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Court Summons

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Hi I have received a court summons this morning, I am 19 & a student. In November 2018 I boarded a train from where I live in Cressington to Liverpool central. I lost my ticket en route & when I got to the ticket barrier at Liverpool Central I explained to the ticket man & asked him if I can go to the ticket desk & buy another. He said yes & I purchased a further ticket for £3.40. As I left the ticket area a transport person ? approached me & challenged me about not having a ticket, I responded I had just purchased a replacement one but when I looked at the ticket I had in error said to the lady Liverpool to Cressington instead of vice versus. I explained to him I had not done this on purpose coz he advised I was keeping this ticket for later. I was going out for the night so told him there was no way I would be using this ticket & he could have it. I was then cautioned & I declined to be interviewed as he was really intimidating. He finished by advising I would hear in due course & I was given nothing on the night. I called my mum straight after about what had happened.Now today a court summons has appeared under the Railway Regulation, the prosecution office for Merseyrail is not open until Monday. Should I have not received something in between the 7 months to allow me to pay a fine & avoid this, I have had nothing just the court summons I am very aware I could end up with a criminal record
 
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ForTheLoveOf

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Hi I have received a court summons this morning, I am 19 & a student. In November 2018 I boarded a train from where I live in Cressington to Liverpool central. I lost my ticket en route & when I got to the ticket barrier at Liverpool Central I explained to the ticket man & asked him if I can go to the ticket desk & buy another. He said yes & I purchased a further ticket for £3.40. As I left the ticket area a transport person ? approached me & challenged me about not having a ticket, I responded I had just purchased a replacement one but when I looked at the ticket I had in error said to the lady Liverpool to Cressington instead of vice versus. I explained to him I had not done this on purpose coz he advised I was keeping this ticket for later. I was going out for the night so told him there was no way I would be using this ticket & he could have it. I was then cautioned & I declined to be interviewed as he was really intimidating. He finished by advising I would hear in due course & I was given nothing on the night. I called my mum straight after about what had happened.Now today a court summons has appeared under the Railway Regulation, the prosecution office for Merseyrail is not open until Monday. Should I have not received something in between the 7 months to allow me to pay a fine & avoid this, I have had nothing just the court summons I am very aware I could end up with a criminal record
Ok, just a few questions:
  • Do you have anything which could help reinforce your account that you bought the ticket at Cressington seem believable, e.g. an item on a bank statement if you paid by card?
  • Do you have anything for the additional ticket you bought at Liverpool Central?
  • Did you give your correct name and address when you were stopped? If so, have you moved at all, or had any problems with post not coming on time or at all?
  • Did you receive anything when the member of staff spoke to you at Liverpool Central?
  • What ticket did you actually ask for at the ticket office - Liverpool to Cressington or vice versa?
  • Can you upload a redacted copy of the summons you've received?
 
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To answer your last part no as you were not willing to co operate at the time so why should they be the nice ones. By not willing to co operate at the time you have done yourself no favours.
I did not co operate at the time with regards to the interview as this person was very intimidating & I am very anxious (I know this means nothing but I am still under counselling following the Manchester Arena attack) & I just wanted to go
 
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Ok, just a few questions:
  • Do you have anything which could help reinforce your account that you bought the ticket at Cressington seem believable, e.g. an item on a bank statement if you paid by card?
  • Do you have anything for the additional ticket you bought at Liverpool Central?
  • Did you give your correct name and address when you were stopped? If so, have you moved at all, or had any problems with post not coming on time or at all?
  • Did you receive anything when the member of staff spoke to you at Liverpool Central?
  • What ticket did you actually ask for at the ticket office - Liverpool to Cressington or vice versa?
  • Can you upload a redacted copy of the summons you've received?
Thank you no already checked & I didn’t pay debit card for 1st ticket. We have no problems with post whatsoever and I gave all correct details in at the time.
 

njr001

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I think it would be wise for the OP to remove the personal information from their last post. I'm no expert but what date did you receive the court summons?
 

nuts & bolts

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Surely a return ticket from Cressingham to Liverpool should have been purchased after the OP had requested to do so at Liverpoool Gateline, hence the OP has been monitored from Gateline to Ticket Office by Revenue and now found without a valid ticket again!

Engaging the services of a solicitor is a consideration due to the nature of offence and corroborating mitigating circumstance you have.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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Thank you no already checked & I didn’t pay debit card for 1st ticket. We have no problems with post whatsoever and I gave all correct details in at the time.
There's something very odd about this. The offence is alleged to have been committed on 17 November 2018. This means that the last possible date on which Merseyrail could have laid the "information" (summons) before the Court would be 18 May 2019, as there is a strict time limit of 6 months from the day after the offence for summons for "summary only" offences such as this (i.e. offences that only go as far as the Magistrates' Court). The main summons itself doesn't appear to have any date of issue on it, and indeed the date of the inspector's witness statement is 6 June 2019.

What I am alluding to is that it's possible that the summons has been issued "out of time" - i.e. too late, and that Merseyrail haven't realised this. It would be an extremely basic error to make but I suppose it could happen. It is important that you make enquiries with the Court in order to determine, as soon as possible, the date the information was laid. If this was more than 6 months after the date of the offence then the Court "shall not try [the] information" (section 127(1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980).

Furthermore, they seem to be prosecuting an offence which you have self-evidently not committed. They are prosecuting you under Section 5(1) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. This is, in full:
(1) Every passenger by a railway shall, on request by an officer or servant of a railway company, either produce, and if so requested deliver up, a ticket showing that his fare is paid, or pay his fare from the place whence he started, or give the officer or servant his name and address; and in case of default shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
In other words, it's an offence to commit the so-called "three fails" - fail to produce a ticket, fail to pay your fare, and fail to give your name and address. Merseyrail have, in their summons, rather conveniently left out the third alternative out of those three: giving your name and address. They don't allege anywhere that you have failed to give your name and address and indeed they would struggle to get your name and address if you had refused to give it.

Accordingly, because you gave your name and address, you didn't commit an offence under this section. There are other sections dedicated to actual fare evasion (rather than non-cooperation) if that is what they want to prosecute. Furthermore, they can't even say you refused to pay your fare, because that's directly contradicted by the rather confused and garbled witness statement the officer has made, which states that you bought a ticket and states nothing of you refusing to pay a fare (just refusing a voluntary interview).

Overall, it appears as if Merseyrail have an extremely shaky case on multiple grounds. I would encourage you to contact the Court as soon as possible to find out the most important thing of all - namely the date the information was laid before the Court. As the Court doesn't open until Monday, in the mean time I would encourage you to find a local criminal defence solicitor (e.g. through the Law Society's website) and to try to book an initial consultation as soon as possible too. Initial consultations are usually free or low-cost and you will usually be able to obtain a reasonable idea of what the best way forward is.
 
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Thank you for looking at this & your advice, really appreciate it. My mums work colleague has a close friend who is a solicitor so she is going to liaise with him for me.
 

londonboi198o5

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That would be the best course action to be honest and the sooner you can do that the better. Hope it all works out for you
 

island

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Whilst I can’t quite follow the sequence of information here (was a post deleted?), the first way to go here is establishing if the information was laid out of time. They only have six months to go to the court and request a summons be issued, and if that deadline’s been missed, the case collapses.
 
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Thank you no already checked & I didn’t pay debit card for 1st ticket. We have no problems with post whatsoever and I gave all correct details in at the time.
Whilst I can’t quite follow the sequence of information here (was a post deleted?), the first way to go here is establishing if the information was laid out of time. They only have six months to go to the court and request a summons be issued, and if that deadline’s been missed, the case collapses.
Yes I did remove my post which had the summons details on. A previous person has advised exactly what you have just advised that I need to check with regard to when this was laid. The witness statement date from the person who stopped me is 4/6 & incident happened 17/11 but I will try & investigate this tomorrow morning Thank you
 
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Just an update, not got much further. I have been calling Merseyrail prosecution tel no since 8.30 with message ‘no one available’ now spoken to another department & been advised they are in court this morning so try again after 12pm !! I have also called Sefton Magistrates & they have advised they cannot tell me the date of the papers being ‘layed’ as Merseyrail do this themselves, they come in 2 days a week to their offices & do everything themselves. The lady from Sefton Magistrates did say one other thing which upset me, she said whatever happens now as a summons has been issued I will end up with a conviction? Anyway going to keep calling after 12 & see if I can get hold of someone, fingers crossed.
 

some bloke

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The part about the court not being able to tell you the date may be unclear.

The fact that you've been issued with a summons doesn't mean you must be convicted - for one thing Merseyrail can drop the case if you manage to negotiate a settlement. You could try the email address given on the page below to try to get clearer replies at least on the general issues. Or you could call back to clarify.

https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/sefton-magistrates-court
 
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some bloke

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Hi All just a further update. I kept trying the prosecutions tel no & now managed to speak with someone. He took my details, said not to panic this can be sorted & he would check & call me back. He has called back. He advised a letter was issued on 30/11 which clearly I have not received (he advised other persons have called this morning in same situation)he advised he can revert back to the letter of 30/11 with £80 fine. He then gave me payment details, website etc. I did advise him I will pay immediately but what about the summons. He advised once I’ve paid the file will be closed & I can rip up the summons (which I’ve not done). My mum said she is going to email them to confirm all now closed.
 

Llanigraham

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Because in a Private Prosecution it is them that issue the Summons, not the Court. All the Court does is provide the time to hear the Prosecution.I

I issued hundreds when I was a Court Presenting Officer for a Government department.
 

some bloke

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If the information was laid out of time, do Merseyrail have any legal remedy if a passenger now refuses to pay the £80?

I realise that Abby may prefer to pay and have done with it, and I ask the question not so that someone can unreasonably get out of a perceived obligation but because Merseyrail might be regarded as unreasonably hassling someone so long after the event.

Whether there is any risk in questioning or refusing may be another matter. But we might expect that the court should be able to say when the information was laid.
 
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some bloke

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in a Private Prosecution it is them that issue the Summons...

I issued hundreds when I was a Court Presenting Officer for a Government department.

That's what I didn't see in the rules linked to above - that part refers to the court issuing it.

The (again, perhaps naive) question is, what is the legislation allowing the prosecutor to issue the summons as may have happened in Abby's case?
 
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Llanigraham

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The Rules are the same; the (private) Prosecutor must issue the Summons within the 6 month period from the date of the Offence.
And that "issuing" can be as simple as putting it in the post by that date. A statement that I posted it was adequate although we generally got proof of posting.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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If the information was laid out of time, do Merseyrail have any legal remedy if a passenger now refuses to pay the £80?

I realise that Abby may prefer to pay and have done with it, and I ask the question not so that someone can unreasonably get out of a perceived obligation but because Merseyrail might be regarded as unreasonably hassling someone so long after the event.

Whether there is any risk in questioning or refusing may be another matter. But we might expect that the court should be able to say when the information was laid.
Merseyrail could always try to pursue the matter in the County Court but this effectively just doesn't happen any more nowadays - it's a remnant of the past century, luckily.

However I can totally sympathise with the OP if they decide to make the payment rather than having to potentially outlay far more for a solicitor to represent them at Court. It's an indictment of the private prosecution system that it can be the 'least bad' option to pay a settlement in respect of a highly flawed prosecution.
 

some bloke

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He advised once I’ve paid the file will be closed & I can rip up the summons
Well done!

The Rules are the same; the (private) Prosecutor must issue the Summons within the 6 month period from the date of the Offence.
The question is, what is the legislation allowing the prosecutor to issue the summons?

The 1980 Act talks about the date of laying information or making a complaint, rather than six months between the incident and the issuing of the summons.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/43/section/127
 

Salesy

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Well done!


The question is, what is the legislation allowing the prosecutor to issue the summons?

The 1980 Act talks about the date of laying information or making a complaint, rather than six months between the incident and the issuing of the summons.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/43/section/127

I should imagine that the right to bring a private prosecution is a common law right as opposed to a statutory right (as before modern policing that would be the common route of prosecuting people) but the right to bring a private prosecution is explicitly preserved by s.6(1) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, which established the CPS.

To my knowledge, the requirement to lay an information within 6 months for most summary-only offences (s.127 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980) applies to private prosecutions as it would police/CPS prosecutions.
 

some bloke

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The question is, what is the legislation allowing the prosecutor to issue the summons?
the right to bring a private prosecution is explicitly preserved by s.6(1) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985....
s.6(1) says a private prosecutor may "institute proceedings":

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/23

It might be that issuing a summons is considered instituting proceedings, or part of it. But the rules mentioned above seem, unless I have missed something, only to refer to the court issuing a summons. This is the relevant part:

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/p...al/docs/2015/crim-proc-rules-2015-part-07.pdf

The 1980 Act talks about the date of laying information or making a complaint, rather than six months between the incident and the issuing of the summons.
To my knowledge, the requirement to lay an information within 6 months for most summary-only offences (s.127 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980) applies to private prosecutions as it would police/CPS prosecutions.
The point above relates to the fact that the prosecutor has 6 months to lay information or make a complaint (not 6 months until the summons is issued, which if the court does it would not be in the prosecutor's control)

- rather than to a distinction between public and private prosecutions.
 
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