Court Summons in April

[AlizeH]

Hello,
I have a court date for 28th April in relation to an issue with Crosscountry trains. On 15th June 2024 I was on my way back from uni (Durham) to Coventry, and when the inspector scanned by ticket, she informed me I'd selected the wrong railcard (16-17 saver rather than the 16-25). The fine on the day was something like £60 which I didn't pay. Then shortly after I received another fine in the post, an I sent an appeal by post as per the instructions on their website at the time to an IRCAS PO box. I then forget about the issue for a while, and the fine is upped/faced with court hearing. I'll also add that I'm between University and home so its easy to lose track of postal stuff. When the Court referral comes on the 15th November 2024, I send over details of my appeal, which I never heard back about and plead not guilty. (I'm 19, and had a lot of people in my ear telling me to take it to court, which now seems like it wasn't the best idea.). In December time I find out that my original appeal never reached them and it had been returned to sender by RoyalMail, so I send another letter, which is also returned to sender, (it seems the address on their website was invalid, they have since changed it). Its now March and my court date is in just over a month and I'm completely out of my depth and lost on what to do, I think I've got myself into a really bad situation through trying to avoid this. I don't have anyone around me that can help. What is realistically the best way to go about this? Any advice would be great.

 

[island]

On what date was your court summons issued?

 

[AlizeH]

On what date was your court summons issued?

I have these two documents that were posted, the initial notice is dated 15/11/24 and the more recent one 24/12/24

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Please redact all personal, identifiable information

 

[30907]

I think we need to know a bit more. AIUI, breaking your long paragraph down:
1. You were asked to pay £60 on the date of travel, which you didn't pay (why?)
Did you receive any paperwork?
2. You then received a repeat request for payment - I assume for the same occasion. What exactly were you asked for?
3. You then appealed. What reason did you give?
4. You then received court papers (what was the charge?)
you pleaded not guilty and sent the court details of your appeal - do you mean the appeal to IRCAS?
5. Two letters were not delivered - were those to IRCAS? Have you taken any action/advice about that?

If possible, could you locate and upload relevant paperwork (redacting it!)?
At the very least we need to see the next couple of pages of the recent letter from the court to see what XC are claiming.

Fortunately, it seems that the magistrates have decided that your case isn't straightforward.

This buys you time to contact Cross Country directly and ask them to consider offering you an out of court settlement. You could look at posts by longstanding member Hadders who regularly suggests how to structure such a letter.

However, to offer any specific advice we really need truthful answers to the questions above.

Finally, are you certain that this is the only time you have selected the wrong railcard? CrossCountry will almost certainly have checked your travel history.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

It seems to be as though you were hoping this matter would go away (perhaps on the incorrect advice of others?)

However harsh it sounds, legally you travelled with an invalid ticket and that is a criminal offence. You will be found guilty at court and will have to pay:

- A fine based on your weekly income
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- Compensation for the outstanding fare
- Contribution towards CrossCountry's court costs

The best thing you can do now is to urgently contact the Prosecutions Department at CrossCountry and ask if they will allow you to pay what is owed in return for them withdrawing the prosecution. Note that it's the Prosecutions Department you need to speak to - not customer services, and this is probably best done in writing. You might want to pop a draft of what you propose sending to them in this thread as it's important to get the tone of this letter right - you're not in a strong position to negotiate.

If CrossCountry insist on the matter going to court then on the day of the hearing I would get to the court early and seek out the prosecutor and ask (very nicely) if they would consider settling the case. We have heard reports of prosecutors agreeing to do this in the pasr=t.

 

[Spaceship323]

But you are guilty of the offence as charged which could have been dealt with by the SJPN if you pleaded guilty, (or earlier by the penalty fare). Now you will have to attend court.

Have you contacted crosscountry as per Hadders' advice above?

 

[mikeg]

The OP cannot have been charged a penalty fare as XC don’t operate a penalty fares scheme. I suspect the £60 was for the fare for the journey

 

[30907]

The OP cannot have been charged a penalty fare as XC don’t operate a penalty fares scheme. I suspect the £60 was for the fare for the journey

That was my assumption, but £60 is nowhere near the fare DHM-COV (currently £140-odd), so I am puzzled.
The OP must have more pressing priorities than avoiding a conviction as they haven't returned.

 

[mikeg]

That was my assumption, but £60 is nowhere near the fare DHM-COV (currently £140-odd), so I am puzzled.
The OP must have more pressing priorities than avoiding a conviction as they haven't returned.

Hmm I did think it was a bit on the cheap side, even if they'd kindly agreed to allow the OP to use their railcard. The OP either (or perhaps both)

1. Needs to clarify what this charge was for.
2. Doesn't know a bargain when they see one.

 

[reb0118]

Could the £60 be some sort of excess?

It's not unheard of for conductors to offer to "excess" away irregularities - even when the rules may not strictly allow it.

 

[Haywain]

Could the £60 be some sort of excess?

It doesn't really matter now - the OP didn't have a valid ticket and ignored an opportunity to resolve the matter. The important question now is how much CrossCountry will be looking for to stop the court action.

 

[reb0118]

Very true.