Hi all,
To keep it short, I was caught travelling with an expired railcard with SouthEastern. I received a letter asking for my side of the story and information (like insurance number, I believe it was called a pre-prosecution letter or something), which I responded with all the correct details and also a page with writing explaining the situation, my side of the story, and the fact that I would be happy to pay the ticket fare as well as any administration fee to keep it out of court (this letter was placed in the same envelope as the information page). Today I have received a court summons.
My question is: I made it clear in the earlier reply that I would prefer an out of court settlement (the page attached to the pre-prosection letter). Does this letter get sent to Southeastern and is it read by people with the authority to offer me an out of court settlement? Or does it simply get sent to the people that are compiling all the information needed for a court summons (and therefore my OoC preference is ignored).
Essentially, does the fact that they sent me a court summons even after I made it clear I wanted an OoC settlement in the pre-prosecution reply make it clear that they dont want a OoC? Or should I contact the prosecutions office and try my luck again.
I was hoping that they would send me an out of court settlement instead of the court summons, but of course this hasn't happened. I'm just trying to get an understanding of the process and if my chances of an OoC settlement are greatly reduced because they send me a court summons anyway.
To keep it short, I was caught travelling with an expired railcard with SouthEastern. I received a letter asking for my side of the story and information (like insurance number, I believe it was called a pre-prosecution letter or something), which I responded with all the correct details and also a page with writing explaining the situation, my side of the story, and the fact that I would be happy to pay the ticket fare as well as any administration fee to keep it out of court (this letter was placed in the same envelope as the information page). Today I have received a court summons.
My question is: I made it clear in the earlier reply that I would prefer an out of court settlement (the page attached to the pre-prosection letter). Does this letter get sent to Southeastern and is it read by people with the authority to offer me an out of court settlement? Or does it simply get sent to the people that are compiling all the information needed for a court summons (and therefore my OoC preference is ignored).
Essentially, does the fact that they sent me a court summons even after I made it clear I wanted an OoC settlement in the pre-prosecution reply make it clear that they dont want a OoC? Or should I contact the prosecutions office and try my luck again.
I was hoping that they would send me an out of court settlement instead of the court summons, but of course this hasn't happened. I'm just trying to get an understanding of the process and if my chances of an OoC settlement are greatly reduced because they send me a court summons anyway.
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