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Fare Evasion on GTR, settle out of court

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Sheepxip2344

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Hey there,

A couple of weeks back I was accused of fare evasion, I found these forums very informative and they helped me so much. Because of this I wanted to share my story to help other people going through a similar thing.

I knew that I was going to get a letter in the post asking me to come to court etc and I thought I was going to have to wait some agonising months before that letter came. However I sought legal advice (from a solicitor) and he was able to settle my case out of court a day after I contacted him, even before any letter had arrived.

So my message is, it is possible to settle out of court. I think having a solicitor will not only speed up the process but the company are more likely to settle out of court, so I would advice that.

Good luck for anyone going trough a similar thing.
Happy to answer any questions.
 
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Towers

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Welcome!

It might be of use to state how much (approximately) the whole affair set you back, both in settlement costs and solicitor's fees?
 

30907

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Welcome!

It might be of use to state how much (approximately) the whole affair set you back, both in settlement costs and solicitor's fees?
As the case has been settled, you could be even more forthcoming - eg how many instances of fare evasion did your solicitor admit to on your behalf, and were they a specialist in these matters.
 

Fawkes Cat

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Hey there,

A couple of weeks back I was caught fare evading on a GTR train service. I freaked out so much about getting a criminal record, and I spent hours on the internet, especially these forums, trying to find out what the chances of being able to settle out of court were. I found these forums very informative and they helped me so much. Because of this I wanted to share my story to help other people going through a similar thing.

So specifically the thing I was being found guilty of was short ticketing (when you buy a ticket which over covers only part of the journey). I knew that I was going to get a letter in the post asking me to come to court etc and I thought I was going to have to wait some agonising months before that letter came. However I sought legal advice (from a solicitor) and he was able to settle my case out of court a day after I contacted him, even before any letter had arrived.

So my message is, it is possible to settle out of court. I think having a solicitor will not only speed up the process but the company are more likely to settle out of court, so I would advice that.

Good luck for anyone going trough a similar thing.
Happy to answer any questions.
Thanks for sharing this. As others have also said, any other details that you could share would be helpful in us understanding how helpful the course of action you took was: it might be something that we want to encourage people to do if they are facing the same problem.

For the moment, it seems to be the case that you managed to get a very quick, out of court settlement from GTR. From a glance at a previous case (where we never heard the final outcome) this seems to be faster than is the norm for GTR. We don't know how much this cost you in terms of the settlement and solicitor's fees - but for people who really don't want to wait for things to grind through as they normally do, this could be a good route to recommend. If you feel able to share how much the costs were that would be helpful, although everyone will put a different value on their time, their stress and anxiety and their money so might come to a different decision even if they're in the exact same position.
 

Sheepxip2344

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The solicitor was specialised in these matters. I think because he was specialised he was able to deal with it so quickly, literally 24 hours after I had a meeting with him.

In terms of costs the solicitor was around £600 and the settlement was approx £140.

Hope this helped.
 
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WesternLancer

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My solicitor admitted to one count of fare evasion on my behalf and he was specialised in these matters. I think because he was specialised he was able to deal with it so quickly, literally 24 hours after I had a meeting with him.

In terms of costs the solicitor was around £600 and the settlement was approx £140.

Hope this helped.
V helpful info. I wonder if naming the solicitors firm may help other people in future?

There have been a few recent threads where people have clearly been giving serious thought to getting legal advice. Even without the details of the firm at least the price you paid gives a clear idea people can compare their own quotes against if they choose to seek a quote from a solicitor.
 

Fawkes Cat

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Thanks for letting us know - hopefully this will be helpful to anyone in a similar position browsing this forum.
 

Haywain

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V helpful info. I wonder if naming the solicitors firm may help other people in future?

There have been a few recent threads where people have clearly been giving serious thought to getting legal advice. Even without the details of the firm at least the price you paid gives a clear idea people can compare their own quotes against if they choose to seek a quote from a solicitor.
I think not naming them will save most people £600.
 

Fawkes Cat

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I think not naming them will save most people £600.
In terms of value for money, it seems to me that the OP's total outlay may be more than they would have faced in fines and court costs. Against that, they don't have a criminal conviction and they resolved the matter in a couple of days. I have no difficulty in imagining circumstances where that would amount to feeling you were up on the deal.
 

WesternLancer

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I think not naming them will save most people £600.
Point taken and in general I agree, but some forum users are people who seem to have made regular evasions and for them a solicitor's help might be more critical in securing the outcome they seek.
 

gsc13

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Hi, please let us know when you receive the letter and if you could kindly share what the letter says when it arrives that would be great. I’m waiting on a letter to be received from a similar incident which happened at Marleybone station about 4 weeks ago however I am yet to receive a letter.
I am a bit concerned because the officer at the gate didn’t speak great English so I’m worried he may have wrote my address incorrectly, I did notice he got my DOB incorrect which I did correct him however couldn’t see the rest.
Did they mention something to you something about “intent to avoid a rail fare” or something along those lines?
 

furlong

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a similar incident which happened at Marleybone station about 4 weeks ago

This thread is GTR which does not cover Marylebone. It would be better for you to start a new thread as the different train companies work in different ways. One advantage of using a specialist solicitor is that they may have built up professional relationships with some of the staff at those train companies through regular contact, and know the internal company procedures which may allow them to do things faster and more efficiently e.g. giving the right information in the right format to the decision maker directly.
 

WesternLancer

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Hi, please let us know when you receive the letter and if you could kindly share what the letter says when it arrives that would be great. I’m waiting on a letter to be received from a similar incident which happened at Marleybone station about 4 weeks ago however I am yet to receive a letter.
I am a bit concerned because the officer at the gate didn’t speak great English so I’m worried he may have wrote my address incorrectly, I did notice he got my DOB incorrect which I did correct him however couldn’t see the rest.
Did they mention something to you something about “intent to avoid a rail fare” or something along those lines?
Yep - you will get some good advice as things progress if you start a new thread for your case as @furlong suggests.
 
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