Caught walking through barriers with a friend

[farsingh]

Hiya Everyone,

I'm just on here because I need some advice on what to do and how to move forward.

Earlier this month I was with a friend heading towards Canary Wharf and I tried to bump the disabled barriers with him but as we went through we got caught by one of the officers. I fully cooperated and gave my details and was very compliant and made sure that when they were getting my details and writing the report, in the report it said that I was compliant and also offered and said I could go back and pay the far which I ended up doing. This was all included in the report. I wasn't worried at first and just thought I was going to get a verbal warning as the officers said they would have to write the report and send it off and see if they decided to push it further. I thought nothing of it until I was sent a letter with the report and the incident which occurred. In the letter, it said I needed to fill in the relevant information and send it back to them such as my dob, address and email as well as if I "deny" or "accept" committing an offence and if I have any available evidence to show. I accepted and sent the following email to support my actions as "to why TFL should not proceed with a prosecution".
Email - " Subject: Appeal for Offence Report

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in response to the letter I received regarding an offence report on Tuesday, 27th February 2024, on the TfL Public Transport Network. I would like to appeal against the reported offence and provide additional information for your consideration. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge that I am aware of the seriousness of this matter and the potential legal consequences. However, I would like to present my case and explain the circumstances surrounding the incident. On the mentioned date, I inadvertently failed to pay the fare for my journey on the TfL Public Transport Network. I deeply regret this oversight and assure you that it was not intentional. As soon as I realized my mistake, I promptly rectified the situation by returning and paying the fare in full. I understand the importance of complying with the rules and regulations set by TfL and assure you that I will be more vigilant in the future to avoid any such incidents. I would like to emphasize that I fully cooperated with the TfL officers when approached and complied with their instructions. I understand the importance of respecting and cooperating with the authorities, and I regret any inconvenience caused by my momentary lapse. Considering the circumstances and the fact that I rectified the situation immediately, I kindly request that TfL not take any further legal action against me. I assure you that this incident was an isolated occurrence, and I am committed to being a responsible and compliant user of the TfL Public Transport Network. I appreciate your understanding and consideration in this matter. If there is any additional information or documentation required to support my appeal, please let me know, and I will provide it promptly.
Thank you for your attention to this appeal. I look forward to a favourable resolution to this matter.
Yours sincerely"

My next concern now is that after I sent this email, a week went by and I received another letter in the post with a "plea". It entails, "We've sent you a Single Justice Procedure notice because you have been charged with an offence, on the Transport for London Network. What you need to do You need to tell us whether you are guilty or not guilty. This is called making your plea. You can make your plea online or by filling in the enclosed 'Make your plea by post' form. "On Tuesday 27th February 2024 Mr Singh attempted to travel from Stratford station. At 7:38 PM he was seen to approach the barriers and enter behind another fare-paying passenger. When spoken to he was informed that by his actions he was in breach of Byelaw 9(2) passing through a barrier incorrectly At this point he stated he could go back and pay."
The full statement of Witness gives the full description of a series of events and the idea of me being fully compliant as well as going back to pay for the fare but it also says that there is a financial penalty as well as the plea decision. I would like some advice on what I should do and how I can go about this with the least minimal consequence.
Should i plead guilty and if so will I get a criminal record if not, how can I dismiss this case by just paying a fine or getting off free potentially, I've never done this before so I don't know what the best procedure and way around is.

Please help me.

Thank you everyone

 

[methecooldude]

I inadvertently failed to pay the fare for my journey on the TfL Public Transport Network. I deeply regret this oversight and assure you that it was not intentional

So if it was not intentional, what do you call tailgating with someone you know. It will be evident on CCTV that you came in to the station together and that you were associated with each other. Lying on your appeal will not get you far

 

[skyhigh]

On the mentioned date, I inadvertently failed to pay the fare for my journey on the TfL Public Transport Network. I deeply regret this oversight and assure you that it was not intentional.

This is completely untrue and if you send it to TfL they won't think you're taking the matter seriously, at all.

So you accidentally double shuffled through a barrier while still fully intending to pay your fare?

Unless you accept your deliberate actions you're going to have zero chance that TfL will settle with you.

how can I dismiss this case by just paying a fine or getting off free potentially

That's not your choice. TfL almost always prosecute offenders. It sounds like they have decided to prosecute you. You can write them a sincere letter that shows you understand what you have done and that may lead to them offering to settle, but if they don't want to and this goes to court you will almost certainly end up with a criminal conviction.

 

[farsingh]

Yes it's my fault, I intended to bump but when I sent the letter I said it was unintentional which I shouldn't have done and I realise that now I just thought that because I was compliant and I went back and paid the actual fare that I tried to avoid, I thought it would all be alright

 

[skyhigh]

Okay, so to summarise -
You got caught bumping the barriers.
TfL wrote to you asking for your side of the story.
You replied with what you have written in your first post.
They have now sent you a SJPN asking you if you wish to plead guilty.

In which case, they appear to have decided to prosecute. You can always try writing again, but it's unlikely TfL will change their mind. If you plead Guilty you will receive a criminal conviction and fine, but you will be given a discount on the fine due to your Guilty plea. If you don't plead Guilty but are found Guilty later you will also receive a conviction and larger fine. If you don't respond or attend court you will be found Guilty, the problem won't go away.

Seeing as there is no mitigating circumstances and you committed the offence, your best option is probably to plead Guilty.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Agree with other comments. Any chance (which TBH was remote) that you would be let off with a caution was blown when you lied through your teeth in your response. Investigators aren’t stupid you know.

Your only realistic option is to plead guilty and go through the process as smoothly as possible.

 

[30907]

Just to point out that TfL (almost) always prosecute when people attempt to travel without a valid ticket (or equivalent). In this case they have used a different byelaw, but in practical terms the effect is the same: you will pay an income-related fine (fill that section in accurately!), plus "victim surcharge," plus TfL's costs.

Fortunately such a conviction is unlikely to have a long-term impact on your life (other than on your bank balance!).

 

[island]

Just to note that the offence charged is not a recordable offence and would not normally appear on a basic or standard DBS certificate; it would also only appear on an enhanced certificate if deemed relevant to the role applied for.

 

[farsingh]

Thank you for all the response.
From the gist of everything, all I am receiving is to plead guilty. My worry is now, if I plead guilty, what will be the outcome, will I pay a fine and receive a criminal record and if so how long does it say on my criminal record and is it detrimental to my future.
Lastly, I assume there is no leeway with this and I couldn’t perhaps ask for an out of court settlement or something because I still ended up paying the fare. I never normally do this and it was a silly mistake, I’m unemployed and am struggling so the next series of events if anyone can inform me please would be really helpful if they have gone through this before and what the outcome would be please.

 

[methecooldude]

Thank you for all the response.
From the gist of everything, all I am receiving is to plead guilty. My worry is now, if I plead guilty, what will be the outcome, will I pay a fine and receive a criminal record and if so how long does it say on my criminal record and is it detrimental to my future.
Lastly, I assume there is no leeway with this and I couldn’t perhaps ask for an out of court settlement or something because I still ended up paying the fare. I never normally do this and it was a silly mistake, I’m unemployed and am struggling so the next series of events if anyone can inform me please would be really helpful if they have gone through this before and what the outcome would be please.

If TfL wanted to offer an out of court settlement, they would have done so before you received the SJPN. You don't get a choice. You can certainly ask, but I doubt TfL will listen

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you for all the response.
From the gist of everything, all I am receiving is to plead guilty. My worry is now, if I plead guilty, what will be the outcome, will I pay a fine and receive a criminal record and if so how long does it say on my criminal record and is it detrimental to my future.
Lastly, I assume there is no leeway with this and I couldn’t perhaps ask for an out of court settlement or something because I still ended up paying the fare. I never normally do this and it was a silly mistake, I’m unemployed and am struggling so the next series of events if anyone can inform me please would be really helpful if they have gone through this before and what the outcome would be please.

Unfortunately it seems you blew any slim chance of avoiding prosecution by telling blatant lies in your response to them.

If you plead guilty you will be convicted of the offence. You will have to pay a fine, plus TfL’s costs and a small surcharge. You will have a criminal record, but as it is a Bylaw offence it will not be recorded on the Police National Computer. It will only be recorded in the court’s records.

 

[Brissle Girl]

I never normally do this

Fare dodgers are rarely caught first time, so I suspect that’s another example of not being completely truthful?

No, there’s no leeway now. TfL are notoriously firm in prosecuting fare dodgers, and so I’m afraid you have to face the consequences.

If you are unemployed then the fine imposed by the court will be relatively low, but there will still be a Victim Surcharge added (40% of the fine I believe), together with TfL’s costs. So expect to be maybe up to £500 out of pocket, which you might be able to pay in instalments.

 

[furlong]

Are they asking for any compensation? You say you went back and paid the fare (i.e. touched in?), so presumably not - just costs etc.

 

[spyinthesky]

Pleading guilty is likely going to be your cheapest option. It is not the end of the world and prevents you from lying again in court.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

To add to what others have said TfL often prosecute in cases like this, so I'm not surprised that they are doing so in this case. If you plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court following a not guilty plea) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income (usually discounted by a third for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs

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 or Standard 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

 

[dosxuk]

I just thought that because I was compliant and I went back and paid the actual fare that I tried to avoid, I thought it would all be alright

Ask yourself what the deterrent to doing it again would be if all you had had to do was say sorry and then pay for the fare when you got caught.

To then claim in your mitigation that it was an inadvertent accident and you didn't mean to do it and are sorry for the inconvenience of them catching you - do you really think they will think that just accepting an apology will stop you from doing it again?

 

[farsingh]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply and give me advice. I know what to do know which is the plead guilty and jus take the consequences as they come, hopefully they aren’t too severe. I will update this thread with the conclusion of what happens and the series of events if there are any after my plead, thank you again!

 

[jumble]

Just to point out that TfL (almost) always prosecute when people attempt to travel without a valid ticket (or equivalent). In this case they have used a different byelaw, but in practical terms the effect is the same: you will pay an income-related fine (fill that section in accurately!), plus "victim surcharge," plus TfL's costs.

Fortunately such a conviction is unlikely to have a long-term impact on your life (other than on your bank balance!).

I disagree depending on what your of people attempting to travel without valid tickets actually is
The attached poster states that twice as many people received penalty fares in the period noted than were reported for prosecution ( not actually prosecuted) on Station Exercises
It may be more accurate to say that TFL almost always prosecute for matters that are reported for prosecution
This does not assist the OP unfortunatly
It also seems rather unkind of TFL to make the OP pay for their journey and then prosecute them anyway

 

[AlterEgo]

It also seems rather unkind of TFL to make the OP pay for their journey and then prosecute them anyway

The OP volunteered to pay their fare when challenged, something which could only be used as evidence they knew they were up to no good.

Bumping is rife on TfL and it's about time something was done about it. All the low level crime in London really adds up.

 

[jumble]

The OP volunteered to pay their fare when challenged, something which could only be used as evidence they knew they were up to no good.

Bumping is rife on TfL and it's about time something was done about it. All the low level crime in London really adds up.

You are quite correct
I misinterpreted

 

[30907]

I disagree depending on what your of people attempting to travel without valid tickets actually is
The attached poster states that twice as many people received penalty fares in the period noted than were reported for prosecution ( not actually prosecuted) on Station Exercises
It may be more accurate to say that TFL almost always prosecute for matters that are reported for prosecution.

You are of course correct. As in most TfL threads on here, the context is the OP receiving a letter threatening prosecution.