Til Mitigation

[Nipa]

That's not quite how it works, as I doubt they have to present a court with the full suite of surveillance based evidence you suggest...

But - they do have a fairly strong incentive to reach a settlement out of court, and that is because the railway then keeps all of the money you pay in that settlement, whereas fines to courts go into the 'government pot' apart from the victim surcharge type amount, plus a sum for the fare evaded, as I understand it.

But there are cases where they will feel it is necessary to go for a more punitive approach with people who have evaded fares (probably persistent evaders, those who have then sought to avoid the process after having been stopped etc etc).

Evidence from these forums is that if you engage with the railway now and co-operate within processes, apologise etc, there is a very strong chance that things would not end up in court.

On the TIL website it does say that it checks CCTV and ticket machines if they decide to proceed with ‘further action’. But yes maybe you are right and they don’t have to provide the full suite of evidence

 

[skyhigh]

Like it’s actually so long even if you are 100% guilty.

They normally send a job lot of cases to court, and in a single session can have a couple of dozen cases heard and decided. Doesn't take long at all. Most offences prosecuted are under byelaws and don't require any proof of intent.

They need to actually prove you’re guilty which involves gathering CCTV footage, checking whether ticket machines were working at that time, then finding a court date etc etc which is just so much hassle, time waste and money for them.

They hardly ever need CCTV. Ticket machine logs are easy to access. They don't need to find a court date etc - they simply send a job lot to court, and they pick the date. As I said before, with most offences they prosecute under byelaws so don't need to prove your intention. The rail industry loses an incredible amount of money through fare evasion - prosecuting offences is absolutely not a waste of time or money for the companies when a settlement is not agreed.

If they have enough evidence and you don't agree a settlement they will take you to court, and it won't be a problem for them.

 

[AlterEgo]

They need to actually prove you’re guilty which involves gathering CCTV footage, checking whether ticket machines were working at that time, then finding a court date etc etc which is just so much hassle, time waste and money for them. And for what? Just so they can slap you with an even bigger fine potentially? Of which they won’t even get to keep most of because of lawyer fees, court fees etc. Especially with covid taking a hit on their profits. The most pragmatic and logical solution would be for them to just settle this out of court. That’s just my opinion though

It is usually more pragmatic for train companies to settle out of court, but you are more than a little naive to think that there is very much work that needs to be done to secure a conviction.

Sometimes, train companies will make a slew of prosecutions to demonstrate to the public that they have the powers to do so, in the hope of deterring other people from committing offences.

 

[Nipa]

@JXVB do u have an Instagram or soemthing cos I can’t DM on this

 

[py_megapixel]

@JXVB do u have an Instagram or soemthing cos I can’t DM on this

To DM someone, hover over their username and click "Start Conversation"

 

[JXVB]

Just thought I'd update everyone, got letter through today and I got the out of court settlement, for just north of £70, so glad i can get this off my mind now. Paid straight asway and got a receipt.

 

[Nipa]

That’s wonderful news, srsly happy for you and glad you got the outcome you desired .