Advice on possible prosecution

[cari]

That is of course your choice, but not "happy to pay the fine" as that would imply you are happy to let the case go to court. Something along the lines of asking them if they would be happy to "dispose of the matter by way of an out-of-court settlement covering their reasonable expenses in dealing with the matter" would do.

Ok. I'll report back when I receive the letter and tell you what they say.

Thank you and everyone who advised, it's much appreciated as I thought I was going to be locked up :eek:

 

[Flamingo]

I've got to say that for someone who has admitted a mistake and not understood the implications of what was being offered, talking about £45K settlements is scaremongering of the highest degree. I think RPIs could often do a lot of good if they more clearly explained what the penalty fare is for and what refusing it might entail, before accepting the refusal.

And letting them think that it could be dealt with for £20 in the poor-box doesn't help either (and I did put that settlement into some context).

Regarding the wider issue of explaining the full implications of a refusal (or of giving a false address), I've been on the other end of this, and quite a lot of people refuse to accept any explanation, they get so caught up in their sense of righteous indignation that somebody is telling them that they are in the wrong that they will not accept anything other than their perception of the situation.

I usually end up telling them it will all in in tears. And I'm usually right. And the tears are theirs.

I'm not saying all RPI's are perfect, and all passengers are hardened fare evaders. But RPI's (and guards) deal with the same issues day after day. They get a "script" in their heads that is understood by the vast majority of passengers in that situation. But some passengers won't listen to what's being said, and there is only so many time that one can repeat oneself before it becomes a waste of breath and things have to move on to the next step.

(Personally, I'll do one polite, one direct, and one very direct and a little bit louder to be heard over their shouting - then I pass it down the line to the bod with the badge).
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Ok. I'll report back when I receive the letter and tell you what they say.

Thank you and everyone who advised, it's much appreciated as I thought I was going to be locked up :eek:

Not this time

 

[najaB]

Oh come on. If we take the story at face value then I think we can fairly certainly say that it won't be thousands. In fact it's unlikely to be that many hundreds.

I agree it is unlikely to be thousands, but it's equally unlikely to be zero. The next sentence of my post was equally important - at this point any amount would just be a guess.

 

[cari]

I haven't heard anything yet - this happened around the 6 of June and it's now 3 July. The inspector said it would be 20 -30 days before I heard anything. Is it usual for these letters to take a month to to reach you?

 

[Flamingo]

It's not unusual. They have six months to do it in, and it really depends on their workload.

 

[cari]

I called in order to find out what is going on but all the lines were busy. I'm going away for six months out of the country in August so won't be around in order to receive a letter.

 

[bb21]

Keep calling them. Unfortunately if you want everything sorted before you leave then you are not blessed with options.

Of course there is no guarantee that you case have even been processed or logged yet.

 

[cari]

I called customer service and they gave me an email address. They said to write what happened and they will speak to the fare people and try and let me know what is going on. I've explained in the email that from August I'm not around to receive a letter so I really need to know as soon as they can what the current situation is. I'm not sure I can do more than that.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Just ensure you have a written record of what you send to them, particularly the dates you are away in the event you get either a letter offering an out of court settlement - or a summons to attend court.

Failure to reply/attend at the appropriate time will not bode well in your favour

 

[cari]

I have a reference number for my call to customer services and it's quoted as a subject heading in my email which I have a copy of. In the email it says that I'm away from August for six months and would like to know what the outcome is so I can sort it out before I go. I was told by the inspector that I would hear in about 20 days. I waited just over that then contacted them, not being able to speak to them directly I found out how to contact them and did so. If they can't see that I've done everything I can to sort this out before I leave, it seems somewhat obtuse.