How to contact London Midland after court summons?

[TrainTyro]

Hi,

I just received a summons to court for Section 5.3a (prosection, not Bye-Law sadly!) for a fare in April 2017. I contacted a solicitor who gave me the free advice to ask the court for adjournment and try to contact London Midland to discuss the possibility of an out of court settlement (and if that doesn't work, go back to my solicitor which is very expensive, but much better than getting a criminal record for something I didn't intend to do, and which I unfairly did not get a chance to explain as London Midland never contacted me despite the officer's assurance that they would).

But the London Midland phone number on the summons doesn't answer (I'll try again next week), and as they lost the franchise, I can't find any phone number for them that doesn't redirect to the new franchise somehow. Does anyone have any suggestion on how I could get in touch with them, or if there's any other entity I could/should contact?

Many thanks!

 

[furlong]

Well firstly check the dates - on what date was the information about the offence laid before the court (prior to issuing the summons) and was that within 6 months of the date of the offence? (ref. Magistrates' Courts Act 1980)

 

[furlong]

(If what you've been sent doesn't reveal that date, ask the court for it.)

 

[TrainTyro]

Thanks! It's not in what I've been sent, so I've just asked the court for it (along with the adjournment).

Does anyone have any advice for how else to contact London Midland? Should I try contacting their parent company maybe?

 

[221129]

Thanks! It's not in what I've been sent, so I've just asked the court for it (along with the adjournment).

Does anyone have any advice for how else to contact London Midland? Should I try contacting their parent company maybe?

Contacting the parent company is pointless. You need to contact the new franchisee West Midlands Trains.

 

[Haywain]

Well firstly check the dates - on what date was the information about the offence laid before the court (prior to issuing the summons) and was that within 6 months of the date of the offence? (ref. Magistrates' Courts Act 1980)

Alleged offence, surely?

 

[S-User]

Hi,

I just received a summons to court for Section 5.3a (prosection, not Bye-Law sadly!) for a fare in April 2017. I contacted a solicitor who gave me the free advice to ask the court for adjournment and try to contact London Midland to discuss the possibility of an out of court settlement (and if that doesn't work, go back to my solicitor which is very expensive, but much better than getting a criminal record for something I didn't intend to do, and which I unfairly did not get a chance to explain as London Midland never contacted me despite the officer's assurance that they would).

But the London Midland phone number on the summons doesn't answer (I'll try again next week), and as they lost the franchise, I can't find any phone number for them that doesn't redirect to the new franchise somehow. Does anyone have any suggestion on how I could get in touch with them, or if there's any other entity I could/should contact?

Many thanks!

Yeah funny enough I'm in the same situation, except I'm being charged with the Byelaws Offence...

On the letter I received it states the charge was authorised at the following address:

London Midland Prosecutions Department, P.O. Box 89
Portsmouth, PO1 1EG
Telephone: 0871 559 2997

I also checked this address on google to make sure it's the official prosecutions address and not some fake address that they're hiding under, which I can confirm it is here: (Link). On another page it also mentions that any payments should be sent to the same address (Link).

Since I'm a frequent 'paying' London Midland customer, I plan on sending them a convincing letter with a brief screenshot of my recent bank transaction as evidence that I certainly do pay for their service, I'll include 4 cheques attached to cover the initial fare, administration charges, prosecution charges and an incentive for settling the case out of court (which I do understand is at there discretion).

Hopefully they'll understand and take the offer since it is instant payment and includes a incentive, something they'll unlikely receive if it goes to court.

Since you are in a similar situation let me know what you think and/or what you're planning to do

 

[DaveNewcastle]

. . . . the free advice to ask the court for adjournment and try to contact London Midland to discuss the possibility of an out of court settlement . . . .

The Court will be your friend !
Ask the Court front office to agree to an adjournment (with the reason that you wish to seek a resolution with the Company) and also ask the Court for the address of the prosecution so that you can serve documents and/or attempt an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Take all your correspondence and personal identification with you.

But do be prepared for the possibility that the Company will have out-sourced their revenue protection and prosecutions to a third party Company who will not be in a position to 'negotiate' with an apparent fare evader. But that caution is no reason not to get your version of events and your attempts to resolve the issue on file as soon as possible.

 

[Haywain]

Yeah funny enough I'm in the same situation, except I'm being charged with the Byelaws Offence...

If you are wanting advice it would be better to start a new thread with details of your own situation.

 

[island]

Well firstly check the dates - on what date was the information about the offence laid before the court (prior to issuing the summons) and was that within 6 months of the date of the offence? (ref. Magistrates' Courts Act 1980)

This is the first thing to do. It may very well be the case that the information was laid out of time, which would result in the case collapsing.

 

[Leoo]

Hi just wanted to know what happened I am trying to find London Midland prosecution contact no. Or address being in a similar situation.