Caught by using zip card

[ltdz1375]

Hello, can some help me with the situation.

Last week, I was caught using a Zip card. It was my friend’s son’s card, which was accidentally left at my house after a gathering last week. I used it twice in total: once the evening before the incident and once on the day I was caught. (The evening before, my phone had run out of battery, and on the day I was caught, I had just changed my Apple ID and hadn’t updated Apple Pay. Coincidentally, I also forgot to bring my wallet, so I used the Zip card.) Normally, I pay with my bank card. I can provide three months of bank statements to prove that I usually do not evade fares.

Is there any good way to prevent TfL from prosecuting me in this situation?

Many thanks

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Did your phone really run out of charge on two occasions? And did you forget your wallet on both occasions, despite knowing your phone had run out of charge? But you did remember to puck uup a Zip Oyster card that wasn't yours? I'm sorry but you have to think how someone at TfL think.

Transport for London take misuse of Zip Oyster very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome.

What happens next TfL is will send you a Verification Letter, normally within a couple of weeks. The letter will ask you to confirm or deny the incident and ask you to give any mitigating circumstances which you would like them to take into account when deciding how to proceed.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

TfL generally do not offer out of court settlements although in some very limited circumstances they have been known to issue a final warning instead of prosecution. Prosecutions are normally done through what is called a Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

If you are prosecuted and plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income, normally discounted by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs
- Compensation for the fares avoided

If you are found guilty then this is a criminal conviction. If you are prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf