No ticket - criminal record

cheesypop

Hi everyone,

I wondered if someone could give me some advice.

My sister got caught on the train without a valid ticket and instead of giving her a fine they are taking her to a magistrates court. Does this mean if she is found guilty she will get a criminal record, and will this impact her life significantly (employment, travel, credit etc)?

She didnt have a ticket, for the reason below:

She had an important meeting (if she didnt attend she would likely been fired) and got caught in a big traffic jam on the way to the station, and then when she got there there was a big queue and so did not have time to get one.

When she saw the inspctor she asked to buy a ticket, and offered to pay the fine bt he refused.

She travels by train most days and has always paid for tickets and can prove this.

Do you think there is anyway she would be let off in court? Should she plead guilty or not guilty?

Thank you

A very worried sister

victor2

Should get some proper legal advice, but it doesn't seem like a "guilty or not guilty" question, more like mitigating circumstances, which magistrates will listen to, but it won't change the plea, just the punishment.
It might be possible to get it thrown out of court, but that is where decent legal advice will come in useful.

cheesypop

Thank you. I'll tell her to find a solicitor.

geordie_taxi

the problem is that train companies have some nasty tricks to extort monies out of unsuspecting passengers who have made a mistake. best bet get some proper advice from a lawyer or a jobsworth railway forum.

spacey2012

The !!!! and bull story will make it much worse.
losing your ticket is one thing but deliberately avoid the payment due to some flimsy excuse shows intent.

Tiddlywinks

geordie_taxi wrote: »

the problem is that train companies have some nasty tricks to extort monies out of unsuspecting passengers who have made a mistake. best bet get some proper advice from a lawyer or a jobsworth railway forum.

Oh come on... extortion? Get a grip.

She didn't buy a ticket but she got on the train anyway.

Usually, the guard gets off at each station as the doors open - she could easily have found him / her and asked to buy a ticket BEFORE she was approached.

It's not extortion - it's getting what's rightfully theirs - if there was no punishment for dodging (theft of services) then why would people bother to buy tickets?

geordie_taxi

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Oh come on... extortion? Get a grip.

She didn't buy a ticket but she got on the train anyway.

u need to think before posting as incorrect drivel makes u look silly. most train conmpaines dont have that requirement when travelling by train

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Usually, the guard gets off at each station as the doors open - she could easily have found him / her and asked to buy a ticket BEFORE she was approached.

and miss the last free seat. come on wots wrong with the lazy guard doing his job and coming to you to sell a ticket

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

It's not extortion - it's getting what's rightfully theirs - if there was no punishment for dodging (theft of services) then why would people bother to buy tickets?

nice to see that you have labeled the OPs sister as a fare dodger. so much for innocent until proven guilty.

cheesypop

I know everyone comes up with these excuses. She knows she was in the wrong not buying a ticket, but at the time was more worried about her job than the consequences of not having a ticket.

sulkisu

The problem here is that fare evasion is what is known as a 'strict liability offence', i.e. the reason why she had no ticket makes no difference to her guilt or innocence. A bit like drug possession or speeding offences. Her explanation as to why she failed to buy a ticket may make a difference to the penalty that she receives, but as you said, magistrates have heard it all before and tend to take a dim view of people taking them for fools. For example, unless your sister has been in her current employment for less then a year, the chances of her being summarily dismissed for missing/or being late for a meeting are virtually zero. Also if the trains run relatively frequently or if there were no siginificant traffic problems that morning (e.g. a major accident as oppose to just heavy traffic), I wouldn't expect her explanation to carry much weight.

I am suprised that they have chosen to prosecute though - are you sure that this is the first time that she has been caught without a ticket or indeed travelled without a ticket even if she wasn't stopped? They are more likely to prosecute repeat offenders.

cheesypop

This isnt sounding good. As far as im aware it is her first time being caught and she can provide most of her train tickets for past journeys or at least show her bank statements.

She had only been in her job for a couple of months at the time, hence why she was so worried.

I dont know how criminal records work, will having one for not paying a ticket stop her from traveling to the US, or getting credit etc?

Techno

Every train I have been on, (Arriva mainly but also Virgin) the guard has trotted down the carriage asking to see tickets after each station and selling to those who haven't got one. I always thought you were allowed to buy a ticket on a train - I didn't realise you had to go and find the guard to do so - is it not their job to make sure you have a valid ticket? (and before I am shouted at, I always buy my tickets in advance but have seen others buying in this way)