Will I get a criminal record? Please Help

[lifesisover95]

On 19th December i was travelling from Mobberley to Manchester Piccadilly, on my way to university. At the station there is no ticket guard or machine, and throughout a busy train journey there was no ticket officer on the train. I queued up to buy a ticket, and to save a few pound i asked for a single from stockport (which is nearer, i also was extremely tired/hunger over so wasn't thinking straight).

He then pulls me over and says we have lock down on and you wouldn't have been able to get past security at Stockport, he then took down my details which in turn made me 20 minutes late for university presentation. Today I received the first contact letter saying that I may be brought to court. How do you think i should respond as if i get a criminal conviction it will literally destroy the rest of my life.

I have lost sleep over the situation and I'm very stressed out, would it be wise to seek legal advice?

Thanks

 

[Llanigraham]

Tell them the truth, with no waffle about being tired/hungry/other excuses available, be exceedingly apologetic, and you might be lucky, but if you have any past history with Northern, don't bank on it.

 

[lifesisover95]

I have no past with them whatsoever, it was the most stupid decision. Do you think I should get legal help? Because if I do get a criminal record for such stupid thing i couldn't live with myself

 

[Merseysider]

Yep, you could end up with a criminal record as you asked for a short fare - this displays a clear intent to avoid payment for the whole journey. Northern could easily prosecute this under the Regulation of Railways Act.

Northern like to call their out of court settlements "Fixed Penalty Notices" so if you beg them to keep it out of court this could be what you'll end up with, which won't be recorded anywhere except in Northern Rail's offices, and this wouldn't leave you with a criminal record.

 

[cjmillsnun]

Agree with Llanigraham's advice.

Be honest, concise and genuinely remorseful.

 

[Chapeltom]

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, it shouldn't ruin your life. Take the advice given by other posters. Worse things can happen while at Uni as I know from experience! Try having hard drive failure on your laptop with six weeks of third year left with no back-up of the work done

 

[najaB]

I have lost sleep over the situation and I'm very stressed out, would it be wise to seek legal advice?

You don't need to seek legal advice at this stage. Northern have written asking for your side of the story - be honest and apologetic. Explain that it was a snap decision to name the wrong starting station and that you regretted it as soon as you had said it. Ask for them to allow you to pay for the ticket and any costs they have incurred so far so that the matter can be resolved.

Don't try to make excuses about being hungry/tired or try to shift the blame by saying the guard didn't come around on the train.

If they don't accept your offer, then consider getting legal advice.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

You know you have been caught out. What does the letter actually say?

 

[6Gman]

You don't need to seek legal advice at this stage. Northern have written asking for your side of the story - be honest and apologetic. Explain that it was a snap decision to name the wrong starting station and that you regretted it as soon as you had said it. Ask for them to allow you to pay for the ticket and any costs they have incurred so far so that the matter can be resolved.

Don't try to make excuses about being hungry/tired or try to shift the blame by saying the guard didn't come around on the train.

If they don't accept your offer, then consider getting legal advice.

Very sound advice from najaB. I would strongly advise that you follow it.

But keep things in perspective for your own piece of mind - even if the worst happens it really won't wreck the rest of your life.

I had a criminal conviction aged 20 (motoring-related). Didn't stop me pursuing a career, being a charity trustee, and sundry other roles.

 

[lifesisover95]

Thank you for the comments guys, I will take your comments on board. I had no idea of these harsh consequences also as far as I'm concerned I will never be able to complete any of my current aspirations, and will most likely drop out of university Thus having to live with a £2 decision for the rest of my life.

(Also does anyone know how long it takes to go to court? as it took 7 weeks for the letter to come through.)

 

[ian959]

The TOC has six months from the date of the offence to place the matter before the courts I believe.

 

[Chapeltom]

Thank you for the comments guys, I will take your comments on board. I had no idea of these harsh consequences also as far as I'm concerned I will never be able to complete any of my current aspirations, and will most likely drop out of university Thus having to live with a £2 decision for the rest of my life.

(Also does anyone know how long it takes to go to court? as it took 7 weeks for the letter to come through.)

I wouldn't take it like that, Northern will more than likely accept an offer to settle this out of court. Take this on board... train companies don't receive the proceeds of a fine that a court would give you, but they do receive all the proceeds of an out of court settlement.

Its not the end of the world at all.

 

[najaB]

Thank you for the comments guys, I will take your comments on board. I had no idea of these harsh consequences also as far as I'm concerned I will never be able to complete any of my current aspirations, and will most likely drop out of university Thus having to live with a £2 decision for the rest of my life.

(Also does anyone know how long it takes to go to court? as it took 7 weeks for the letter to come through.)

Stop worrying ! Based on what you have written it is unlikely that you will end up with a recordable conviction. Purely as a guess, I'd say it's about an 80% chance that Northern will agree to close the matter without taking you to court.

It costs them money and time to take people to court, so they usually only go down that path with repeat offenders and high-value cases.

 

[Class377]

Stop worrying ! Based on what you have written it is unlikely that you will end up with a recordable conviction. Purely as a guess, I'd say it's about an 80% chance that Northern will agree to close the matter without taking you to court.

It costs them money and time to take people to court, so they usually only go down that path with repeat offenders and high-value cases.

In addition to this, if they go to court they don't get the fine, they only get costs and damages (generally under £100 plus the fare owed). If they settle out of court, they get all the money so financially it is in their interest to settle unless they really want to make an example of someone.

 

[mikeg]

It's also worth remembering that in the highly unlikely event that you are convicted of this first time offence the conviction will probably be spent by the time you finish uni this means that you would not need to declare the offence to most employers.

 

[Chapeltom]

In addition to this, if they go to court they don't get the fine, they only get costs and damages (generally under £100 plus the fare owed). If they settle out of court, they get all the money so financially it is in their interest to settle unless they really want to make an example of someone.

Which is pretty much the same thing as I said the post above that :roll:

And Northern's new failure to purchase/'penalty fare' scheme means they are even less likely to be prosecuting.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

It's also worth remembering that in the highly unlikely event that you are convicted of this first time offence the conviction will probably be spent by the time you finish uni this means that you would not need to declare the offence to most employers.

Unless you are unfortunate to appear before the courts again for a second offence, then you would have to declare both offences (at least on an Enhanced Disclosure) to most employers as these will remain on your record

 

[SussexMan]

Unless you are unfortunate to appear before the courts again for a second offence, then you would have to declare both offences (at least on an Enhanced Disclosure) to most employers as these will remain on your record

Sorry, but I don't understand your post. I think it is incorrect but please can you explain what you mean. This is my understanding.

A prosecution under the Regulation of Railways Act resulting in a fine would be spent after 1 year and then wouldn't need to be disclosed (unless you are working where an employer can ask about spent convictions - note that many ask about spent convictions illegally so you don't have to declare them in these situations). The conviction would show on a DBS check for 11 years and then would be filtered out. If you are under 18 then different rules apply. If you have a second conviction whilst an earlier conviction remains unspent then the first conviction isn't spent until the second conviction is spent.

However, if you are convicted of a byelaw offence you don't have to declare it and it won't appear on any DBS check.