Out of country and cannot get hold of railway prosecution

[Amez11]

Hi all,

I’m in a bit of a predicament and would appreciate some help.

I was stopped in December 2020 for not having a ticket and I’ve been awaiting contact from West Midlands railway.

Unfortunately I have had to leave the country due to an emergency and will not be back until June. I’ve been having a friend check my letters at my address since I’ve been away and shes informed me I’ve received a letter from West Midlands railway prosecution department. She sent me a picture of the letter which is essentially asking to confirm if I am the person that was stopped and to also add any further mitigating factors that may influence the decision.

From reading some threads on this forum, the advice is to write a letter to the railway, being apologetic, owning to the mistake and asking for an out of court settlement.

Since I am not in the country, I thought it would be best to contact the railway and possibly ask for an extension or sort things out over the phone.

I have been trying to contact the number on the prosecutions letter for the past week but there is no answer. I’ve also searched online for alternative numbers/email addresses to contact but can’t find anything. The deadline to get back to the railway is fast approaching and I’m out of options. Please help.

 

[CrispyUK]

You could type your reply letter and send it to your friend if they are able to print and post it for you?

Alternatively there are several online services that will print and send letters for you so that could be another option to get a reply to them whilst you are out of the country.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

I very much doubt you'll get an extension, because they have a strict time limit to resolve the matter at court, 6 months from the date of the offence, so in your case, they need to start the prosecution process in June 2021 at the latest, and it's practically April now.

It sounds like you can easily resolve this from abroad anyway. You can send a letter by priority registered airmail if necessary, offering to pay a settlement, explaining your circumstances, and providing an email address for them to reply to. And then send them a bank transfer or get your friend in the UK to pay and pay them back.

If you're very far away from the UK, get your friend to write and send the letter, but in your name.

I doubt they'd say much by phone anyway, because I suspect they like to keep everything in writing, so it's all properly recorded and potentially admissable as evidence.

 

[Amez11]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my friend is unable to help me with this as she had to go out of town herself.

Since there was a phone number on the letter, I thought I would easily get a hold of them and they would advice me accordingly.

Also, on the letter they sent it says ‘if you wish to make any comments on the incident, please do so on the reverse of this letter’. I’m assuming they want it to be hand written?

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my friend is unable to help me with this as she had to go out of town herself.

Since there was a phone number on the letter, I thought I would easily get a hold of them and they would advice me accordingly.

Also, on the letter they sent it says ‘if you wish to make any comments on the incident, please do so on the reverse of this letter’. I’m assuming they want it to be hand written?

I would write a letter to the address they've given and send by international priority and registered post, unless you're in a really remote or unusual part of the world. Presumably you have a UK bank account, so in that letter, I would tell them that you are abroad and would like their bank details so you can transfer a payment to them.

Also request that they reply by email to whatever your email address is.

Keep a copy and keep hold of the tracking.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Unfortunately my friend is unable to help me with this as she had to go out of town herself.

Could be problematic if you get any further correspondence of a "time sensitive" nature at your former UK address, and not just items from West Midlands Railway or their agents.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Don't worry about not having the paper copy of the form - but make sure that any reply you send includes any references on the picture of the form that you've been sent, and the name and address that the railway wrote to.

I think that the advice to write by airmail is good: if you have any doubt that your letter won't get back to the railway in time, then also use the form at https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/contact-us/customer-relations. It's not designed for dealing with this sort of problem - but you will get a message to the railway company, and I would be hopeful (but cannot guarantee) that it will be passed on to the right person.

If you send a message by more than one route, make sure that each message mentions the other route (I am writing to you but I have also completed the customer relations form at https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/contact-us/customer-relations' / 'Although I am sending you this electronically I am also writing to you by airmail from <whatever country> in a letter dated dd/mm/yy') so that whoever deals with the case knows that all the information should tie up.

One other point - if you're trying to phone up the railway, make sure you do it during British working hours. If you've had to go really quite a long way away, it might be that means you will have to get up very early or stay up very late depending on the time difference.

 

[Amez11]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I finally got through to the railway and they provided me with a direct email address to contact them through whilst I’m out of the country.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

That's good to hear. Thanks for letting us know.