Suddenly got terrifying legal letters re: train penalty fare!

A question about : Suddenly got terrifying legal letters re: train penalty fare!

Thanks for helping,

I travelled a couple of months ago back home to Brighton without my network railcard (which I offered to collect, when I was stopped by someone manning the barriers, as my house is 4 mins from the station and I could leave my phone/wallet/bag/etc as a deposit) They wouldn't let me get the railcard to prove I owned it, nor would they allow me to call my friend to bring it(!!!) apparently that would be giving me an unfair advantage over other people who had forgotten their railcards!?

I've only just got these 3 legal letters as they were sent to my mum's address (which I gave because I didn't have a proper address of my own) and she didn't tell me until I visited recently.

I just thought that they hadn't bothered pursuing me over something so trivial. Now they're saying I owe Ј106.50. I have absolutely no way to pay that at all (credit cards/friends) even if I was willing to.

Thanks for any ideas

Best answers:

• How about paying it, as you seem to admit you did travel without your travelcard? Can you borrow money from family/friends to pay?
• To start with it is NOT trivial, you traveled without the ticket you are meant to have therefore you broke the t&c of the train company. You failed to respond to letters sent to an address that you supplied then did not check to see if there was any further letters relating to it {I take it from your comments hoping it would go away as it in your opinion not important }. You have now found out that is not the case, in the end the fine is due and will need to be paid so you need to QUICKLY find someone or some way to pay it otherwise not only will you have the fine but a criminal record as well.
  Too many people IMO these days seem to think that they can get away with this type of thing and come up with excuses as to why they should be let off {it was not my fault, I was running late, I just forgot to pick it up ect}. You have been caught, you did wrong now you need to sort it out and learn that rule are there and if you ignore then they sometimes come back and bite you.
• As you admit you are guilty of the offence then not paying it will have consequences a lot worse than finding the money now.
• I am of the opinion that the penalty fare should be twice the six month season ticket. OP travelled without a valid ticket. Just remember one dodger last year, a banker lost his job due to their evasion
• You could go to court and explain that you made an offer to fetch your rail card, you could show the rail card as proof that you did own it at the time, even if you failed to have it in your possession. Then it would be up to the judge to decide if you are guilty or not.
  Remember the courts don't always side with the railways. There was a case where a judge threw out a prosecution for someone having the wrong type of ticket to leave the train short of destination.
  It could also be worth writing back to the train company and stating your defence. They may let you off on this occasion. You could also make an offer to settle.
  On the balance of probability, I would think you will be found guilty if it does end in court, but it is not cut and dry.
• Well, you should be "willing to" as that is how it goes but, you sound young, so you do have my sympathy. I can imagine myself in a similar situation many moons ago. You tend to think you are the only one, a special case, but, in reality, of course, you are not.
  You need to find this money somehow, before it escalates and the repercussions continue.
  Maybe just use this as one of life's lessons. Good luck with it anyway.
• Read carefully. The court will be asked to order you to pay the Ј53 fare and Ј60 towards prosecution costs - i.e. the costs haven't yet been awarded, and until a court awards them, they aren't a part of what you owe, no matter what they'd like to believe.
  In your shoes, I'd pay the Ј53 sharpish, and include a letter that, as the Ј60 is towards costs and they have not yet initiated proceedings, that amount is not due. Maybe it won't stop them, but if you can't afford the full amount, at least that lets you turn up in court and argue that the fare has been paid in full and there is no case to answer - a court will look less favourably on a claim for costs if the costs are the only reason that the case has proceeded in the first place.
• Pay the Ј106.50 asap.
• I don't understand how they arrived at that figure? The hypothetical Ј60 would be "prosecution costs" which would only apply if the case went to court, and the original "fare avoided" is Ј53.00. I'm not sure how it works (we don't have penalty fares here in Scotland) but the letter should clarify exactly what you're being charged for.
  It also says intentional fare avoidance is a criminal offence, which suggests unintentional fare avoidance (e.g. when you have a valid ticket which you could have produced within a few minutes if allowed to do so) is merely a civil offence, i.e. you owe them money, and a court may insist that it is paid and award costs involved in recovering the money, but the court will not impose additional punishment nor will you get a criminal record.
  My advice is call their bluff. Send a letter by recorded delivery (keeping a copy of course) offering to pay the original Ј53 but disputing any additional charges. If they say that's not good enough, you can either try negotiating or just pay the Ј53 anyway, being careful to retain evidence of this, and inform them that as far as you're concerned the debt has been settled. No court could possibly find you guilty of fare evasion when you have in fact paid the fare (in addition to already holding a ticket which you'd forgotten), and they won't dare sue you in case the court decides you should not pay their stipulated penalty fare, which would then open the floodgates for refund claims.
  You should communicate your willingness to pay the original fare immediately: don't wait until you have the money in hand in case they escalate matters in the meantime.
  Also, be aware that disputing the amount they're trying to charge you may affect your credit rating, which may then be difficult to repair.
• I once missed a train due to a terrible incident on the tube-I saw my train moving out of the station and was with my elderly mum who naively thought I would be able to use my ticket on the next train.Ј74(train fare) later and my shocked mum then understood my anxiety to catch my original train.My advice would be to pay up and put it down to sad experience.I understand your frustration but this is a system and although you made an honest mistake the system does not not take it into account.
  The dreadful incident involved a death-Ј74 in the end was "only"money.
• OP - if the letter you have shown was dated this year I would advise writing back, explaining what happened, proving you had the card and offer to settle.
  However THAT letter is now a month old. Given this, and hoping proceedings are not yet underway, at best I would advise you do above and now find the Ј53 and call the number outlining your intent - a court should look favourably on you then.
  You asked for advice/ help and did say thanks. But you have flown in the face of the majority opinion on here. Do you really think it wise to start off "a campaign" given the facts behind your story.
  As people have wisely advised - try looking at this from the other party's perspective. Then have a close look at your own action in this - and I mean after the incident.
  I know you feel it is harsh and no one is doubting your story but don't let your emotion cloud what people are advising. You won't do it again.
  Good luck anyhow