Never received any letter about fare evasion. Now they've gone directly to my employer with a bigger fine

[a_bol]

I got given a fine for fare evasion over 6 months ago. Was told I would get details in the post. Never received anything.

Now my employer has been instructed to deduct £500 from my pay. I assume the increase is because of nonpayment, but if I never got any letter, how can that be my fault. Also concerned that they will escalate this so I want to set the record straight.

Is there any way for me to prove that I didn't get any letter? Are they able to check for proof of delivery on their end? What are my legal obligations in this case?

Some extra details based on the comments:

- fine was issued by greater anglia inspectors, not a court. Standard penalty fare I believe

- I moved house about 2.5 months after the incident. The address they have on file is my old address (which was correct at the time)

 

[Titfield]

Please can you provide more details as otherwise providing advice tailored to your issue is not practical.

It sounds as if an attachment of earnings order has been sent to your employer which they are legally bound to enact.

An attachment of earnings order is normally granted when you otherwise can not be contacted and / or not responding but they have found or been given details of your employment.

 

[notmyrealname]

Have you moved house in the last six months?

 

[fandroid]

Did you receive court papers asking you to plead guilty or not guilty, known as an SJPN - Single Justice Procedure Notice?

 

[Haywain]

I got given a fine for fare evasion over 6 months ago.

Who gave you a fine, and in what form - was this a Penalty Fare you were given or was the fine imposed by a court and, either way, did you pay the fine?

 

[Tetchytyke]

As there’s an attachment of earnings, this will be a criminal fine.

If you did not receive the court paperwork you can make a statutory declaration to this effect at the Magistrates Court. This would reset the criminal process and would then give you an opportunity to enter a plea and enter any mitigation. The TOC may decide to negotiate an out of court settlement or they may not.

 

[Haywain]

As there’s an attachment of earnings, this will be a criminal fine.

Yes, but it is conceivable that it started as a Penalty Fare that wasn't paid.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Yes, but it is conceivable that it started as a Penalty Fare that wasn't paid.

Indeed, but the attachment of earnings indicates a criminal fine, and that’s the urgent thing to sort out.

It may be this or it may be something else. The starting point is to contact the Courts to find out what the attachment of earnings relates to. If it was a criminal case that the OP was unaware of then the statutory declaration will be the way forward.

 

[a_bol]

Have you moved house in the last six months?

Yes, I moved about 2.5 months after the incident. They apparently sent it to my old address. But 2.5 months is surely too long for this to be a likely reason?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Mar 2024 ==

Who gave you a fine, and in what form - was this a Penalty Fare you were given or was the fine imposed by a court and, either way, did you pay the fine?

Penalty fare imposed by greater anglia. Nothing paid.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Mar 2024 ==

Did you receive court papers asking you to plead guilty or not guilty, known as an SJPN - Single Justice Procedure Notice?

No court papers. Only contact has been to my employer. Though I moved several months after the fine. I assume that's too long to explain why I didn't get the first letter, but it could explain why I didn't get subsequent ones?

 

[AlterEgo]

Penalty fare imposed by greater anglia. Nothing paid.

So they've taken you to the magistrates court and prosecuted you for the offence following this - did you appeal the Penalty Fare at all?

 

[Wolfie]

Yes, I moved about 2.5 months after the incident. They apparently sent it to my old address. But 2.5 months is surely too long for this to be a likely reason?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Mar 2024 ==


Penalty fare imposed by greater anglia. Nothing paid.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Mar 2024 ==


No court papers. Only contact has been to my employer. Though I moved several months after the fine. I assume that's too long to explain why I didn't get the first letter, but it could explain why I didn't get subsequent ones?

They have up to six months to prosecute which they can and will do if you don't engage. If you move house you are responsible for ensuring that mail is forwarded. The best that you can hope for is to reset the process via a statutory declaration and then try to settle out of Court.

 

[fandroid]

If you ignored a Penalty Fare Notice, then the rail company will inevitably move towards court action. However, you say early on that you were told that you would receive details in the post. That probably means it wasn't a penalty fare at all, as you either pay one of those on the spot, or you get handed (on the spot) a Penalty Fare Notice, to be paid as according to the instructions on the notice. If you pay, either way, in time, you won't get anything more posted to you.

It sounds like they referred you to their prosecutions department and it was their letters that got lost somewhere.

Whatever happened, the Statutory Declaration route is the one to follow. It's worth doing, but it won't necessarily save you much, if any, money in the end.

 

[island]

It sounds as though you have been prosecuted, and found guilty in your absence. Escalating notices regarding this process would have been sent to the address you gave at the time of the incident, and as these weren’t responded to, enforcement moved up a step and you now have an attachment of earnings.

From the date of your payday, you have 21 days to file a statutory declaration of ignorance of proceedings. You can do this at a court or at a solicitor. A fee is charged if you use a solicitor; it is free at a court. When the statutory declaration is accepted, it has the effect of cancelling your criminal conviction and resetting the case to the start.

If you’re not sure of the case number or any of the details to enter on the form, ring the court that convicted you, or if you don’t know which court that is, ring your local magistrates’ court.

Once the case is reset, you’ll need to either plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you’ll be convicted again and will have to pay a fine. If your earnings are less than £660 a week*, the fine will be less than you previously were charged. If they’re above that, it’ll be higher.

If you plead not guilty, the case will be set down for trial at a later date when the relevant Greater Anglia staff are available to handle it. You can then attempt to settle the case with Greater Anglia for a sum of money, in return for them dropping the prosecution, or you can make them try to prove to court that you did it. If you do the latter and you lose, it’s likely you’ll have to pay a higher sum than you’ve been charged thus far.

If you’ve any further questions about the process please do post them and we shall try and help.

*The fine the OP was given in court will have been calculated based on assumed weekly earnings of £440. They won’t have benefited from a one-third discount for a guilty plea. That means that should they have weekly earnings under £660, the fine is likely to be lower after the SD process.

 

[John R]

Thinking about GA’s reaction if it was a penalty fare (and accept there is some uncertainty over that point as noted by @fandroid) if you ask for an out of court settlement, they might wonder why you didn’t pay it. If you had paid then none of this would have happened, and the change of address would not have been an issue.

So I think you need to consider that point in determining the best way forward.