Hi there,
I know there are lots of these friends, but I can't find one quite like my situation and wondered if anyone could help or had been in a similar situation..
I have just had a letter from Southeastern advising that they have provisional authorisation to prosecute me for fare evasion with details as follows:
I travelled from Rochester to Brixton and didn't buy a ticket. There is one machine at Rochester and was a massive queue that would have taken a good 20 minutes to get down meaning I'd miss 2 or 3 trains and be very late for work. Plus I was genuinely under the impression that you didn't have to wait for more than a 'reasonable' amount of time and could legally buy a ticket on the train. There is nearly always a conductor on that train, but on this day - sods law - there wasn't or I would have bought a ticket then.
Halfway through my journey I got a call from my boyfriend to tell me his sister had died. I was also very jetlagged (I got back from a longhaul flight the day before) and when I got off the train I wasn't really concentrating and told the inspector I came from Herne Hill (boyfriend lives there, usually I travel from there and it was just force of habit coupled with exhaustion and being more concerned about the conversation I just had). Anyway, he started writing in his notebook and said something about he thought I had come from Orpington and was going to charge me £100 to check CCTV at Orpington. I said I travel from Herne Hill coz of my boyfriend. Then I remembered in fact I had not actually travelled from Herne Hill that day and corrected myself apologising and explaining I was very jetlagged and my mind was elsewhere. I wasn't 'found out' - I told him where I'd come from immediately when I realised I'd said the wrong place. I can see it sounds daft, but surely people do make genuine mistakes like that? Plus I really do never travel from Rochester usually - it was just because I'd come back from travelling and was staying with my mum whilst finding a new place in London. I normally travel everywhere on my oyster card and don't have to worry about tickets!
Anyway, I realise I'll have to just pay up for a hefty fine (even though I did my best to explain myself) but what concerns me is if I'll be able to settle out of court or not? Do they generally allow this? I have a job where I'd risk being barred for a 'dishonesty offence' and it seems incredibly harsh under the circumstances. I would understand if I had actually tried to get away with paying the cheaper fare, but in fact I corrected myself before any of that and he had already started writing in his notebook before even cautioning me. When he read back what was written I said I didn't think it was a fair detail of what had happened and I didn't want to sign it but the inspector said (quote) 'if you don't sign it you'll get a criminal record and everything will get a whole lot worse for you'. So I ended up panicking and signing it anyway despite objecting to what was written - surely that isn't fair? The police were actually pretty understanding and said that they doubted anything would come of it, but the inspector was a bully, had me in tears, laughed in my face when I told him I'd had bad news and was exhausted from jetlag and said things like 'you're a liar', 'I see people like you everyday' and that my day was 'about to get a whole lot worse' which I think is especially cruel considering the news I'd just had.
I've never had any trouble with police or railways before and always pay my fare (sometimes on the train, but generally I buy the tickets at the machine). Given that I'm not a 'serial offender' and did my best to put the situation right, do you think they will allow an out of court settlement? Has anyone done that before?
I know there are lots of these friends, but I can't find one quite like my situation and wondered if anyone could help or had been in a similar situation..
I have just had a letter from Southeastern advising that they have provisional authorisation to prosecute me for fare evasion with details as follows:
I travelled from Rochester to Brixton and didn't buy a ticket. There is one machine at Rochester and was a massive queue that would have taken a good 20 minutes to get down meaning I'd miss 2 or 3 trains and be very late for work. Plus I was genuinely under the impression that you didn't have to wait for more than a 'reasonable' amount of time and could legally buy a ticket on the train. There is nearly always a conductor on that train, but on this day - sods law - there wasn't or I would have bought a ticket then.
Halfway through my journey I got a call from my boyfriend to tell me his sister had died. I was also very jetlagged (I got back from a longhaul flight the day before) and when I got off the train I wasn't really concentrating and told the inspector I came from Herne Hill (boyfriend lives there, usually I travel from there and it was just force of habit coupled with exhaustion and being more concerned about the conversation I just had). Anyway, he started writing in his notebook and said something about he thought I had come from Orpington and was going to charge me £100 to check CCTV at Orpington. I said I travel from Herne Hill coz of my boyfriend. Then I remembered in fact I had not actually travelled from Herne Hill that day and corrected myself apologising and explaining I was very jetlagged and my mind was elsewhere. I wasn't 'found out' - I told him where I'd come from immediately when I realised I'd said the wrong place. I can see it sounds daft, but surely people do make genuine mistakes like that? Plus I really do never travel from Rochester usually - it was just because I'd come back from travelling and was staying with my mum whilst finding a new place in London. I normally travel everywhere on my oyster card and don't have to worry about tickets!
Anyway, I realise I'll have to just pay up for a hefty fine (even though I did my best to explain myself) but what concerns me is if I'll be able to settle out of court or not? Do they generally allow this? I have a job where I'd risk being barred for a 'dishonesty offence' and it seems incredibly harsh under the circumstances. I would understand if I had actually tried to get away with paying the cheaper fare, but in fact I corrected myself before any of that and he had already started writing in his notebook before even cautioning me. When he read back what was written I said I didn't think it was a fair detail of what had happened and I didn't want to sign it but the inspector said (quote) 'if you don't sign it you'll get a criminal record and everything will get a whole lot worse for you'. So I ended up panicking and signing it anyway despite objecting to what was written - surely that isn't fair? The police were actually pretty understanding and said that they doubted anything would come of it, but the inspector was a bully, had me in tears, laughed in my face when I told him I'd had bad news and was exhausted from jetlag and said things like 'you're a liar', 'I see people like you everyday' and that my day was 'about to get a whole lot worse' which I think is especially cruel considering the news I'd just had.
I've never had any trouble with police or railways before and always pay my fare (sometimes on the train, but generally I buy the tickets at the machine). Given that I'm not a 'serial offender' and did my best to put the situation right, do you think they will allow an out of court settlement? Has anyone done that before?