Prosecuted by Xcountry despite having valid ticket

Quentin

Try and settle this out of court if at all possible! (Offer to compensate them for their expenses as well as pay them whatever they are chasing off you).

If you decide to try the court, you ought to get legal advice, rather than relying on forum posts!

If this does reach court and you are found guilty, then apart from the cost (which won't be cheap, and could include: cost of the correct ticket, £15 victim surcharge, court costs £90, before whatever fine they impose), much worse, you will have a criminal record!

Livingthedream

jackpease wrote: »

If a magistrate cannot take into account the fact that i had paid my fare, and could prove it, then i may as well plead guilty. If a magistrate is able to listen to an argument that this is a waste of court time for such a small fare when the fact that i had paid a fare is not in dispute, then i'd plead not guility and try my luck (if i knew what the tariff for this was!)

Who knows what the magistrate might think? Who knows whether the train company would want this tested in court? There's to many variables.

The only other advice I can give is, do a search on this forum for 'byelaws' or 'railway prosecution' as there was a poster, few years back that suffered similar to yourself and through letter writing to the Train Company got the case dropped.

If I find it I'll post it as well.

Quentin wrote: »

If you decide to try the court, you ought to get legal advice, rather than relying on forum posts!

Top advice

Mk14:37

When did this occur, and how do you know that they're going to prosecute?

My wife travelled outside of the Oyster zone and an "intention to prosecute" notice arrived in the post, stating "intention to evade fare". We wrote back pointing out the half-dozen inaccuracies / inconsistencies in their allegations and haven't heard anything since (circa six months now I think)

jackpease

Thanks people. It occurred early November, and they've been sending the threatening letters since with me supplying reasoned replies and offers, which they discount, and the latest says they will lay their case within the next 14 days.

Who knows if they mean it - I think i fell foul of a young ticket inspector with a target to meet, i got my credit card out to validate the coupon and she just assumed a respectable middle aged bloke would just pay up. If she hadn't accused me of trying to 'evade my fare' i might have done, and of course I should have done just to make it go away..

I shall send another letter offering to settle, with all these folk around who deliberately evade fares, not quite sure why they're bothering with me.

Hey ho, i'll post here the outcome in case anyone else follows my path

yorkie2

Quentin wrote: »

... much worse, you will have a criminal record!

He won't get a criminal record if it's a Byelaw offence, as they are not recordable.

newfoundglory

jackpease wrote: »

I shall send another letter offering to settle, with all these folk around who deliberately evade fares, not quite sure why they're bothering with me.

This is a pure money-making exercise. Even now I struggle to understand how they are allowed to get away with it - its a complete scandal. Government to blame.

jackpease

Yorkie2: is that right? Are you sure a byelaw offence doesn't lead to criminal record? That makes my position easier - may just call their bluff and wave the valid tickets in the court and see if the magistrate considers this as vexatious and not in the public interest as i do!

Stigy

jackpease wrote: »

Yorkie2: is that right? Are you sure a byelaw offence doesn't lead to criminal record? That makes my position easier - may just call their bluff and wave the valid tickets in the court and see if the magistrate considers this as vexatious and not in the public interest as i do!

It's still a criminal offence, and as such, being convicted of such means you have a criminal record, by default. Byelaws are non-recordable on the Police National Computer, and as this is what companies such as the CRB and Disclosure Scotland use when doing checks on people for employers etc, you could argue that there's no paper trail to suggest a criminal record. If however a prospective employer asks if you've been convicted of a criminal offence, you'd be lying if you answered "No"....

Quentin

jackpease wrote: »

Yorkie2: is that right? Are you sure a byelaw offence doesn't lead to criminal record? That makes my position easier - may just call their bluff and wave the valid tickets in the court and see if the magistrate considers this as vexatious and not in the public interest as i do!

It will depend what you are charged with (whether it's a bye law offence or not).

But (to repeat!), if you are considering taking this to court, get advice from a solicitor first!

wealdroam

jackpease wrote: »

...may just call their bluff and wave the valid tickets in the court and see if the magistrate considers this as vexatious and not in the public interest as i do!

I'm confused.

In your original post you told us...

jackpease wrote: »

I was travelling X country on an e-ticket, which involves printing out barcoded ticket(s). I printed out e tickets, and x-country email receipt, and on the return leg when asked for ticket realised i'd thrown away the return barcode and kept the outgoing one.

How are you going to 'wave the valid ticket in the court' if you have already thrown it away?