I'll save the sob story and skip to a quick summary of the events that transpired on the train...
I got caught having a discounted railcard ticket and no railcard. I was handed a book to write my details in, and in a sleep deprived frustrated act of defiance....I gave them my other surname and said I lived next door to the flat I actually lived in, I also threw in a few spelling mistakes for good measure. (haha in your face ticket inspector lady...totally got you) I then showed them my debit card that stated otherwise. They handed me the book again to correct my mistakes. For the love of God I do not need to be told how stupid this was. It wasn't even a attempt to avoid anything, just pure frustration.
Anyway, I was given a slip that said I was to send a copy of my railcard to their prosecution dept. I didn't have a railcard, so I went a bought one and did exactly that (Obviously the date on the railcard shows I purchased it after the offense) in hopes to amend my wrongdoing. That didn't work of course.
Then I receive a letter stating that they intended to prosecute for 'providing a false name' and 'avoiding fare', and I had a chance to detail the evens from my perspective or face prosecution. In my letter I stressed the point that the name I gave was in fact me and that I use that name sometimes (this is the truth), I didn't mention anything else I had written in the book, just stressed that I was indeed the person I said I was. I then went on apologising profusely and flat out admitted I had used the railcard discount because I couldn't afford the full fare at the time. I offered to pay the full fare amount (About 45 squid) in my letter. That wasn't enough.
I have now received a letter stating that they have considered the points I raised in my letter and that a summons to attend magistrates court will be sent to me soon.
So now I'm here in an attempt to not dig this hole any deeper...
I would have obliged to a fine had they sent one, but now that they have a letter with my details of the events they have some sort of case and reason to take me to court. Is there anyway to amend this out of court? Can I write another letter and offer to pay a heftier penalty? Or am I going to court for providing false details and avoiding fare? I rarely use the trains, I had never used the railcard discount before...I just needed to catch my train and didn't have enough money. Now because I didn't have the means to pay on the spot I'm going to have to fork out a lot more in court I'm assuming...
Some advice would be greatly appreciated. Any questions, please ask.
I got caught having a discounted railcard ticket and no railcard. I was handed a book to write my details in, and in a sleep deprived frustrated act of defiance....I gave them my other surname and said I lived next door to the flat I actually lived in, I also threw in a few spelling mistakes for good measure. (haha in your face ticket inspector lady...totally got you) I then showed them my debit card that stated otherwise. They handed me the book again to correct my mistakes. For the love of God I do not need to be told how stupid this was. It wasn't even a attempt to avoid anything, just pure frustration.
Anyway, I was given a slip that said I was to send a copy of my railcard to their prosecution dept. I didn't have a railcard, so I went a bought one and did exactly that (Obviously the date on the railcard shows I purchased it after the offense) in hopes to amend my wrongdoing. That didn't work of course.
Then I receive a letter stating that they intended to prosecute for 'providing a false name' and 'avoiding fare', and I had a chance to detail the evens from my perspective or face prosecution. In my letter I stressed the point that the name I gave was in fact me and that I use that name sometimes (this is the truth), I didn't mention anything else I had written in the book, just stressed that I was indeed the person I said I was. I then went on apologising profusely and flat out admitted I had used the railcard discount because I couldn't afford the full fare at the time. I offered to pay the full fare amount (About 45 squid) in my letter. That wasn't enough.
I have now received a letter stating that they have considered the points I raised in my letter and that a summons to attend magistrates court will be sent to me soon.
So now I'm here in an attempt to not dig this hole any deeper...
I would have obliged to a fine had they sent one, but now that they have a letter with my details of the events they have some sort of case and reason to take me to court. Is there anyway to amend this out of court? Can I write another letter and offer to pay a heftier penalty? Or am I going to court for providing false details and avoiding fare? I rarely use the trains, I had never used the railcard discount before...I just needed to catch my train and didn't have enough money. Now because I didn't have the means to pay on the spot I'm going to have to fork out a lot more in court I'm assuming...
Some advice would be greatly appreciated. Any questions, please ask.