Letter from Southeastern Prosecutions received

[Bikerchik123]

Hello I'd be grateful for any advice on how to deal with this letter received yesterday. As you can see the letter is dated 8th December however it was delivered yesterday, along with a load of other post accumulated over the last 2 weeks. Thank you

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum. There are many reports from around the country at the moment of delays to the post. Assuming that you committed the offence they are alleging then I would reply using Royal Mail Special Delivery (costs £6.70 for guaranteed next day delivery). You might want to mention the following in your reply:

- That you received the letter dated 8th December on 19th December and are responding by return
- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Most train companies are usually prepared to offer an administrative (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this, they are within their rights to prosecute.

 

[Bikerchik123]

Thank you for responding, much appreciated.

 

[Tallguy]

I also suggest you edit the picture you have uploaded as it contained the reference number of your case so if the TOC is reading this forum they can identify you......

 

[mikeg]

One presumes you actually committed an offence? What were the circumstances that lead to you receiving this letter?

 

[island]

Welcome to the forum. There are many reports from around the country at the moment of delays to the post. Assuming that you committed the offence they are alleging then I would reply using Royal Mail Special Delivery (costs £6.70 for guaranteed next day delivery).

I’m not sure one can send special delivery to a PO Box, but in any event it is worth replying promptly.

 

[Tallguy]

Just re-Reading the letter from Southeastern, they are asking for DOB, Occupation and NI number. Is there a legal requirement to supply Such specific and non relevant information such as your NI number and Occupation in such circumstances?

 

[Elwyn]

Just re-Reading the letter from Southeastern, they are asking for DOB, Occupation and NI number. Is there a legal requirement to supply Such specific and non relevant information such as your NI number and Occupation in such circumstances?

No there isn’t, but if you are looking to negotiate a satisfactory out of court settlement, it might be prudent to provide it. Refusal to provide it could make court action more likely.

 

[Tallguy]

No there isn’t, but if you are looking to negotiate a satisfactory out of court settlement, it might be prudent to provide it. Refusal to provide it could make court action more likely.

In which case, false information could be given for those 2 specific information requests. Unless the TOC wants to spend time trying to find the alleged offender on the internet via Facebook, LinkedIn etc, it seems unusual to ask for that info unless the TOC use it as some form of reference to detect repeat offenders as they certainly won’t have access to HMRC or Dept For Work records. But a very valid point about how disinclination to provide the info may provoke a tougher response from the TOC. Although there is the question as to if the TOC should be asking for the information in the first place....

 

[Titfield]

May be best to provide to help negotiate a settlement and then subsequently ask them to delete it / raise a complaint / raise an issue with the Data Commissioner.

 

[eoff]

I don't know anything about their procedures but it seems at this stage all they are trying to do is be sure that the person involved in this "incident" is the person they have sent the letter to.

 

[island]

I don't know anything about their procedures but it seems at this stage all they are trying to do is be sure that the person involved in this "incident" is the person they have sent the letter to.

The letter also asks the recipient to provide any comments they may have relating to the incident.

 

[najaB]

Is there a legal requirement to supply Such specific and non relevant information such as your NI number and Occupation in such circumstances?

No. There's also no legal requirement for them to offer a settlement.

They're asking for that info to ascertain exactly who it is that they're dealing with.

 

[Tallguy]

No. There's also no legal requirement for them to offer a settlement.

They're asking for that info to ascertain exactly who it is that they're dealing with.

Do TOC’s and the prosecution company that many of them use have access to HMRC and DWP records then? If they don’t then I fail to see how they could use the info unless it is for internal references.

 

[Undiscovered]

As i understand it, they can access data to verify ie does Mr Bloggs, with this NI number, live at this address. This is a yes or no answer, which isn't as strict under GDPR.

What they can't do is then ask, if they get a no answer, 'Who does?'

 

[contrex]

I’m not sure one can send special delivery to a PO Box, but in any event it is worth replying promptly.

You can, and it'll be delivered to the actual address hiding behind the PO Box, but you can't claim if it doesn't meet the 'Next Day 9am' or 'Next day 1pm' guarantee as it will have to be redirected. Online tracking will not update until it's delivered. If the PO Box is a 'collection' type the tracking won't show 'delivered' until someone turns up at the Royal Mail delivery office to pick it up. Same applies to Signed For (what used to be 'Recorded Delivery').

 

[Snow1964]

If you are writing back confirming it is you, and offering to settle, I am not sure why they would need your NI number, seems a bit cheeky asking for it.

I think legally if you are replying to a dispute with a company, you could send the tracked mail to the registered office as shown at bottom of letter, would probably delay it by a few hours (or for some companies few weeks) whilst they redistribute it internally to relevant desk. However it is easier to send direct to address at top.

 

[Deafdoggie]

The physical address PO Box mail goes to isn't secret, and Royal Mail will tell you if you ask them. If you ever set up a PO Box it is made very clear in the terms that the actual address will be disclosed if asked for.
Ask Royal Mail for the PO Box address and send it direct to there is probably the easiest thing to do.