train fare fine. recieved no letters

[amyc92]

Hello, Around a year ago I didn't purchase a ticket on the train, the conductor said they would send me a payment form which I never recieved and just forgot about. Today I look in the paper and see my name, age and address and saying 'was found guilty in his absence at Magistrates’ Court' I didn't recieve any warning letters and now I have no idea what I need to do! any advice would be brilliant TIA

 

[RPI]

Hello, Around a year ago I didn't purchase a ticket on the train, the conductor said they would send me a payment form which I never recieved and just forgot about. Today I look in the paper and see my name saying : A man who failed to pay his £5.10 rail fare between has found himself £595 out of pocket. "" was found guilty in his absence at Magistrates’ Court and must pay a £400 fine, £5.10 compensation, a £40 surcharge and £150 costs.. I didn't recieve any warning letters and now I have no idea what I need to do! any advice would be brilliant TIA

If you genuinely didn't know about the case then you should contact the magistrates court and ask to make a statutory declaration, this will effectively reset the clock back to the summons which will be reissued. How did you not receive the summons? Did you give the inspector the correct details?

 

[tony6499]

How do you know it is you ? Could it be someone else ?

 

[Tim R-T-C]

How do you know it is you ? Could it be someone else ?

It was in his local paper and mentions name and age, so probably not hard to guess it is the same person.

EDIT: OP, you are best to remove the exact newspaper quote if you want to remain relatively anonymous here.

 

[amyc92]

Yes my name and address is in the paper. But not the number of my house so not sure if they have the correct number. So it would be best to call up? I am so embarrassed that it has gone into the paper.
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And no I have not recieved any letters, not even the summons. I haven't even receieved a letter saying I have been fined yet.

 

[Yew]

It might be worthwhile asking an admin to change your username to something more anonymous too.

I don't suppose you would give a rough account of the circumstances you where caught, and a transcript of the subsequent conversation with the Ticket Inspector? It will help us judge the best course of action to take.

Not insinuating you are misleading us, but it would be amiss of me not to point out that making a false Statutory Declaration is a crime. So if you received and ignored the letters, hoping they would go away, and then make a declaration saying you did not receive them, then you could be charged with Perjury.

 

[amyc92]

Well basically I was travelling from work to home. I tried to pay on card but the card machine didn't work so they said they would send me a payment form. Which I never recieved. Then I just forgot about it and haven't heard anything since until a work friend told me about this appearing in the paper.

 

[bb21]

Did you have to sign anything after giving your name and address on the day of the incident?

 

[amyc92]

Yes I remember having to sign something

 

[bb21]

I agree with the others that Statutory Declaration may be the way forward. What it would do is reset the clock back to the beginning so that Northern can retake whatever actions it took, eg. send you a bill for the fare, etc.

I asked the question as to whether you signed anything because you need to be aware of the possibility that if Northern dug out the notes from that day and realised that you gave (or confirmed) a false address, you could end up with a charge under fare evasion, which carries a criminal record if convicted under.

I don't know under what offence you are convicted at the moment (and neither do you I suspect) so you may have already been convicted under the Regulation of Railways Act, which carries a criminal record. But if you are currently convicted under the Byelaws (which carries no criminal record) you may end up making things worse for yourself. I think you need to contact the court to find out that information first.

 

[amyc92]

Ok thanks for that!

Well I know they have got the street correct as it is in the paper.

I will contact the court and see what they say.

Thank you for the help.

 

[45002]

Hello, Around a year ago I didn't purchase a ticket on the train, the conductor said they would send me a payment form which I never recieved and just forgot about. Today I look in the paper and see my name, age and address and saying 'was found guilty in his absence at Magistrates’ Court' I didn't recieve any warning letters and now I have no idea what I need to do! any advice would be brilliant TIA

For Reference http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?431947-Train-fair-fine

 

[Flamingo]

I know that with an Unpaid Fare Notice (at least the ones I issue) it clearly states that the onus is on the person receiving it to pay, no reminders are sent.

I believe the only time that a passenger is contacted would be for their side of the story from an MG11 or similar.

(I'm sure somebody will be along soon to correct me!)

 

[najaB]

I know that with an Unpaid Fare Notice (at least the ones I issue) it clearly states that the onus is on the person receiving it to pay, no reminders are sent.

If the OP hasn't omitted anything from their description of the events, it doesn't sound like it was a UPFN as the guard said that something would be sent in the post.

 

[Flamingo]

Which implies it was an MG11. A few more details would be good...

 

[timbo58]

I think it's likely therefore he must've spoken not to a conductor or guard but to an RPI or someone who issued an MG11.

Although I've been out of the loop for over 5 years now, in my time on the railway it was only someone trained who could issue an MG11 and only an MG11 or similar that could end up in court action.

 

[bb21]

Speaking generally and simplistically, a UPFN or Penalty Fare that remained unpaid could also result in court proceedings.

 

[najaB]

Speaking generally and simplistically, a UPFN or Penalty Fare that remained unpaid could also result in court proceedings.

Agreed. But I would've expected the OP to have been given something at the time. Also, it's more likely that a PF or UPFN would go to a civil debt collection agency rather than through the courts.

 

[Flamingo]

Speaking generally and simplistically, a UPFN or Penalty Fare that remained unpaid could also result in court proceedings.

True, but if it was a UFN there would not have been an initial payment demand, as the UFN form is the payment demand. However, there would have been follow-up letters detailing the admin charges before a final court summons.

Either the OP ignored a UFN, or ignored an MG11, or all the paperwork went to the wrong address.

As has been pointed out, a Statutory Declaration may not be the best route for them...

 

[amyc92]

I got told I would be sent a payment form in the post, not sure what that means. But I never recieved anything.
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Should I ring the courts and make sure they have the right address or do I ring and ask for a Statutory Declaration? Or do I just ring and see what I have been 'charged' with then ask for advice? So confused on what the best option is.

 

[bb21]

Yes, ring or visit the court and find out what the offence is to start with. You can then decide what you would like to do next once you have that information. Take it one step at a time.

 

[cuccir]

Yes - you are best to contact someone about this. If you have been fined and do not pay then you are likely to be hassled by debt-collection agencies at some point in the near future. They will seek to obtain a higher administrative charge from you. The sooner you act the better.

If you have been prosecuted under the 'By-laws' with a low fine (under £150) then you will not have a criminal record - so it may be easiest for you to pay the fine and be done with it.

 

[Stigy]

I agree we need more details on this one. A Guard would have issued some form of paperwork if it was a UFN, same as if it was a PF.

Amy, if you genuinely had no knowledge of proceedings, you need to start making some phone calls and find out what's going on. Bearing in mind you have NO knowledge of any proceedings, I'd first contact the train company concerned to see what happened, as I'm assuming you're unaware which court heard the case? If you know which court it was, you need to go to them and ask to fill out a Statutory Declaration. This will re-open the case and is intended for such situations whereby a defendant is unaware of a case going to court.

It's strange for a case to get this far without the defendant knowing anything about it. You should check with the court that they have your correct details too, because as you've only heard from this from a news paper, I'm assuming you've not had the official outcome from the court and thus could also be in arrears there too.

Bit of a stab in the dark, but how common is your name (I'm assuming you're not an Amy as the article mentions a man....Unless you really are mistaken ), and could you be confused with what you've read and are panicking unnecessarily?

 

[Darandio]

Bit of a stab in the dark, but how common is your name, and could you be confused with what you've read and are panicking unnecessarily?

But it had the correct street too, bit of a long shot, surely?

 

[PermitToTravel]

A Statutory Declaration must be made within 21 days of finding out about the matter.
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True, but if it was a UFN there would not have been an initial payment demand, as the UFN form is the payment demand. However, there would have been follow-up letters detailing the admin charges before a final court summons.

Either the OP ignored a UFN, or ignored an MG11, or all the paperwork went to the wrong address.

As has been pointed out, a Statutory Declaration may not be the best route for them...

If the OP has not forgotten to tell us anything here (e.g. gave wrong address; ignored letters) than making a Statutory Declaration is imperative.

 

[amyc92]

No my name is not Amy haha. It is definitly me, as the street is correct and my name is not that common. The newspaper also states the court it was held at. I am back from holiday tomorrow night so I will ring the courts first thing on Friday morning. I am assuming they have the wrong address as I have not recieved one single letter. I will keep you all updated. Thanks for the help.