Received a witness statement receipt.

[RuinsFreedom]

Hi all,

I was supposed to be travelling from East Croydon to Victoria today, I thought the next train on platform was to Victoria and ended up getting on at the very front of the train as I normally do, as its easier to get out when I reach Victoria.

A RPO came up to me and asked for my ticket, I took it out for him to scan. He asked me to remove the card from the holder even though it can be scanned while in the holder. He insisted I remove it, so I did and at this point he took the card from me. He told me I was sat in first class but since I just got on at East Croydon he wouldn't issue me a penalty (t was only at this point I had realised I had mistakenly gotten onto the London Bridge train.) I then told him, I was under the impression that first class was declassified on these trains. He asked me to show him where, and I said I felt like I had read this online and tried to search for it. The first thing that came up was that first class was declassified at the rear of the train, and he kept telling me to read it and then said I can't read and asked if I was dyslexic. I asked for my oyster back and he refused to give it back and said he would issue me with a penalty fare for getting clever or whatever - note I only commented on the declassification for clarification as that was my understanding. I continued to insist that he return my oyster but he refused and called the police.

We waited for the police and they said I had to give him my details so I did. I got home and noticed the receipt I got is a witness statement receipt, what does this mean?

I am intending to leave the country soon for over a month - is there anything I can do to resolve/appeal this quickly as I do not want it to explode while I am away.

I have also noticed he took my details down incorrectly, my name is wrong and the postal address is slightly incorrect and will likely go to a neighbour and I am not sure if any letters will reach me.

Please advise.

Thanks

 

[Brissle Girl]

Re the last point, if the paper you were given has an email or postal address then it would be appropriate to contact them and advise them of the correct name and address, and the dates that you will be out of the country. You could also give them an email address and ask them to contact you using that. Make sure you give any reference number you have, but if you don’t then give the name and address on the slip as well, making clear those are the wrong details.

Other than contact details, I would not get into any discussion about the incident though, as that is best left until they contact you.

 

[island]

The law says that it’s a criminal offence to sit in 1st class without a proper ticket. This is what’s called a strict liability offence, which means you commit it even if you didn’t intend to break the law or know that you were doing so.

The law also says you have to hand over your ticket if asked by an authorised officer, and give them correct name and address. Failing to do either is a further offence.

If you have noted that there are incorrect details on your notice, please use the email address on the notice to provide correct details. If you’re going to be away during certain dates, specify those dates and an alternative way you can be contacted.

After that you will just need to wait.