Accused of Fraud by Penalty Fare Staff

[TommyH]

I received a penalty fare of £20 which I paid the same day I received.

 

During my debrief by the Penalty Fare Officer he asked me to put a name and short address onto his little notepad so i wrote my abbreviated name and address onto his notepad, then I got out my Driver's License so he could fill in his Penalty Fare Notice with my full details.

 

As I left the train he took me to one side and told me that because I hadn't given my full name on his notepad I was liable to prosecution.

 

Should I be expecting a letter with a court date?

 

I have kept the copy of the penalty fare proving that when requested i provided evidence of my full name and address.

[Stigy]

If he Penalty Fared you, the matter is closed as long as it was paid either on the spot or within 21-days. By issuing a Penalty Fare you have accepted a civil penalty for an otherwise Criminal matter (having no ticket). Basically, you can't have two bites of the apple for the same offence. If he believed you had given duff details he should have reported you for an offence(s) and crossed out the Penalty Fare. You'll be fine!

[TommyH]

Cheers Stigy I thought he was just talking nonsense anyway but I'd rather have someone confirm it, compared to ignoring the threat and getting a letter through the post in a few weeks.

[Mash It Up Harry]

"Abbreviated name" What sort of honest person abbreviates his name?

[Old-CodJA]

"Abbreviated name" What sort of honest person abbreviates his name?

 

Fred = Frederick, Bill = William, Dick = Richard, Bob = Robert, etc, etc....:wink: No, not being facetious........the OP said he also handed the member of staff his driving licence.

 

All any inspector had to do was check whether the name on the licence could be confirmed as identifable with the name provided by the traveller and whether the photograph was a good likeness if this was not an old style paper licence. It isn't rocket science.

 

If the inspector thought the details to be false he should not have issued a Penalty Fare Notice. As it is, he did issue a Penalty Fare and the notice was paid in full and that is an end of the matter.