Hi I have a couple of questions.
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Dear Sir/Madam,
I will attempt to clarify the incident in question and provide my own perspective on events.
As you are aware I was travelling in first class without a valid ticket for that section of the train. I always get a later train for the most part; there are barely any seats available on the Stansted Express at that time and it was particularly busy that day. However, I was under stress and needed to get into work as early as possible. I have very poor knees due to the effects of operations on them both and find it difficult to stand for extended periods. The inspector caught me and proceeded to issue me with a fine which I had every intention of paying.
I did not have a method of payment on me and she gave me a form to fill in. As I just stated, I had every intention to pay at this point. However, as I began filling it in I noticed a couple who had been talking to an inspector whilst sitting down in the next booth, get up and stand by the door. This rankled with me greatly and I had a back and forth with the inspector. Initially she claimed they “had a valid ticket”, which seemed bizarre to me as they were still standing up by the door and remained there until Tottenham Hale. Eventually she suggested that they hadn’t been fined because they were foreign. She quickly changed her story back to the one where they had a supposedly valid ticket. Later I questioned her on the platform and she seemed to suggest that it was company policy not to issue tickets to people of a different nationality. I was outraged as this would be discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. A complaint to this effect was raised through your website. Reference:
To date I have not received a reply regarding this matter and it has been well over a month. This complaint explains the event in detail and asks for clarification.
As previously mentioned I had every intention of paying the fine. After the two people were allowed to get away with what was clearly the exact same offence that I had committed right in front of my face I felt Indignant and hard done by. I was clearly being lied to and decided to give a false address. This was not the right thing to do but I was beside myself at this point and I was even more furious after it was suggested that they had not been fined because of their nationality.
I have been commuting for around a year now and accept what I did was not correct. I should have paid and raised a complaint after the event. However, the feeling that I was being discriminated against coupled with stress has caused me to act in a way that is uncharacteristic.
Two wrongs do not make a right and I have a desire to settle any penalty fare that is currently outstanding. I have not been issued with one to my knowledge.
Yours Faithfully
- According to the file attached I am being charged on two counts. Am I correct in assuming these are bylaw breaches and therefore non-recordable?(heard somewhere it might be recordable if it is more than one offence)
- I have pasted the letter I sent to greater anglia prior to getting this court summons below. The ticket inspector said something which I believe is in breach of the equality act. If I make a complaint under the equality act are they entitled to take me to court again under harsher legislation if they have already taken me to court for the matter under a bylaw breach?
———————————————————-
Dear Sir/Madam,
I will attempt to clarify the incident in question and provide my own perspective on events.
As you are aware I was travelling in first class without a valid ticket for that section of the train. I always get a later train for the most part; there are barely any seats available on the Stansted Express at that time and it was particularly busy that day. However, I was under stress and needed to get into work as early as possible. I have very poor knees due to the effects of operations on them both and find it difficult to stand for extended periods. The inspector caught me and proceeded to issue me with a fine which I had every intention of paying.
I did not have a method of payment on me and she gave me a form to fill in. As I just stated, I had every intention to pay at this point. However, as I began filling it in I noticed a couple who had been talking to an inspector whilst sitting down in the next booth, get up and stand by the door. This rankled with me greatly and I had a back and forth with the inspector. Initially she claimed they “had a valid ticket”, which seemed bizarre to me as they were still standing up by the door and remained there until Tottenham Hale. Eventually she suggested that they hadn’t been fined because they were foreign. She quickly changed her story back to the one where they had a supposedly valid ticket. Later I questioned her on the platform and she seemed to suggest that it was company policy not to issue tickets to people of a different nationality. I was outraged as this would be discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. A complaint to this effect was raised through your website. Reference:
To date I have not received a reply regarding this matter and it has been well over a month. This complaint explains the event in detail and asks for clarification.
As previously mentioned I had every intention of paying the fine. After the two people were allowed to get away with what was clearly the exact same offence that I had committed right in front of my face I felt Indignant and hard done by. I was clearly being lied to and decided to give a false address. This was not the right thing to do but I was beside myself at this point and I was even more furious after it was suggested that they had not been fined because of their nationality.
I have been commuting for around a year now and accept what I did was not correct. I should have paid and raised a complaint after the event. However, the feeling that I was being discriminated against coupled with stress has caused me to act in a way that is uncharacteristic.
Two wrongs do not make a right and I have a desire to settle any penalty fare that is currently outstanding. I have not been issued with one to my knowledge.
Yours Faithfully