Missed out of court settlment deadline due to money problems

[agodings]

I was fined £290 by TFL and arranged a 3-month payment plan after which I paid the first installment. However, my mother's illness forced her to leave her job (which i have proof of), causing me to miss the deadline for the final 2 months of payment. Additionally, I had to contribute to rent with my university student finance, leaving me with no spare money. Thankfully, my mother is feeling better and is returning to work soon. With my university student finance coming on April 22nd, I'm eager to email TFL explaining my situation and make the payment as I will have the funds to make the rest of the £194.50 remaining. Feeling quite worried about it all. What should i do.

 

[AlterEgo]

You're not dealing with TfL, you're dealing with Greater Anglia. I'd email them and ask to pay the balance immediately.

 

[AndroidBango]

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I was fined £290 by TFL and arranged a 3-month payment plan after which I paid the first installment. However, my mother's illness forced her to leave her job, causing me to miss the deadline for the second payment. Additionally, I had to contribute to rent with my university student finance, leaving me with no spare money. Thankfully, my mother is feeling better and is returning to work soon. With my university student finance coming on April 22nd, I'm eager to email TFL explaining my situation and make the payment as I will have the funds to make the rest of the £194.50 remaining. Feeling quite worried about it all. What should i do.

Did you contact them to let them know you wouldn't make the second payment?

 

[ikcdab]

You know how much you have already paid, so why can't you just pay the balance on 22 April using the payment details in the letter? Nothing is going to happen between now and then.

 

[30907]

You know how much you have already paid, so why can't you just pay the balance on 22 April using the payment details in the letter? Nothing is going to happen between now and then.

As that is nearly a week away, I would suggest first replying to the latest mail ASAP, apologising and assuring them that you will be able to pay the balance owing on that date.

 

[WesternLancer]

View attachment 156546View attachment 156547
I was fined £290 by TFL and arranged a 3-month payment plan after which I paid the first installment. However, my mother's illness forced her to leave her job, causing me to miss the deadline for the second payment. Additionally, I had to contribute to rent with my university student finance, leaving me with no spare money. Thankfully, my mother is feeling better and is returning to work soon. With my university student finance coming on April 22nd, I'm eager to email TFL explaining my situation and make the payment as I will have the funds to make the rest of the £194.50 remaining. Feeling quite worried about it all. What should i do.

I do sympathise with your situation and the advice given above is sound - if you can pas ASAP that will hopefully prevent them escalating it to court

Preventing court prosecution should be your top priority if at all possible

With debt my advice would be to try and prioritise it - in your case although far from ideal my hunch is that it would be better to have not paid your student accommodation rent than not pay your agreed payment plan for this - reason being that if you were not already in rent arrears they would have sent you some threatening letters and started to escalate their action against you to claim unpaid rent in due course, but that would all take time if it was from a standing start. Your debt to the railway was not from a standing start and they already had process in place for court so better to settle that first and get that closed down. Obviously you would then need to have got your rent owed sorted ASAP.

As you are a student your student union advice service may have been / be able to give you advice on this aspect of debt management and / or access to hardship fund etc. Hardship fund focus should not be about debt as a result of fare dodging, but given your mother's circs that might be a basis on which you could access help.

Good luck with getting this sorted.

 

[agodings]

You know how much you have already paid, so why can't you just pay the balance on 22 April using the payment details in the letter? Nothing is going to happen between now and then.

because im worried that if i send the money it will not matter anymore as they have passed it to the prosecution department

 

[WesternLancer]

because im worried that if i send the money it will not matter anymore as they have passed it to the prosecution department

They probably want the money more than spending the time prosecuting you

 

[Haywain]

They probably want the money more than spending the time prosecuting you

Yes, although it wouldn't pay to try their patience.

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes, although it wouldn't pay to try their patience.

Agreed!

 

[agodings]

They probably want the money more than spending the time prosecuting you

Hi I sent them an email detailing what had happened and this is what they replied back. What should I do now?

 

[Brissle Girl]

I would make the payment on the 22nd (assuming there is absolutely no way you can pay it earlier). I don't see there is anything to lose by doing so. And then send them another email to say that you have done so.

 

[Haywain]

It will probably take a week or two until you hear from GA, so you would be well advised to pay the balance of your settlement at the earliest opportunity and hope for the best. There is a chance that they will not continue to prosecution if they are in receipt of the full agreed settlement. However, as they agreed a payment plan in lieu of prosecution and you didn't follow it they are under no obligation to accept late payment.

 

[tspaul26]

Hi I sent them an email detailing what had happened and this is what they replied back. What should I do now?

Did you contact them about this before missing the payment?

Or only after?

 

[agodings]

Did you contact them about this before missing the payment?

Or only after?

Hi I contacted them after, as they did not send me any emails so I thought I can wait until I got money in April from student finance to send it which was very stupid from my part. Is there anyway I can contact the prosecutions department since the case has been sent to them?

It will probably take a week or two until you hear from GA, so you would be well advised to pay the balance of your settlement at the earliest opportunity and hope for the best. There is a chance that they will not continue to prosecution if they are in receipt of the full agreed settlement. However, as they agreed a payment plan in lieu of prosecution and you didn't follow it they are under no obligation to accept late payment.

Ok thank you I will send the rest of the amount on the 22nd when I get my student finance money and see what will happen

 

[Haywain]

Hi I contacted them after, as they did not send me any emails so I thought I can wait until I got money in April from student finance to send it which was very stupid from my part. Is there anyway I can contact the prosecutions department since the case has been sent to them?

When were the payments due, according to your agreed payment plan?

 

[agodings]

When were the payments due, according to your agreed payment plan?

It was due on April 15th

Sorry I meant March 15th*

 

[tspaul26]

Hi I contacted them after, as they did not send me any emails so I thought I can wait until I got money in April from student finance to send it which was very stupid from my part. Is there anyway I can contact the prosecutions department since the case has been sent to them?

That is unfortunate and, I hope you realise this, rather discourteous on your part.

In my previous job, that would be an aggravating factor in favour of commencing a prosecution whereas had the person contacted us before missing the payment we would have probably agreed a new date with him.

In these circumstances, your best way forward remains to (a) pay the full outstanding balance (late) as soon as possible and (b) immediately inform them in writing once you have done so and apologise to them for any inconvenience.

Having done this, they may well just drop the matter, but if they do proceed to prosecute then paying late lays the foundation for a ‘peremptory’ plea that the prosecution is barred.

On a practical level, it wouldn’t necessarily matter whether the court would accept such a plea: its purpose would be to bargain with the prosecutor on the day by making clear that the case could get messy and difficult, thus offering an ‘out’ of discontinuing since the full sum had by then been paid.

If a prosecution is brought and proceeds then you would be entitled to receive the money you have paid back.

 

[Haywain]

you would be entitled to receive the money you have paid back.

Although you would only balance out against what the court would order you to pay.

 

[tspaul26]

Although you would only balance out against what the court would order you to pay.

No, there would be an immediate entitlement to full reimbursement from the TOC.

 

[Haywain]

No, there would be an immediate entitlement to full reimbursement from the TOC.

I understand that, I meant it would balance out on a personal level.

 

[tspaul26]

I understand that, I meant it would balance out on a personal level.

Noted. Still gives the TOC an incentive to do a deal and discontinue any prosecution to avoid the additional complexities of a refund.

I think we both agree the OP should pay off the balance asap as a first step.

 

[Haywain]

I think we both agree the OP should pay off the balance asap as a first step.

We do indeed.