Greater Anglia prosecutions queries

[moonshed]

Hi guys,

Sorry, I can see that you get a lot of these kinds of post, but I hope you won't mind me asking a few questions of my own.

So to give you a bit of context:

Journey was a morning train from South Woodham Ferrers to Wickford, a single journey which would normally cost something like £3.50 (although I normally would buy a return)

During rush hour my line has ticket inspectors who can issue tickets. They stand on the platform at my station selling tickets to take pressure off of the solitary ticket office and machine, and then walk up and down the train selling tickets on-board also. I know this is a bit of a novelty and can only assume its because there are little-to-no ticket facilities at most of the stations along our line.

On this particular morning, I was running very late and arrived at the station just before the train. As a result, I had no time to use the ticket office and thought nothing of boarding the train with the intention to buy a ticket from an inspector (worth saying that I have seen many people do this every day). Before I knew it however, I was approached by a prosecutions officer who upon finding I had no ticket, cautioned me and advised me I would be receive a letter in a few weeks. I explained the above to him and that I had planned to buy my ticket from an inspector which did little to sate him. He seemed under the impression that I had walked past the inspector on the train but if I did, this was completely unintentional (I had only even been on the train for around 30 seconds at this point). I actually got my wallet out at my seat ready for the inspector just before being approached by the prosecutions officer.

I rang the prosecutions department at Greater Anglia very soon after and tried to explain the situation - I have offered to send in bank statements to show that I buy tickets every single weekday and that this was a genuine misunderstanding and no great plot to defraud them. They are waiting on the officers report and will get back to me soon (not sure how soon exactly).

In all honesty, I cannot stomach the thought of a criminal record and would be willing to pay up even though I feel as though I have been treated a little harshly here.

As a result, I was ultimately posting to ask:

1. Is sending in bank statements likely to satisfy them that this was a genuine misunderstanding?

2. Failing this, does anybody have an idea of an amount I should offer them that they are likely to accept?

Any answers are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[yorkie]

There isn't really enough information privided to be able to advise unfortunately.

 

[moonshed]

What information would be useful?

 

[najaB]

What information would be useful?

Have a look at this thread.

 

[moonshed]

I have added a few more details which I hope will help to explain the situation betters

 

[mikeg]

1. Is sending in bank statements likely to satisfy them that this was a genuine misunderstanding?

Maybe, but more likely not. It is a legal requirement prior to travel to buy a ticket where facilities exist to enable this. Thus they will see it as you have broken the law, they may be willing to settle the matter, however this will come at a price. It has been known on very rare occasions for people to get off with a bit of a telling off and a warning, however these are a small minority of cases. You will more likely find yourself paying towards their legal and admin costs, plus the fare due.

2. Failing this, does anybody have an idea of an amount I should offer them that they are likely to accept?

Not really, you should state that you are willing to pay the full fare due plus any legal or administrative costs they may have incurred as a result of your actions. Leave the amount up to them. It is very rare for the TOC to ask you to name your price and if you offer too much you could come across as trying to bribe your way out of the situation. Similarly, too little and they'll think you're just trying to get away with it. So leave the settlement amount up to them for now. But you should really wait for the letter in my opinion. Expect the total to be in the high double or low triple figures. Just a warning: They have no obligation whatsoever to settle out of court and may proceed to prosecution if they wish. You having your wallet out might help a little to defend against a Regulation of Railways act charge (the one that comes with a criminal record - though your defence may well still not be accepted), but it's still an open and shut byelaw offence (no criminal record, but still a fine and costs in court).


As an aside, is this a commute? In which case a season ticket may save you money and would mean you would have to queue at the ticket office less often. You say every single weekday so I'm surprised if a season wouldn't save you anything. They're available from as little as weekly, up to annual.

 

[najaB]

1. Is sending in bank statements likely to satisfy them that this was a genuine misunderstanding?

It may help convince AGA that you aren't worth taking to court, but it wouldn't help you if it got that far. To use an extreme example: if I was up on a murder charge, it wouldn't help my defence to say "Look at all the days that I didn't murder anybody."

2. Failing this, does anybody have an idea of an amount I should offer them that they are likely to accept?

I think it is *way* too soon to be making any offers. At this point you need to wait until they contact you.

In all likelihood, they will give you an opportunity to put your side of the story across. If your reply contains:

• An admission that you were wrong - being late is no excuse for bypassing a ticket office/machine.
• An acknowledgment that dealing with ticketless travel costs them and other passengers time and money
• An offer to compensate them for their costs to date
• And a committment to always purchase before boarding in future

There is a good chance that they will agree to close the matter by way of a payment somewhere in the high two-figure region (e.g. £80).

 

[rdwarr]

They may also wonder why you buy a ticket every day (I'm guessing it's the £6 return) rather than a season ticket which would come in much cheaper (e.g. £852 for a year).
I'd do the latter, especially if there were problems buying tickets in the morning.

 

[moonshed]

They may also wonder why you buy a ticket every day (I'm guessing it's the £6 return) rather than a season ticket which would come in much cheaper (e.g. £852 for a year).
I'd do the latter, especially if there were problems buying tickets in the morning.

Well I used to buy a weekly but misplaced a wallet (including photocard) a few weeks ago and haven't got round to getting a new photocard yet. Also given that I'm technically on a non-permanent contract I'm a little averse to buying a monthly or yearly given that I could (in theory) be let go at any time. I understand your point but ultimately my bank statements still show that I have bought a valid ticket every week-day recently and I can't imagine they'd be too upset at my lack of action on getting a new photocard given that its making them a few extra quid every week.

 

[island]

On the point of being let go, if that were to happen you can return a monthly or a yearly season ticket for a partial refund part way through its validity.