It doesn't really matter in terms of the process from now on whether you did or did not get any letters, or whose fault that was (maybe Royal Mail lost them, maybe your relative at the house lost them, maybe the court didn't send them properly....) the end result is the same - you have been convicted without being aware of it.
I think now you have the following options in reality (and I don't think any of them involve ringing GTR or the court at this stage).
A)
Pay the sum detailed on the court letter you uploaded before the deadline stated (30 June?).
This closes the matter and the costs will not go up (if you do not pay the court, bailiffs will come to seek the money as is explained and the costs of them doing that will be added to the sum listed in the letter.)
But -
- That sum is almost certainly higher than an out of court settlement would have been had you been able to secure one
- You will still have a criminal record that you will have to declare when asked for a certain period of time (a year or two maybe - you would have to check), albeit for a relatively minor crime
or
B)
Carry out the process of making a Statutory Declaration (SD) within 21 days of you becoming aware of your conviction - and try to do this yourself. This 're-sets the clock' and if done correctly using advice from here as posted on other equivalent threads may allow you time to then negotiate an out of court settlement with GTR before the case gets relisted for trial at court again (the ultimate point of an SD from the courts point of view is to re-do what they have done, but with you aware of it so you could plead at the court etc, make your mitigation and such like - but of course you don't want it to go to court at all - because if it did you would just be found guilty again and the end result would be the same ie a fine and a criminal record)
Here are some threads about using the Statutory Declaration Process to try and get cases re-set - if you read these and follow the process that is explained in them carefully - you may feel confident in doing this yourself.
Hi everyone, I could really use some advice about a court fine I’ve just discovered. Back on 09/12/2024, I bought a discounted return ticket from London Bridge to Gatwick Airport, forgetting that my 26–30 railcard had already expired. When inspected, I gave my real name and address and...
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https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/help-with-hmcts-baliffs.284728/
Hello I was hopping to get some advice here as I’ve asked around with friends and family and can’t seem to find anyone in my situation I’m a 2nd year university student and around September 2023 i was caught with no train ticket I filled the form with my details and they said they were going to...
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or
C) Use a solicitor specialising in railway fares issues like this to help you with both the SD process and obtaining an out of court settlement
This might cost from £600 to £1000 in legal fees plus the cost of the settlement (so more than the court fine in option A)
BUT it would mean you would not have the criminal record in the end - so you would have to decide if it was worth it to you to pay that sort of money to get this help.
It might be an option if you don't feel confident in doing the process yourself.
Such solicitors get mentioned on this forum so if you want to ask them for quotes we can give the details of several solicitors firms
I hope all this helps - have a read of those linked threads - I think that is the first thing you need to do.