Without ticket and wrong details given

[VP]

Hello everyone,
I am new for this forum and it seems to me this is the place I was looking for!
I can't think to anything else then the letter of " notice of intention to prosecute" I received this morning, and I would really appreciate your feed back, if possible. From what I could read from other people's posts, my case may really end up in Court. I was caught without ticket and on top of that I gave wrong name and wrong address (the address was checked over the phone by the inspector, and in the end I gave the correct one). I feel really bad and cannot think about the consequences this unresponsible action may have. I am scared to have a criminal record and risk my job as a nurse for a single and very idiot episode.
Does someone know how many chances I have to settle the case out of Court?I just finished to type my reply to First Capital Connect, and explained what happened. I will post it on Monday. do you know how long it takes to know the outcome of the Fare Evasion?
Thanks a lot in advance,
VP

 

[455driver]

It is really unlucky that you got caught the first time you tried it, FCC must have hundreds of RPIs because they always seem to catch people on the first occasion!

It can take several weeks/ a couple of months for your case to get through the system and there is nothing you can do to speed it up.

FCC are a very hardline TOC so it is very unlikely they will offer/accept an out of court settlement but it isnt unheard of, although lying about your address will probably scupper any chances of that though.

All you can do is send the letter and wait.

 

[bb21]

How many chances you will have to settle out of court? The simple answer is that no one knows. Some people get prosecuted on their first offence whilst others manage to persuade the train company to settle on more than one occasion. You should never rely on the possibility that you may be able to settle because once you are caught, you case may be taken straight to prosecution should the train company feel that they have a strong enough case.

As you may have already found out, providing a false name and address is a Section 5.3(c) offence under the Regulation of Railways Act, and conviction carries a criminal record with it should you be prosecuted under such legislation.

If you would like to try and persuade FCC to settle, you need to reply with a truthful account of what happened on the day, giving any mitigating circumstances you may have, and explain how you really feel now. You will need to offer to pay them the fare still owed, and in addition their costs in dealing with this matter. All you can then do once you have sent the reply is to wait and hope that they would give you another chance. If this is your first offence, they may well decide that you have learnt your lesson and allow you to settle for an admin fee, but be prepared for a figure that may well be three digits.