Hello all,
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Back in September 2019, I travelled from London to Oxford with a 16-25 Railcard return ticket but when my ticket was checked at Oxford station (GWR), I realised I'd left my Railcard at home. Following this, a pre-court settlement offer was sent (in October) but it was sent to the wrong address and they also misspelled my name. I therefore did not receive this and it wasn't until April 2020 that I managed to get a court summons (also sent to the wrong address but I somehow received it as the street was correct). The problem is that the court date was in March and the case had been heard in my absence (and without my knowledge).
I then applied for the making of a statutory declaration (delayed to June 2020 because of COVID) but I am not sure what needs to be done after this. Is it likely that I will get a chance after making the statutory declaration to settle with GWR or will I have to go through the hearing again. Moreover, the summons was for a breach of s.5(3)(a) of the Railways Act 1889 but as I made clear in the witness statement, I left my Railcard at home by accident which had led me to think that this may be a breach of Byelaw 18 but not the Railways Act.
Ideally, I'd get the opportunity to settle with GWR but I'm worried I might need to instruct a solictor to do this. Any help would be truly appreciated.
Thank you
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Back in September 2019, I travelled from London to Oxford with a 16-25 Railcard return ticket but when my ticket was checked at Oxford station (GWR), I realised I'd left my Railcard at home. Following this, a pre-court settlement offer was sent (in October) but it was sent to the wrong address and they also misspelled my name. I therefore did not receive this and it wasn't until April 2020 that I managed to get a court summons (also sent to the wrong address but I somehow received it as the street was correct). The problem is that the court date was in March and the case had been heard in my absence (and without my knowledge).
I then applied for the making of a statutory declaration (delayed to June 2020 because of COVID) but I am not sure what needs to be done after this. Is it likely that I will get a chance after making the statutory declaration to settle with GWR or will I have to go through the hearing again. Moreover, the summons was for a breach of s.5(3)(a) of the Railways Act 1889 but as I made clear in the witness statement, I left my Railcard at home by accident which had led me to think that this may be a breach of Byelaw 18 but not the Railways Act.
Ideally, I'd get the opportunity to settle with GWR but I'm worried I might need to instruct a solictor to do this. Any help would be truly appreciated.
Thank you