Will I get prosecuted?

[bpkzz7]

I got written out a penalty fare for short faring. I gave a wrong name and a wrong address although one of my names was pretty similar to my actual one. Could I get prosecuted if I don't pay the fine? Should i pay the fine?

 

[WesternLancer]

I got written out a penalty fare for short faring. I gave a wrong name and a wrong address although one of my names was pretty similar to my actual one. Could I get procecuted if I don't pay the fine? Should i pay the fine?

If they can trace you and you don’t pay, yes it could escalate to court.

If you short fared and had some sort of ticket which was scanned they can link that back to the personal details of the person who bought the ticket pretty easily if they want to.

The simplest way to prevent this going further is to pay the Penalty Fare I would think. If paid quickly it is reduced from £100 to £50.

 

[dosxuk]

Could I get prosecuted if I don't pay the fine?

Absolutely. That is exactly what will happen. And courts and bailiffs are a lot better at finding people than the train operators, so you can expect it to eventually catch up with you.

Should i pay the fine?

Obviously yes.

But what you should do first is post all the details here about what happened, along with photos of the paperwork that you were given. There may be a procedural error that means you can appeal the fine and legitimately not pay it.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

But what you should do first is post all the details here about what happened, along with photos of the paperwork that you were given. There may be a procedural error that means you can appeal the fine and legitimately not pay it.

I suspect that in practical terms, this route isn't available. As

. I gave a wrong name and a wrong address

This means that if the OP wanted to challenge the penalty fare on a technicality, they would have to admit to giving false details - and the only way they could get a reply, even if they won on a technicality, would be by giving their real name and address, which would let the railway follow them up over the false details.

Starting from where the OP is, in my view the best way to avoid paying too much to the railway is
- pay the penalty fare now while the penalty element is £50, before it goes up to £100, and
- in future, always buy the right ticket before getting on the train, and so avoid having to pay any more penalty fares.

 

[Haywain]

But what you should do first is post all the details here about what happened, along with photos of the paperwork that you were given. There may be a procedural error that means you can appeal the fine and legitimately not pay it.

It's going to be tricky to appeal when a false name and address has been given.

 

[6Gman]

I got written out a penalty fare for short faring. I gave a wrong name and a wrong address although one of my names was pretty similar to my actual one. Could I get prosecuted if I don't pay the fine? Should i pay the fine?

What sort of ticket were you using?

If you had a paper ticket, bought from a ticket office with cash then there is clearly no record that could be used.

If you had an electronic ticket which was scanned by the member of staff then there is a prospect you could be traced.

Or you could be honest, pay the penalty fare and for appropriate tickets going forward.