggests to me that they have not properly read what I suggested you send to them.