Single justice procedure notice

[Milena]

I received a single justice procedure notice regarding the offence and I have 21 days to plead guilty or not guilty. But I just want to know if I will get a criminal record from this or is this going to result in a fine. On the letter it says “ application is being made for a £225 contribution towards the costs of tfl, further costs may be incurred if additional documentation is required or if the matter is not resolved by a single justice.” Please HELP

 

[tiptoptaff]

I received a single justice procedure notice regarding the offence and I have 21 days to plead guilty or not guilty. But I just want to know if I will get a criminal record from this or is this going to result in a fine. On the letter it says “ application is being made for a £225 contribution towards the costs of tfl, further costs may be incurred if additional documentation is required or if the matter is not resolved by a single justice.” Please HELP

What have you been charged with? What does it say you are being prosecuted under? Is it RoRA or Byelaws? Also, can you please provide us with information around the incident - where you travelled from and to, why you didn't buy or obtain a valid ticket before travel (there are many valid reasons why you would board without one) who it was that spoke to you and took your details, and what was said?

Without this information, unfortunately the experts, who no doubt will ber along shortly, will not be able to provide meaningful assistance.

 

[cuccir]

A single justice procedure notice is basically a quick way of getting a case processed. If you plea guilty then that plea is accepted, without requiring a court case. It reduces costs - which effectively reduces your fine as you're likely to be made to cover/contribute to those costs if guilty - and is quicker for the courts too.

Now a SJPN should only be issued for a non-imprisonable offence. As the more severe railway law (Regulation of the Railways) technically carries the possibility of a jail sentence (though only for mulitple repeat offenders or when combined with eg racist abuse, threats of violence), a SJPN shouldn't be issued for them and we can infer that this is probably a Railway Bykaws prosectuion, which means if guilty it won't create a criminal record (although it can still be found in some DBS searches). I should add the caveat that mistakes can always be made so it'd be great if Milena can confirm that it is a Bylaws prosecution?

As tiptoptaff says, if you think that there's something irregular about the case, then we could comment further if you give us more details.

 

[Milena]

Thank you both for your replies. Much appreciated.

In the Charge sheet says:

That you, on Thursday 2nd August 2018 at Old Street, did enter a compulsory ticket area without having with you a valid ticket. Contrary to Byelaw 17(1) of the Transport for London Railway Byelaws Made under paragraph 26 of Schedule 11 to the Great London Authority Act 1999 and confirmed under section 67 of the Transport Act 1962.

 

[Llanigraham]

The obvious question is, did you do as charged?

I think you need to give us more details so that you can get proper advice.

 

[gray1404]

What have you been charged with? What does it say you are being prosecuted under? Is it RoRA or Byelaws? Also, can you please provide us with information around the incident - where you travelled from and to, why you didn't buy or obtain a valid ticket before travel (there are many valid reasons why you would board without one) who it was that spoke to you and took your details, and what was said?

Without this information, unfortunately the experts, who no doubt will ber along shortly, will not be able to provide meaningful assistance.

You also need to provide the information requested above. Tell us what happened on the day. Without this not much help can be offered to you.

 

[Milena]

I was travelling from Camden Town to Old Street and on the way out instead of touching my oyster card I used my dad's oyster which is 60+ I was stopped by Revenue Control Inspector. Of course, I apologised and explained that I made a mistake. He asked me couple questions, I gave him my driving licence so he wrote down all details and he said that I will receive a letter in the post. I haven't received any other letter apart from the Single Justice Procedure Notice.
I am more than happy to pay the fine as it was my mistake for not using my oyster card. But my biggest concern is the criminal record. This is happening to me for the first time. Do you think I can contact TFL and ask for out of court settlement? I have 21 days to plead either Guilty or Not Guilty to the offence.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I was travelling from Camden Town to Old Street and on the way out instead of touching my oyster card I used my dad's oyster which is 60+ I was stopped by Revenue Control Inspector. Of course, I apologised and explained that I made a mistake. He asked me couple questions, I gave him my driving licence so he wrote down all details and he said that I will receive a letter in the post. I haven't received any other letter apart from the Single Justice Procedure Notice.
I am more than happy to pay the fine as it was my mistake for not using my oyster card. But my biggest concern is the criminal record. This is happening to me for the first time. Do you think I can contact TFL and ask for out of court settlement? I have 21 days to plead either Guilty or Not Guilty to the offence.

There ought to be no criminal record associated with a Byelaws conviction. Frankly, unless you didn't realise you were using your dad's Freedom Pass, I would jump at being offered the chance to be convicted "only" for a Byelaws offence. It wouldn't be all that difficult to prosecute an offence under Section 5(3)(a) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 (RoRA) - which would indeed carry a criminal record and would be a crime of dishonesty potentially barring you from getting visa-free entry (or entry at all) into certain countries.

You can try contacting TfL to settle the matter, but you will want to be very careful not to admit to a more serious offence (RoRA) than that for which you are being prosecuted. Furthermore, TfL are generally more likely either to drop a matter, or prosecute it - in a similar way to the police or the CPS. Out of Court settlements are possible, but much less common than with the privatised operators (which are generally amenable to settlements, as it means they get more money and incur fewer costs).

Whatever you do, don't miss the 21 day deadline, even if you're still waiting for a response from TfL. And to be quite honest, unless there are some extenuating circumstances we're not aware of, I don't think there is any grounds for you to plead 'not guilty'.

 

[gray1404]

You say you touched out with your dads freedom pass. Did you touch in with it too? What I am trying to establish here is if you started your journey with oyster/contactless but accidentally touched out with the wrong card.

 

[Master29]

Just curious as to why you had your fathers 60+ Oystercard in the first place?

 

[Surreytraveller]

Just curious as to why you had your fathers 60+ Oystercard in the first place?

And was your Dad aware you had it, as that could also get him in trouble.

 

[summer 69]

Hey @Milena , can you please confirm if you managed to get this situation resolved ?