Used a 16+ fake Oyster Card unknowingly? Now in Legal Trouble.

[king12345]

Things don't look good, even though your story makes some sort of sense.

 

The only thing difficult to get is why you thought it was ok to give the wrong date of birth.

 

Reading again your first post it's clear that the inspector didn't suspect much at the time, apart from your hesitation in the 2000...and 1.

 

So gone back to the office checked your original application and found out the mistake.

 

I mixed up threads and thought you had run away from the inspector but that's another cagger.

 

The offence is strict liability, you either commit it or not, there's no intention to be proved.

It's an automatic no ticket = guilty.

 

Before anyone starts moaning and scratching the windows, when i say ticket i mean the all range of things that fall under the definition,  including authorised ticketless travel.

 

In view of this you should keep on begging tfl to settle ooc.

Insist on these points: 

1. you are eligible for the discounts on the card

 

2. You thought this guy online was a genuine company dealing with applications for a fee

 

3. Offer to identify the guy 

[TrynaRecover]

TfL have already said the won't settle ooc. With that being said, I plead not guilty and I'm just going to go there and say everything truthfully. Hopefully, I won't be punished to severely since I feel like I got scammed by that person anyway.

Edited March 27, 2019 by TrynaRecover

[BazzaS]

Plead guilty if it actually goes to court (although you can still try approaching the prosecutor on the day).

why plead guilty? Because (on the facts stated!) the Magistrates must find you guilty because you aren’t being prosecuted for deliberate fare dodging, but instead for not producing a valid ticket.

you didn’t have a valid ticket and you don’t have one of the statutory defences : so the Magistrates must find you guilty.

 

what you want to do is persuade the prosecutor not to take the case to trial, or give your explanation in mitigation. That isn’t the same as a “not guilty” plea (& you risk losing the credit given for a guilty plea!)