Hi all,
Last year I was caught for fare evasion by Northern Rail. The matter was dealt with out of court and I paid the £80 fixed penalty notice. Since then I've been very careful to always buy tickets. However today, I boarded a train at Gatley without a ticket, having mistakenly believed the ticket office wasn't open, as it usually isn't and I generally buy my tickets on the train or at Piccadilly. I realised my mistake as the train pulled into the station, and as I spoke to the Northern Rail officer on the platform and asked if it would be okay to buy my ticket on the train as usual. He said it would be fine, and as such I boarded the train. When I arrived at Piccadilly I went and stood in line to buy my ticket as I've done many times before. As I got to the front I asked for a ticket from Gatley and explained my mistake. I was asked to step aside and speak to a revenue protection officer. He issued a failure to purchase notice, and assured me that I would just have to pay the outstanding fine and that would be the end of the matter, unless I was a repeat offender. This is the detail which is making me anxious. My details didn't appear to be flagged up when the officer rang them in, nor when I paid the outstanding fare via the IRCAS website around half an hour after being issued the notice. Will this be the end of the matter or am I likely to receive a letter in a few weeks summoning me to court as a repeat offender? I'm hoping as it was a different notice and a different process/offence for each incident, and as none of my details were flagged up, this will be the end of the matter, however any advice would be appreciated as I'm unsure whether I would class as a recurring offender under these circumstances.
I feel very anxious about the prospect of going to court, and I know how long it takes them to send out their letters, so I think I would feel better if I knew if I should expect a letter or not.
Thanks in advance to anyone who might have advice or guidance in this matter.
Last year I was caught for fare evasion by Northern Rail. The matter was dealt with out of court and I paid the £80 fixed penalty notice. Since then I've been very careful to always buy tickets. However today, I boarded a train at Gatley without a ticket, having mistakenly believed the ticket office wasn't open, as it usually isn't and I generally buy my tickets on the train or at Piccadilly. I realised my mistake as the train pulled into the station, and as I spoke to the Northern Rail officer on the platform and asked if it would be okay to buy my ticket on the train as usual. He said it would be fine, and as such I boarded the train. When I arrived at Piccadilly I went and stood in line to buy my ticket as I've done many times before. As I got to the front I asked for a ticket from Gatley and explained my mistake. I was asked to step aside and speak to a revenue protection officer. He issued a failure to purchase notice, and assured me that I would just have to pay the outstanding fine and that would be the end of the matter, unless I was a repeat offender. This is the detail which is making me anxious. My details didn't appear to be flagged up when the officer rang them in, nor when I paid the outstanding fare via the IRCAS website around half an hour after being issued the notice. Will this be the end of the matter or am I likely to receive a letter in a few weeks summoning me to court as a repeat offender? I'm hoping as it was a different notice and a different process/offence for each incident, and as none of my details were flagged up, this will be the end of the matter, however any advice would be appreciated as I'm unsure whether I would class as a recurring offender under these circumstances.
I feel very anxious about the prospect of going to court, and I know how long it takes them to send out their letters, so I think I would feel better if I knew if I should expect a letter or not.
Thanks in advance to anyone who might have advice or guidance in this matter.