TFL Bus Penalty - About to be prosecuted, NEED URGENT HELP!!

[Bluemac7]

Please help, as you don't have much time:

My court date is scheduled for 31/5/12

 

This incident happened in March 2012, I received a letter a few weeks ago go for TFL, telling they are going proceed with the case and prosecute.

I never expected it to get this far, and i've now in a state of panic, and concerned about having a criminal record.

 

The charge is, 72B1 Failing to Pay Fare.

 

• I boarded a bus no 390, on Oxford Street(Nr Tottenham Court Road) in the evening.

• I showed the driver my ticket with Photo ID, he acknowledged and allowed me to board the bus.

• 3 Inspectors boarded the bus, just before Euston Station, and checked tickets of passengers.

•My ticket was checked by one of the three inspectors, and at first he approved the ticket as being valid, but then conferred with his colleagues, and was told the ticket is not valid to be used on buses.

 

Whilst on the bus, the inspector asked the driver, did you check the ticket, he replied, 'I didn't see the ticket'.

 

We got off at Euston Station, it was at that point where my all details were taken, and was told you will receive a letter from TFL regarding this matter, and i must warn that you may be prosecuted.

 

I did indeed receive a letter, returned it TFL within the 10 days, including the full account of what happened on the day.

 

It seems my letter made very little or no difference, and I'm now about to be prosecuted.

 

The ticket i purchased is for overground rail, (£85 per week) and i sometimes purchase an overground rail ticket which also includes tube and bus.

On this occasion it was an oversight on my part, and when i realised the error I'd made, it was too late, and i just froze and didn't know what to do or say.

 

Can somebody please advise, and what my option are, if any?

 

Thank you

[rebel11]

Hi blue

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will be happy to advise as soon as they are available.

 

Please let us know how your problem has been resolved, it could help fellow Caggers.

[andydd]

So what type of ticket were you actually using ?

 

Andy

[The Urbanite]

Please help, as you don't have much time:

My court date is scheduled for 31/5/12

 

This incident happened in March 2012, I received a letter a few weeks ago go for TFL, telling they are going proceed with the case and prosecute.

I never expected it to get this far, and i've now in a state of panic, and concerned about having a criminal record.

 

The charge is, 72B1 Failing to Pay Fare.

 

• I boarded a bus no 390, on Oxford Street(Nr Tottenham Court Road) in the evening.

• I showed the driver my ticket with Photo ID, he acknowledged and allowed me to board the bus.

• 3 Inspectors boarded the bus, just before Euston Station, and checked tickets of passengers.

•My ticket was checked by one of the three inspectors, and at first he approved the ticket as being valid, but then conferred with his colleagues, and was told the ticket is not valid to be used on buses.

 

Whilst on the bus, the inspector asked the driver, did you check the ticket, he replied, 'I didn't see the ticket'.

 

We got off at Euston Station, it was at that point where my all details were taken, and was told you will receive a letter from TFL regarding this matter, and i must warn that you may be prosecuted.

 

I did indeed receive a letter, returned it TFL within the 10 days, including the full account of what happened on the day.

 

It seems my letter made very little or no difference, and I'm now about to be prosecuted.

 

The ticket i purchased is for overground rail, (£85 per week) and i sometimes purchase an overground rail ticket which also includes tube and bus.

On this occasion it was an oversight on my part, and when i realised the error I'd made, it was too late, and i just froze and didn't know what to do or say.

 

Can somebody please advise, and what my option are, if any?

 

Thank you

 

Hi,

 

Sounds like there is not a lot that can be done. Unless it's a Travelcard, it's not valid for use on buses. Your actions probably also got the bus driver into trouble, as TfL fine the operator for every person found on the bus without a valid ticket.

 

You can try and implore TfL for an out of court settlement - it's just about your only option but in my opinion, is akin to clutching at straws.

[rambo]

Bus driver not doing his job properly.

[andydd]

Well..you could defend it, have you got the details of the two witnesses ? Is there any pre-action protocol that applies to criminal cases ?, Im aware of how CPR/Civil cases work but dont know much about criminla law.

 

Andy

[Bluemac7]

So what type of ticket were you actually using ?

 

Andy

 

The ticket I had was an Overground rail ticket.

I normally have an overground rail ticket which also valid to be used on tubes on buses.

 

It was an oversight on my part, as i completely forgot, and before i had a chance to explain it was too late.

There was never any intention to board the bus with the wrong ticket.

 

The irony is, my Oyster card had enough balance for the journey.

I asked to TFL for a statement to proof my oyster had enough balance on the day of the incident, and i had cash too.

 

With 3 days to go, should i respond and defend myself and plead 'Not Guilty'?

[Bluemac7]

The Statement provided by the inspector includes details that are untrue and false about the incident.

 

I found at least 3 facts to be untrue in the statement provided by the inspector.

Could i use this in court and dismiss the statement?

 

Is this even worth pursing, or am i just making it worse?

Should i attend court in person, as i've not returned my plea, or should i let it go, and pay whatever fine the court gives?

I could appeal, if found guilty, but i guess the costs start to mount up, and get more difficult.

[Old-CodJA]

The Statement provided by the inspector includes details that are untrue and false about the incident.

 

I found at least 3 facts to be untrue in the statement provided by the inspector.

Could i use this in court and dismiss the statement?.

 

A lot will depend on what these 'facts' are and what you have been charged with, but you would certainly need to attend Court and plead 'Not Guilty' to challenge the Inspector's evidence, which is the statement plus any retained tickets etc.

 

If you have been charged with a strict liability matter it will be more difficult, but if you have been charged with intending not to pay, it seems from your post that you should try to challenge this.

 

If you enter a 'Not Guilty' plea at this stage, it is most likely that the case will be adjourned to a later date. You can achieve this by sending a completed plea form and letter to the Court. Given that your hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, I suggest that, if you are going down this route, you should take that to the Court by hand today. The Court will advise you of the adjournment date by letter.

 

The trial will be set down to a date in the near future. This delay will give you a bit of 'breathing space' to allow you to correspond with TfL again and see if you can get it resolved out of Court. The downside is that if you enter a 'Not Cuilty' plea, but are later found guilty at trial, you are going to lose any credit that an early guilty plea would have earned, but you should not plead guilty to a charge just for expediency.

[Bluemac7]

The downside is that if you enter a 'Not Cuilty' plea, but are later found guilty at trial, you are going to lose any credit that an early guilty plea would have earned, but you should not plead guilty to a charge just for expediency.

 

What does this mean?

[Bluemac7]

The charge is;

 

72B1 Failing to Pay Fare.

[honeybee13]

The downside is that if you enter a 'Not Cuilty' plea, but are later found guilty at trial, you are going to lose any credit that an early guilty plea would have earned, but you should not plead guilty to a charge just for expediency.

 

What does this mean?

 

Hello there.

 

OC or another expert will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that if you plead guilty and accept that you did wrong, the fine is lower. I you plead not guilty and are found guilty by the court, the fine is likely to be more. I don't know how it affects costs, but someone will.

 

I think OC is saying if you truly believe you didn't do what you're accused of, you shouldn't plead guilty for the sake of it.

 

I hope that helps a bit?

 

My best, HB

[Old-CodJA]

If this is a criminal case and as i don't live in London i have no idea. If it is,an immediate guilty plea gives you an automatic reduction in the penalty. They will tell you about this before you enter your plea. Personally i think it is wrong to be automatic as in my opinion it encourages innocent people to plead guilty for a variety of reasons. E.g to lessen the stress, worry that the defence is lacking,poor representation etc

 

Exactly, you should not plead guilty just to make the case go away. If you are guilty of an offence, then plead guilty to minimise the penalty. If you are not guilty then say so and have the prosecution evidence tested at trial.

 

It is however correct to say that, if you plead not guilty and are found guilty after a trial, you will not get the automatic reduction in penalty that a guilty plea attracts.

[Bluemac7]

Thank you for the advice from everybody on this forum.

 

Just to let you know, I pleaded 'Not Guilty' in court.

I was always going to plead 'Not Guilty' especially as i felt the case against me was in part not factually correct, and therefore i had to defend that, and make my point in court, which is what i did.

 

To cut a long story short, due to exceptional circumstance and after further review, the matter was settled out of court, and i don't have a criminal record.

 

I don't ever want to go through this again, its the first and last time.

 

Thank you again for the support and advice

[Grotesque]

Sounds interesting. Well done!