Ticket Irregularity Report

[ELLIOTFERG]

Hey all, new to this forum and am looking for some advice!

I received a ticket irregularity report after travelling without a valid railcard (it expired a week prior to travel and I hadn't realised, my bad!)
Now, the officer took my ID off me and took some details off it.

At the time I had forgotten that my provisional license has my old address on it, so I contacted tp express and asked them to change my address on the file so I could receive the letter.

On the same day, I went online to pay the fine through the online portal, as I had the reference number on the Ticket Irregularity Report that I was given on the train, so found the portal and went to pay online, only to find that the total was over £10,000

I then of course emailed TP Express again to query how this could be possible.
A few days later I received this letter.
Now, I have every intention of paying this fine, as it was my fault, however I'm going through a very rough financial patch and can't pay until I am paid my salary from my part time job.

I called the office number that was on the letter, with the hope of speaking to someone about an extension, as it is due tomorrow and I really can't afford to go to court over this.

But it was just an automated line that told me to email TP Express Revenue services to apply for an extension.

I have emailed them and explained that I want to pay but can't until the 5th February.

My only concern is that they don't seem to reply to emails, only in writing, and I'm concerned that nobody will pick my email up in time before it goes to court.

Will me reaching out within the 21 days pause the clock, persae? Or is it likely that the next letter I receive will be a court summons.

If I was to receive a summons, do they offer a settlement to pay before actually appearing in court?

 

[Sultan]

Can you provide details of the journey, including from / to and when? The screenshot looks a bit odd to me and doesn't agree to the amount in the letter (which still includes your reference so you may wish to redact that and re-upload).

I assume you have typed in the correct reference number into the portal?

 

[ELLIOTFERG]

Thanks Sultan,

Can you provide details of the journey, including from / to and when? The screenshot looks a bit odd to me and doesn't agree to the amount in the letter (which still includes your reference so you may wish to redact that and re-upload).

I assume you have typed in the correct reference number into the portal?

Thanks, Sultan, the amount on the portal is now correct.
My main question was really about the extension.

Is this something they normally accept?
Will me offering to pay when I am paid stop it from going to court?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hey all, new to this forum and am looking for some advice!

I received a ticket irregularity report after travelling without a valid railcard (it expired a week prior to travel and I hadn't realised, my bad!)
Now, the officer took my ID off me and took some details off it.

At the time I had forgotten that my provisional license has my old address on it, so I contacted tp express and asked them to change my address on the file so I could receive the letter.

On the same day, I went online to pay the fine through the online portal, as I had the reference number on the Ticket Irregularity Report that I was given on the train, so found the portal and went to pay online, only to find that the total was over £10,000

I then of course emailed TP Express again to query how this could be possible.
A few days later I received this letter.
Now, I have every intention of paying this fine, as it was my fault, however I'm going through a very rough financial patch and can't pay until I am paid my salary from my part time job.

I called the office number that was on the letter, with the hope of speaking to someone about an extension, as it is due tomorrow and I really can't afford to go to court over this.

But it was just an automated line that told me to email TP Express Revenue services to apply for an extension.

I have emailed them and explained that I want to pay but can't until the 5th January.

My only concern is that they don't seem to reply to emails, only in writing, and I'm concerned that nobody will pick my email up in time before it goes to court.

Will me reaching out within the 21 days pause the clock, persae? Or is it likely that the next letter I receive will be a court summons.

If I was to receive a summons, do they offer a settlement to pay before actually appearing in court?

The general advice given on here is if offered a settlement like this you need to be ready to pay it and in full as they do not generally extend the payment deadlines. I suspect on occasion they might be prepared ot consider a request but that's not easy if you can't get to speak to anyone / get a written agreement to a short extension of the payment deadline (assume you mean 5 Feb not 5 Jan?)

If they do escalate things (eg to court action) the outcome will cost more and be more time consuming for you.

Is there any option you can pursue to be able to make payment (eg borrow some funds from trusted friend or family member, or arrange short overdraft with bank - I suspect bank fees for this would be less than the extra costs it will end up being if you are unable to pay by their deadline)? I'm sure you have thought of all this however.

So in terms of your 2 questions:

A) Is this something they normally accept? - I suspect not usually, no

b) Will me offering to pay when I am paid stop it from going to court? - only if they specifically agree to a payment deadline extension, so you would have to ask.

If it went to court you can negotiate payments in instalments, and your income is taken into account when the fine is set - but since the whole court process will end up costing you much more in terms of fine/costs/victim surcharge etc as well as getting a criminal record the best advice is to avoid it going to court by doing whatever you (legally) can do to prevent that.

also

C) If I was to receive a summons, do they offer a settlement to pay before actually appearing in court? - Almost certainly not - this is your offer to pay outside of court, they won't want to re-open the case and if they do it's more admin for them and thus more costs to them

So if the deadline is tomorrow I'd really urge you to pay it - otherwise it will be vital to get a written agreement from Trans Pennine to extend the payment deadline but given the time you have available I suspect that will not be easy to get.

At £50 admin plus the fare owed this is a pretty reasonable offer from them in financial terms ('admin' fees on here usually seem to be from £100 to £150), and is the same as if they had offered a Penalty Fare, not that this makes it any better when money is short.

Sorry none of this is particularly great news.

EDIT - I guess some sort of advance on your wages from your employer is not an option? Even if it was it would have to be arranged at very short notice now so I can see that would not be easy to sort out.

 

[gray1404]

Pay it by the end of tomorrow. Do you have access to a credit card you can use? Or borrow the money?

 

[Haywain]

I have emailed them and explained that I want to pay but can't until the 5th January.

My only concern is that they don't seem to reply to emails, only in writing, and I'm concerned that nobody will pick my email up in time before it goes to court.

Will me reaching out within the 21 days pause the clock, persae? Or is it likely that the next letter I receive will be a court summons.

I take it the date should be 5th February? If you can't pay it online can you send a cheque or postal order for the correct amount as stated in the letter? There is clearly an error with the amount being asked for online. It is better to find a way of paying now, rather than holding off.

 

[WesternLancer]

Are you a student by any chance? If so does your college / uni have a Hardship Fund - I doubt they would give money to pay fines they might think you should have avoided by checking your Railcard validity - but they might allow an application for general hardship if funds are tight.
But you'd still need to pay this by their deadline.

 

[spag23]

No-one else has said it yet; so I will!
Note the expiry date of your new card somewhere (analogue or digital) where it will reliably alert you to renew.
And tell the Company you've done this; so they can give you due credit for efforts to avoid a recurrence.

 

[John R]

Just an aside, but you have also committed an offence by not updating your driving license for your current address, so I would get that sorted too as a matter of urgency.

 

[optimuspr1me]

Can I ask what offence warranted a £10,000+ fine? I’ve never seen such an extortionate amount

 

[skyhigh]

Can I ask what offence warranted a £10,000+ fine? I’ve never seen such an extortionate amount

It was clearly a mistake or holding amount while the office processed the report. The letter makes clear the settlement amount they wanted was £112.00.

 

[Hadders]

I agree that the only certain way to avoid this escalating to court is to pay the amount by close of play in 25th January (21 days from the date of the letter). I would try to borrow the money if you don't have it as if it ends up in court it will end up costing much more than this.

 

[ELLIOTFERG]

UPDATE
I managed to raise the cash to pay the fine, but it sadly seems that the day the letter is issued is included in the 21 days so I have now missed the deadline.

I have tried paying via the portal but it seems to be broken (see screenshot below)

I have followed my extension request email with the same screenshot, as it clearly shows I have tried to pay.

Hopefully, they show some manner of understanding, seeing as I was only an hour, maybe even less? Off of making the cut-off.
Thanks for your help so far, forum.

Does anyone have any advice past this point?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2024 ==

UPDATE
I managed to raise the cash to pay the fine, but it sadly seems that the day the letter is issued is included in the 21 days so I have now missed the deadline.

I have tried paying via the portal but it seems to be broken (see screenshot below)

I have followed my extension request email with the same screenshot, as it clearly shows I have tried to pay.

Hopefully, they show some manner of understanding, seeing as I was only an hour, maybe even less? Off of making the cut-off.
Thanks for your help so far, forum.

Does anyone have any advice past this point?

 

[gray1404]

Phone the number at the top.of the letter in the morning too. Be very clear that you are paying within the 21 days set and ask them to reinstate the ability to pay online.

 

[Hadders]

What time of day did you try to make the payment. If it was late it is just possible that their system was down for maintenance. Try again this morning and if you still can't do it phone them.

 

[WesternLancer]

UPDATE
I managed to raise the cash to pay the fine, but it sadly seems that the day the letter is issued is included in the 21 days so I have now missed the deadline.

I have tried paying via the portal but it seems to be broken (see screenshot below)

I have followed my extension request email with the same screenshot, as it clearly shows I have tried to pay.

Hopefully, they show some manner of understanding, seeing as I was only an hour, maybe even less? Off of making the cut-off.
Thanks for your help so far, forum.

Does anyone have any advice past this point?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2024 ==

You may want to remove that screenshot from your post as it gives your name and e-mail address in a visible manner in the image.

Good luck with sorting this.

 

[gray1404]

I would suggest the following:

1. Try making the payment again now. Screen shot the receipt. Also screenshot any evidence it was not possible to make the payment.

2. If this fails phone the number on the letter and start by asking the name of the person you speak to, state you a wanting to make payment and can they take payment over the phone there and then. If they say no ask if they will reinstate the ability to pay online. If this is not possible proactively say that you are putting a cheque in the post today first class. I was recommend you download a free app that will be able to make a recording of the phone call. Ask the person to make a record of your call.

3. Then send a cheque in the post today with a cover note quoting your reference number and explaining that you have tried to make payments online which has not been possible due to their error so are therefore sending a cheque in full and final settlement. I would send this first class and make sure to obtain a proof of posting receipt from the Post Office.

4. Also today send them an email confirming you tried to make payment online but the system failed, state the time you called, who you spoke to and you were calling to advise of the above and that you have therefore sent a cheque first class.