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Fare evasion Please HELP!!


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Value of the monthly pass was £68.00 and now i could face going to prison? and a £1000? for a first offence??

 

This is an 'altered ticket', it is not a forgery.

 

It is extremely unlikely in my long experience to see the Forgery & Counterfieting legislation used to pursue this matter. I have been involved in prosecutions management for a very long time and pursuance of such a charge usually involves the manufacture and sale, or use, of sophisticated faked tickets. I have just been involved in the investigation of such a case, which is on-going and has lead to a number of arrests. If a charge under these legislations, whereby the defendant can elect for trial by jury, or by Magistrates are alleged, it will not be the TOC in-house prosecutors who will pursue the matter. It will almost certainly be pursued by BTP & CPS.

 

There are encouragements to pursue other charges in very serious cases, but is worth reading the Home Office guidelines to CPS Prosecutors in respect of these offences to put some perspective in the matter. (Copied below)

 

Fare Evasion

 

This is the principal form of dishonesty to affect public transport. The fact that it is widespread is a relevant public interest factor. Remember also the general principles covering prosecution for all offences of dishonesty.

 

The Law

Railway Offences

 

Such offences will involve using a variety of statutory offences dating back to the 1840s. The Regulation of Railways Acts 1840-1873: "railway" extends to all railways constructed under the powers of any Act of Parliament and intended for the conveyance of passengers in or upon carriages drawn or impelled by the power of steam or by any other mechanical power; and the word "company" included the proprietors for the time being of any such railway (section 21 Railway Regulation Act 1840).

References in sections 54-57 of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 shall include references to any successor of the British Railways Board.

 

Fare Evasion

 

You will often have a choice between specific legislation relating to the form of transport, and proceedings under the Theft Act 1978, or Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. See the Fraud Act 2006 and Forgery and Counterfeiting elsewhere in the Legal Guidance.

 

 

Section 5 Regulation of Railways Act 1889 (Stones 7-7043) is usually used for offences of fare evasion on the railways for:

  • travelling/attempting to travel on a railway without having previously paid the fare and with intent to avoid payment thereof; or
  • having paid the fare for a certain distance, knowingly and wilfully proceeding by train beyond that distance without previously paying the additional fare for the additional distance and with intent to avoid payment thereof or
  • having failed to pay the fare, giving in reply to a request from an officer of a railway company a false name and address.

Section 103(a) Railway Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 (Stones 7-7001) covers a person refusing to quit a carriage on arrival at the point to which he has paid his fare.

Both section 5 and section 103(a) are summary only offences. "Intent to avoid payment" in section 5 does not mean a dishonest intent, but an intent to avoid payment of the sum actually due. There are provisions in bye-laws which cover fare evasion, but in the vast majority of cases it will be appropriate to use the section 5 offence. Consider using the provisions of the Fraud Act 2006, where there is evidence of premeditation, or persistence, or repeat offending, or large loss by the transport authority. Where tickets have been altered or defaced consider a charge under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.

 

 

A single example of a one-off alteration will normally be considered unsuitable for the 'either / or" route unless it is a high value forgery. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the TOC could refer the matter up for such a charge to be Summonsed, but the standard of proof required and risk/cost analysis usually sees it pursued as a Section 5 matter.

 

Anyway, back to the case in hand. You are not going to prison on conviction of a first offence of 'altering a rail ticket'. It goes without saying that the TOCs will take a very hard line on such matters, but the prosecutor must give consideration to all of the factors relevant to the code of practice.

 

In my experience, the most likely charge is that you "did travel without previously paying the fare due and did tender an altered rail ticket with intent to avoid payment of the fare due" contrary S.5.3.a of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 (RoRA). This carries a maximum penalty of a (Level 3) fine of up to £1000, or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months.

 

Alternatively, you may be charged with a breach of National Railway Byelaw 20.1 (2005) that you "did alter a rail ticket with intent that the company be defrauded of the correct fare due". This again carries a penalty on conviction of a maximum fine of £1000. It is a non-recordable, strict liability matter and although the fine level is the same, the Magistrates are guided to impose a lower banded fine because it is not necessary for the prosecutor to prove intent, although from the charge itself, that may be evident.

 

In my experience, the TOC will normally go for the more serious RoRA offence in cases such as this.

Edited by Old-CodJA
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Are you trying to say that I could be fined up to £1000? well thats understandable however when i asked the RPO who caught me and took my details, and cautioned me he detailed that i wouldnt get a fine of up to £1000 i changed the rail pass myself last minute i know silly thing to do but I HAVAE NO PREVIOUS OFFENCE I HAVE NEVER COMMITTED ANY OFFENCES IN MY LIFE THIS WAS A MAD ONE OF MOMENT

 

i did admit guilt and have been informed by various london midland RPO's that the fine could be up to £300 and would be further going ahead to court if i do not coperate?

 

I have just been more worried since yesterday when one individual on the forum said london midland follow the forgery act 1981 etc

 

An RPO submits a report, but does not have authority to decide whether, or not, the TOC will proceed to prosecution let alone make decisions as to how much a Magistrate, or District Judge might impose as a fine.

 

The company MAY have a policy of allowing first offenders an opportunity to deal with matters by 'alternative disposal', but that will be subject to agreement with the prosecutors' office and is entirely at their discretion. I have to say that altering a ticket in this way does show an element of pre-meditation and is very likely to lead to a Summons, but it is always worth responding to the letter that you will receive with a written apology and request to be allowed to pay all of their costs and fares avoided to dispose of the matter.

 

The offence cannot be trivialised as I'm sure that you will realise and I would not hold out any great hope of that being successful in cases such as this, but with the certainty of prosecution otherwise, I guess you have nothing to lose.

 

If you are prosecuted, the maximum fine level is pre-determined and the Magistrates have discretion to impose a lower fine on conviction if they consider it appropriate. If convicted of the S.5.3.a RoRA offence and with no previous convictions, they will allow some credit for an early guilty plea.

 

The fine on conviction of a first offence is likely to be equal to the average weekly wage (assessed at £400) plus prosecution costs (probably £150 - £200), plus compensation of the fare (£68.00 or the single fare on the day) and a £15 victim surcharge imposed by the government on all people who are fined by Magistrates for such offences. The Court can impose a higher fine (up to the maximum) if the Magistrates believe there are aggravating factors.

 

The best thing you can do is try to stop worrying about unnecessary fears until you have received a verification letter from the TOC and know what they intend to do. When you get that letter come back and tell us what it says..

Edited by Old-CodJA
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I do get what your say and thanks for the advice Old Codja I have just been concerned that I dont want to be tried if tried under the forgery act as mentioned earlier, and I certainly want to avoid the criminal record and court if at allThe RPO did say i would receive a letter to which I would have to reply back within a certain timeI just want to pay the administration fees and keep my name clean thats allThe waiting for the letter is the hard part.

 

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I think the likelihood of you being charged with an offence under the Forgery & Counterfieting Act is very, very unlikely. I'll happily apologise if I'm wrong and will also happily donate £100 to a Charity of your choice if a charge under that legislation is successful.

 

However, it is likely that you will be charged with 'intent to avoid a fare'.

 

You may be fortunate in that LM may allow an opportunity to settle before Court action, but I think the best suggestion that I can make is that you must wait until you receive a letter from them so that you can be sure of quoting the correct case reference (this can take 6 weeks or more at busy times) and then reply promptly and honestly, asking if you can be allowed to make payment of all their costs and fares due to settle this without Court action.

 

Whilst the TOCs are less likely to settle in cases where clear pre-meditation such as altering an expired ticket is evident, you have nothing to lose by asking.

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Thank you for your private message ssd01, but I have to say that it is always best to use the open furum to ensure that the maximum number of users benefit from reading posts and being able to monitor, to ensure that innaccurate information isn't given.

 

In answer to your questions:

 

I think that we have given you all the guidance that we can at this stage.

 

I would not treat the comments by the RPO that you spoke to as a definitive answer, in general it is an explanation of what can happen in some cases, but as we have repeatedly said, it is not the RPO who has authority to make that decision.

 

Yes, I do have experience of railways prosecutions, but all of my experience is that every case is dealt with on its individual merit.

 

The best thing that you can possibly do is to try to stop worrying and wait to see if you get a letter. Until then we cannot help you much further.

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Thought i would also include that the guy i phoned did say we dnt like takin ppl to court and thts not really what we usually plan all the time as long as i can reply back to the letter we can further decide once we recieve it?

 

 

Personally, I would not make reference to that part of the conversation.

 

 

im just a little concerned about all this and was wondering what i can include in the letter shall i detail what happend or show how sorry i am etc?? how long will they take to give me a decision if anyone would know?

 

 

I would stick to sending a written apology to the company & staff concerned for your 'stupid and out of character, last minute decision to alter the ticket', stress that a prosecution could have serious consequences for your continued employment and ask if you may be allowed to pay the fare due and all of their reasonably incurred administration costs in order to deal with this without Court action. Give an undertaking never to travel without a valid ticket in future.

 

Don't tell them anything that they don't already know and keep the letter brief, but ensure that the apology reads as a sincere response.

 

You will usually get a reply within a couple of weeks to that sort of letter.

Edited by Old-CodJA
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