oh I just read your post Old-CodJA regarding the fines. Thanks for that, very informative! To be honest I don't really mind the charges as long as they are below £500 but my major concern is the criminal record as I'm graduating from uni this spring and don't want it to have a detrimental effect on my career. Will it be unrecognisable or will I have to tick the box in the application forms? And how long will it be there before it's removed? thanks!

SPRO and Underground I received a reply from the prosecution office today and they rejected my offer of settling out of court. I had presented them with lots of mitigating facts and made references to the TLC Revenue Enforcement and Prosecutions act but no luck even though I am first time offender. Is there anything you can suggest that I can do to settle out of court at this stage? Will getting a lawyer help or just add to my expenses as my case is not very strong (used someone else's freedom pass) and therefore might not be dropped afterall? Can somebody clarify once and for all what the outcome of going to court will be in terms of criminal record and penalty charges. Some say its unrecognisable and some say the opposite and finally what will the charges be at minimum? Many thanks

Oh and I believe my case is being dealt by the prosecution office. The letter is signed by the prosecution manager and there are no details or anywhere stating the BTP. So I guess that's one good thing.

Thank you underground One of the reasons as to why I was using someone else's freedom pass was because I couldn't afford to pay for my ticket. I was still waiting for my student loan to come through and had already pretty much maxed my overdraft. I'm afraid I had been using it for a week or so when I was caught. And this was indicated in my court summons, as the inspector had printed off a journey history for the past 12 journeys. The inspector was very good at his job, took down all the details, gave me the caution prior to the interview (details available in the court summons). He tricked me into staying behind. When I was first caught, he was very convincing in informing me that if I were to leave without giving any information, I would most likely end up in court. However if I co-operated and was sincere then I would get a penalty fine as it had been my first offense. Following having agreed, he started taking down the details. I have to admit this made me feel very uncomfortable and embarrassed but I'm not sure whether I can use this as an argument? Is not better if I say I was honest and co-operative rather than felt compelled to stay behind because of what the inspector said? I gave my driving license and in my court summons, I have signed everything so I can't use the pace argument or take back any comments that I made at the time. If the prosecutor is a decent person and takes the above information into consideration, then hopefully they will agree to settling out of court. Appreciate any advice that might help me cheers.

UNDERGROUND: My case was I used someone else's freedom pass. from the moment when the moment the incident occurred, I was sincere, honest and cooperative with inspectors hoping this would work in my favour. It is my first offense and I am student graduating this year and I know the criminal record will work against me due to the profession I'm going to enter. So I have used the TFL revenue enforcement and prosecution policy guidelines to refer to my case, saying in one of the sections some of the factors considered before prosecution is: - whether you are a first time offenser or not - and how cooperative you have been with the TFL inspectors throughout the process up til the later stages Therefore when considering the details of my case, these factors have not been taken into consideration and therefore it could be open to suggest that the court summons is a bit unfair. What bothers me about the tfl prosecution team is that there seem to be no rules. So ppl get to settle out of court very easily (via phone, mail), others have to keep on trying until they hopefully get a yes and the rest are simply unlucky. how do you crack this team? Thank you in advance

Yes you are right however, In the TFL revenue-enforcement and prosecution policy under section 11.1 it states: "tfl revenue inspectors will "caution" any suspect in accordance with the PACE act 1984." http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf I understand they are allowed to some extent change the wording of the PACE act but the message must be pretty clear and if not you can use that as an argument to suggest to TFL that it would be inadmissible in a court of law. If would unfair for tfl to trigger a guilty plea from you without having informed you about your rights beforehand.

Hi everyone, 2 MUST sites to check when dealing with fare evasion: First one informs you about your rights and what you can use as argument to defend your case for being caught on tube: Lost London Law Student: Dodging Fare Evasion - A Guide this one relates to anyone being caught on buses: Know Your Bus Rights make sure you read any statements made on the court summons. Check whether you have signed it or not. If you haven't then it will easier to get out of it. Look for discrepancies, the TFL inspector may have surmised what you have said, or might not have written down what you said at all. Finally check the PACE act 1984 which states: "You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.” Followed by you are not under arrested nor obliged to stay behind to answer questions. If these guidelines have not been followed properly then:anything obtained from you from that point onwards is unfair and should be excluded under s 78 PACE. As funkyparott mentioned earlier you could then state: I believe any confession obtained without the PACE guidelines being followed makes any such confession inadmissable in a court of law. oh and also, if you were unfortunate enough to still end up in court you will get unrecognisable criminal record, that is you will not have to state this when applying for jobs etc. EXCEPT if you are in specific professions such as teaching, law and I think accounting (not sure abt the last one). Hope this helps. I am in touch with TFl atm, hoping they will drop my case and settle out of court. fingers crossed.

Hi everyone, 2 MUST sites to check when dealing with fare evasion: First one informs you about your rights and what you can use as argument to defend your case for being caught on tube: Lost London Law Student: Dodging Fare Evasion - A Guide this one relates to anyone being caught on buses: Know Your Bus Rights make sure you read any statements made on the court summons. Check whether you have signed it or not. If you haven't then it will easier to get out of it. Look for discrepancies, the TFL inspector may have surmised what you have said, or might not have written down what you said at all. Finally check the PACE act 1984 which states: "You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.” Followed by you are not under arrested nor obliged to stay behind to answer questions. If these guidelines have not been followed properly then:anything obtained from you from that point onwards is unfair and should be excluded under s 78 PACE. As funkyparott mentioned earlier you could then state: I believe any confession obtained without the PACE guidelines being followed makes any such confession inadmissable in a court of law. Hope this helps. I am in touch with TFl atm, hoping they will drop the case and settle out of court. fingers crossed.