Criminal record for fare evasion

[razia786]

I know this has nothing to do with railways and will sound stupid but I would greatly appreciate the advice of people.

Basically I am 20 year old and currently at univeristy and I used my sisters 11-16 year olds oyster card on the buss. In my defense I was running low on money and had some finiancal difficulty as I was not paid that week, thus, intentially used her oyster as my parents are stugling too (I couldnt ask them). I got caught by the revenue inspecter and was surpised I didnt recieve a penalty. As I am 20, I recieved a letter asking what happened and anyting I write may be used in court etc. Thats when I realised I am going to get a criminal record.

I have been crying ever since. I keep having a panic attack everytime I think about the thought of a criminal record.

Before you judge me I KNOW it's my fault but times are tough at the moment.The reason I am posting is for some advice. People talk about 'out of court settlment'. Who do I contact from TFL about this? If I could turn back time I would.

This is my first offence and I feel so guilty and tortured. I can not think straight.
My future is at stake.

Who shall i contact? what number or email?

Id be forever greatful.

Thanks

 

[Clip]

First of all let me be brutally honest with you here and get a grip. You are 20 years old and you should not be crying or having panic attacks at this. Pull yourself together and you will be able to think more clearly and realise there are worse things that could happen than getting caught on a bus. You say you were surprised you didnt get a penalty - so you very much knew what you were doing but you were using a ticket that belonged to someone else and was a childs ticket too - thats pretty bad as now your sister could lose her Oyster - not very fair is it?

And I simply do not believe you could not have borrowed the money to top up your own Oyster for a few days - its £1.40 per journey - £2.80 per day.


Ok, lecture over, you say you have recieved a letter asking you to tell them what happened. Be truthful about what happened. Do not lie. Do not include any faff about crying or panic attacks - this will not help mitigate your circumstances.

I am sure someone on here will take a look at your letter should you so wish before you send it.

I am unsure if TfL do out of court settlements as they are **** hot on fare evasion but someone else will clarify this.


I hope this serves as a stark reminder to you that you must pay your correct fare when you travel even on the bus or train.

 

[razia786]

First of all let me be brutally honest with you here and get a grip. You are 20 years old and you should not be crying or having panic attacks at this. Pull yourself together and you will be able to think more clearly and realise there are worse things that could happen than getting caught on a bus. You say you were surprised you didnt get a penalty - so you very much knew what you were doing but you were using a ticket that belonged to someone else and was a childs ticket too - thats pretty bad as now your sister could lose her Oyster - not very fair is it?

And I simply do not believe you could not have borrowed the money to top up your own Oyster for a few days - its £1.40 per journey - £2.80 per day.


Ok, lecture over, you say you have recieved a letter asking you to tell them what happened. Be truthful about what happened. Do not lie. Do not include any faff about crying or panic attacks - this will not help mitigate your circumstances.

I am sure someone on here will take a look at your letter should you so wish before you send it.

I am unsure if TfL do out of court settlements as they are **** hot on fare evasion but someone else will clarify this.


I hope this serves as a stark reminder to you that you must pay your correct fare when you travel even on the bus or train.

I topped my oyester up with a fixed amount for that week and I knew I still had to use the remaining money I had on my oyster on the trains. Ive been doing lots of shifts to try cover my parents bills as I said, we are having money difficulty. If I had known this would of been an issue, Id have walked for 45 minutes then have taken the bus route.

I have been honest on my statment and mentioned I am going through a hard time however, like many other people they would of wrote a similar story. My concern is, what step did they do next? There is only so much honesty can take.

I intend to work with young people and I doubt this event will look good. I promise, hand on heart, if I had known the concequences, I wouldve walked. I thought Id save myself journey time.

I feel so terrible. I have calmed down but that fear and stress wont leave me. I have spent the past 5 years working towards my future and now have risked it for a bus fare.

 

[Clip]

Sorry but in your first post you said you expected a penalty fare but didn't get one and now you're saying that you didn't know this may happen?

I'm sat on a TFL train right now and the notice could not be clearer - a penalty fare OR prosecution. That's pretty clear to me.


This is what I mean about getting your head clear as you have contradicted yourself already on here.

You say you topped up with a fixed amount and were to use the remaining for the train - so did you or didn't you put enough on your card? Even if you were doing extra shifts did that include more travelling then?

And yes TfL hear all sorts of excuses and I can guarantee you that this is one that is one that is used frequently.

The only thing you can do now if you have sent off your letter is wait for them to reply and then pop back as there are some very qualified people on here who may wish to help you if it does go to court and the likely outcomes.

But please, stop fretting, its bad yes, but your health is more important than a fare dodge.

 

[razia786]

Sorry but in your first post you said you expected a penalty fare but didn't get one and now you're saying that you didn't know this may happen?

I'm sat on a TFL train right now and the notice could not be clearer - a penalty fare OR prosecution. That's pretty clear to me.


This is what I mean about getting your head clear as you have contradicted yourself already on here.

You say you topped up with a fixed amount and were to use the remaining for the train - so did you or didn't you put enough on your card? Even if you were doing extra shifts did that include more travelling then?

And yes TfL hear all sorts of excuses and I can guarantee you that this is one that is one that is used frequently.

The only thing you can do now if you have sent off your letter is wait for them to reply and then pop back as there are some very qualified people on here who may wish to help you if it does go to court and the likely outcomes.

But please, stop fretting, its bad yes, but your health is more important than a fare dodge.

I wish I could go back and change what I have done.

I have spent the past 4 years trying to get into the field of social work.

I dont know how this will look on my CRB. I am offically doomed. Is there anyway this can be resolved. I would do anything to reimberse my actions. But not a criminal record.

 

[Greenback]

This is what you need to do. Reply to the letter and admit what you did. Apologise, and don't attempt to make excuses about financial difficulties as TfL will have heard all of these stories a million times. Offer to compensate the organisation for the fares you have failed to correctly pay, plus an amount for their time and trouble in dealing with you.

You may be able to achieve a settlement, I don't know. You'll have to wait and see.

 

[cuccir]

It's easy for us to say "don't stress", but much more difficult to do that. Still, Greenback's advice is correct here. Right a clear explanation of what happened - apologetic and offering to pay for the fare and all costs incurred.

If Transport for London accept your offer, then you will have to pay an amount of money to them (that they will name - start saving now, you can probably expect this to be more than £50 and less than £300). If this is done, then no legal proceedings will take place and nothing will appear on a DBS (new name for CRB!!!) or a criminal record.

We cannot promise that they will accept your offer, but it is a frequent occurrence.

 

[bb21]

You may find that this post offers you some comfort.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I dont know how this will look on my CRB. I am offically doomed. Is there anyway this can be resolved. I would do anything to reimberse my actions. But not a criminal record.

If times really are as tough as you claim then you should have discussed your situation with your University, who have hardship funds available to students who are struggling financially. Perhaps you ought to do so now.

I assume that you are aware that there is a very good chance that your sister will not get her ticket back? She must be delighted.

I think Greenback's advice is pretty much spot on. Stick to the facts and cut out the self-pity, they've heard it all before. It smacks of trying to blame anyone or anything other than yourself for your actions. As for feeling "tortured", that's only because you got caught.

I don't think that the Health and Care Professions Council will bar you on the basis of a bus fare conviction, but you really ought to remember that dishonesty is not something that goes well with a career in Social Work. Even moderate levels of dishonesty (even non-criminal) can, in some situations, result in you being expelled from your University course as "unfit to practice".

 

[Via Bank]

OP, if your financial hardship is that serious, you should be asking your University or Students' Union if they can help you with hardship funds or bursaries, or short term loans.

If you're suffering from panic attacks, you should also seek medical advice. See your GP or ask your Union about the university's mental health services.

You should certainly contact TfL and ask if it is at all possible to settle out of court. Keep your version of events to the bare facts. Greenback and cuccir have written up what it is best to do here.

 

[221129]

Just a quick point, If the OP is as skint as he says how does he expect to be able to afford an out of court settlement?

 

[razia786]

I don't think that the Health and Care Professions Council will bar you on the basis of a bus fare conviction, but you really ought to remember that dishonesty is not something that goes well with a career in Social Work. Even moderate levels of dishonesty (even non-criminal) can, in some situations, result in you being expelled from your University course as "unfit to practice".

Just an update, I managed to get my case out of court before nit even got to the stage of prosecution. Won't be making that mistake again. I feel so relieved.

 

[30907]

Thanks for letting us know.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I also wish to say thanks for letting us know what went on.

Please learn from this and don't make the same mistake again.

 

[cuccir]

Good to hear.

If anxiety/panic attacks are frequent for you, then speak to people about it - struggling these things are more common than you think. Try your uni counselling/helpline type service or some such. These things are sometimes a bit crap, and sometimes a bit good - if nothing else, they can give you tactics/strategies to try and avoid these things that may have some use.

 

[tammy]

Just an update, I managed to get my case out of court before nit even got to the stage of prosecution. Won't be making that mistake again. I feel so relieved.

H

Hey i am in a similar situation to you and it'd be really great if you could help me out by telling me what you did to get out of it!

thanks so much

 

[Tibbs]

H

Hey i am in a similar situation to you and it'd be really great if you could help me out by telling me what you did to get out of it!

thanks so much

I would imagine it was the judicious application of some cash.

It always greases the wheels, so to speak.

 

[455driver]

H

Hey i am in a similar situation to you and it'd be really great if you could help me out by telling me what you did to get out of it!

thanks so much

It all depends what you did, what your attitude was like when you were caught, which Train Operating Company (TOC) it is and several other facts whether the TOC would be interested in some cash.

There is no magic wand.

 

[bb21]

H

Hey i am in a similar situation to you and it'd be really great if you could help me out by telling me what you did to get out of it!

thanks so much

Each case is different, even if they might sound similar, they are all different.

You need to start a separate thread with details of your own case for other people to be able to help you.