Someone used my name and now im being taken to court

[James2000]

As the title of this thread says, im in a very peculiar situation, ive been sent a single justice procedure letter saying im being charged with a criminal offence that took place on the 7th of June. Apparently i was at Manor Park station at 9:30 and was stopped by a ticket inspector, after being unable to produce a valid ticket, i gave my details and the rest is history. The problem is on the 7th of June at 9:30 i was fast asleep in my bed, which is nowhere near Manor Park, 1 hour and 30 mins away to be exact. I woke up at around 12, went to see my friend that lives a walking distance, and stayed home for the rest of the day.Ive never been in a situation like this before and don't know how to proceed, do i need to find a lawyer? are they gonna dismiss this case as soon as they see that its a case of false identity? how would i prove my innocence? Any advice would be very helpful, thank you in advance.

 

[Snow1964]

No you don't need a lawyer.

Someone else has given your details falsely. What you need to do is write back saying you know nothing about it and we're at least an hour and half away.

Obviously if it wasn't you, you won't be able to offer any other details as you weren't there.

They might write back, might ask for a photo of you which they will compare to the evidence (or you might never hear again, although if they are threatening to take you to court, they ought to acknowledge if no longer happening).

 

[James2000]

No you don't need a lawyer.

Someone else has given your details falsely. What you need to do is write back saying you know nothing about it and we're at least an hour and half away.

Obviously if it wasn't you, you won't be able to offer any other details as you weren't there.

They might write back, might ask for a photo of you which they will compare to the evidence (or you might never hear again, although if they are threatening to take you to court, they ought to acknowledge if no longer happening).

so i just need to plead not guilty and come to court? will the inspector be there? are they gonna show cctv to show its not me? how good is the inpectors memory, i doubt he remembers the faces of everyone hes stopped. Its genuinely shocking how the TFL can charge someone with a crime without verifying the information given by the perpetrator, theres clearly a flaw in the system.

 

[Snow1964]

There is a good chance the person who did it knows you well, a friend (maybe enemy now), a relative etc. It is not normal to be able to recite name, address, date of birth etc of a stranger.

However even if they show you the photo (unlikely beforehand, but probable if you were in court claiming mistaken identity), you are not obliged to say who it is (but if the magistrate or judge asks you then you can't lie in court and say I don't know if you recognise the person.

 

[NSEWonderer]

I believe most inspectors wear body cams now and are supposed to turn them on when dealing with penalty fares or write ups. Good chance they'd have the face of the individual.

 

[mathstrains19]

As far as I'm aware, if you state it's not you, it's up to TFL to prove that it was you they stopped (which would be difficult since it's wasn't you). Obviously it might be easier/quicker if you can provide more information to support that

 

[jfollows]

As the title of this thread says, im in a very peculiar situation, ive been sent a single justice procedure letter saying im being charged with a criminal offence that took place on the 7th of June.

Can you please clarify this a little, ideally by posting a (redacted) copy of the letter. Is it a letter from the rail company or a single justice procedure notice from a court?

In either case it's a mess, and can be sorted out.

At the end of the day, to be guilty you have to have your identity and presence proved beyond reasonable doubt, they have to prove you were there and not the other way round. Obviously if you can prove easily that you weren't there, so much the better, but if not don't worry.

 

[swt_passenger]

Its genuinely shocking how the TFL can charge someone with a crime without verifying the information given by the perpetrator, theres clearly a flaw in the system.

Think about this though, what you’re suggesting is a ‘flaw in the system‘ is the fact that we live in a country where nobody has to carry photo ID with address around with them. If TfL (or any other rail staff) are given a name and address and it checks out as a real address and postcode, (rather than pure fiction), then that’s going to be accepted.

 

[AndrewP]

A quick tip. When redacting a letter use MS Paint (seriously) to redact personal details and then print as a .pdf as this makes it impossible to retrieve your personal details

 

[WesternLancer]

so i just need to plead not guilty and come to court? will the inspector be there? are they gonna show cctv to show its not me? how good is the inpectors memory, i doubt he remembers the faces of everyone hes stopped. Its genuinely shocking how the TFL can charge someone with a crime without verifying the information given by the perpetrator, theres clearly a flaw in the system.

I would think you need to be dealing with whoever is taking you to court to get this stopped before the court date ideally. Presumably that is a railway company or TfL - you need to be writing to them urgently making a clear statement that this was not you. Any evidence you can use to support that it was not you would be worth including (eg a copy of your photograph for example from some official ID)

You need to ask them to withdraw the court action against you on the basis that it was not you who was stopped.

You need to take clear action or there is a risk the case just gets progressed with all the other people they are taking to court who think if they juts ignore this the problem will go away - it won't. You need to avoid being found guilty for something you did not do

When is the deadline for the court paperwork to be responded to? That is how long you have got to get this sorted out.

Was this the 1st paperwork you received about any of this? Did you get any letters before that you may have ignored on the basis that you know you were not travelling that day?

 

[Haywain]

so i just need to plead not guilty and come to court?

No, that is not advisable. It is far better to contact TfL immediately, as you do not want the matter going to court. TfL will be used to this sort of situation due to the number of prosecutions they bring before the courts. It is slightly surprising if you haven't first received a verification letter from TfL though, as they would normally provide an opportunity to comment before issuing the SJPN. If time is short to respond to the SJPN, then you should enter a not guilty plea, and this will result in a summons being issued if the case is not withdrawn. Incidentally, do not get waylaid by trying to identify who might have been stopped, your only concern is confirming that it wasn't you.

However even if they show you the photo (unlikely beforehand, but probable if you were in court claiming mistaken identity),

If TfL are in possession of a photograph of the offender, they are not going to be showing it to the OP. They might do so in court if it happens to look exactly like the OP, but not otherwise.

 

[James2000]

Thank you for the tip @AndrewP, i didnt know it was possible to retrieve redacted information. i dont have MS paint so i just did the next best thing and put something on top of the personal information. There is a lot of papers in the envalope so i only attatched the relavent ones, also i didnt cover my date of birth because the perpetrator gave the wrong birthday.

To answer your question @Haywain, i did receive a letter a couple months back saying something along the lines of " you committed an offence on tfl, plead guilty or not guilty". I just ignored it because firstly didnt travel that day and secondly it was very vague, it gave no details on the offence, just that apparently i committed one, not even a time or location was given. I obviously dont want this to go to court because it would be such a hassle, so i think contacting tfl and getting the charge withdrawn is the best course of action, but where would i contact tfl on?

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you for the tip @AndrewP, i didnt know it was possible to retrieve redacted information. i dont have MS paint so i just did the next best thing and put something on top of the personal information. There is a lot of papers in the envalope so i only attatched the relavent ones, also i didnt cover my date of birth because the perpetrator gave the wrong birthday.

To answer your question @Haywain, i did receive a letter a couple months back saying something along the lines of " you committed an offence on tfl, plead guilty or not guilty". I just ignored it because firstly didnt travel that day and secondly it was very vague, it gave no details on the offence, just that apparently i committed one, not even a time or location was given. I obviously dont want this to go to court because it would be such a hassle, so i think contacting tfl and getting the charge withdrawn is the best course of action, but where would i contact tfl on?

Edit: see post below that indicates where to reply to and what to do. Post #14

Do you have the letter you ignored still. Contact details on that might be a starting point.

Otherwise search on line or on this forum to link to TfL revenue protection policy and enforcement as that may have contact details. Do it in writing. Keep copies. Get proof of postage if it has to be hard copy

 

[Haywain]

but where would i contact tfl on?

The second page (the letter of explanation) you’ve posted has exact details at the bottom right of the page where it says “Not you?”

 

[WesternLancer]

The second page (the letter of explanation) you’ve posted has exact details at the bottom right of the page where it says “Not you?”

Good spot! OP should keep a copy of what they write and send back And send it tracked post from a post office so they have proof it gets delivered.

 

[James2000]

The second page (the letter of explanation) you’ve posted has exact details at the bottom right of the page where it says “Not you?”

How did i not see that, good spot. Would it better to go to that address in person and sort it out there and then? i want to be as thorough as possible

 

[WesternLancer]

How did i not see that, good spot. Would it better to go to that address in person and sort it out there and then? i want to be as thorough as possible

I doubt you would get to speak to someone in a decision making position if you just turned up. They may not even have a public facing reception.

 

[Haywain]

How did i not see that, good spot. Would it better to go to that address in person and sort it out there and then? i want to be as thorough as possible

No, it’s a big office building and you won’t get past the entrance. Just do what they say.

 

[pedr]

No, it’s a big office building and you won’t get past the entrance. Just do what they say.

Is this going to work? Or does 'not you?' mean 'Has this been delivered to and opened by someone who is not named on the document?'

If the OP is the person named, because someone who isn't him has given his name and address to TfL, then he is the person charged with the offence, and returning it might mean it doesn't get to the court and the single justice procedure will just proceed on with its unhealthy efficiency!

Writing to that address might help, though, so long as a plea is returned in time if TfL don't confirm they're withdrawing the charge.

 

[WesternLancer]

Is this going to work? Or does 'not you?' mean 'Has this been delivered to and opened by someone who is not named on the document?'

If the OP is the person named, because someone who isn't him has given his name and address to TfL, then he is the person charged with the offence, and returning it might mean it doesn't get to the court and the single justice procedure will just proceed on with its unhealthy efficiency!

Writing to that address might help, though, so long as a plea is returned in time if TfL don't confirm they're withdrawing the charge.

Well the op can draft up their accompanying note to send back and post it here for comment to get the wording effective if they would like to do that and think it may help.

 

[Hadders]

Don't to to TfL's office in person - given current IT 'challenges' at TfL it might well be that the person who sent it is working from home and the front of house team won't let you in anyway.

 

[SussexMan]

A quick tip. When redacting a letter use MS Paint (seriously) to redact personal details and then print as a .pdf as this makes it impossible to retrieve your personal details

No need to use MS Print, you can use whichever PDF editor you have but just make sure you print as a PDF, and then use the new PDF. Don't simply save the redacted PDF document.

 

[Cloud Strife]

There is a good chance the person who did it knows you well, a friend (maybe enemy now), a relative etc. It is not normal to be able to recite name, address, date of birth etc of a stranger.

This was the norm when I was at university, as one particular lad was despised and for good reason. At one point, letters were arriving almost weekly addressed to him for fare evasion. I was never involved, but several friends gave his details rather than paying for fares. It wasn't much to remember, just his name, address (uni address) and date of birth.

 

[The Sorcerer]

Thank you for the tip @AndrewP, i didnt know it was possible to retrieve redacted information. i dont have MS paint so i just did the next best thing and put something on top of the personal information. There is a lot of papers in the envalope so i only attatched the relavent ones, also i didnt cover my date of birth because the perpetrator gave the wrong birthday.

To answer your question @Haywain, i did receive a letter a couple months back saying something along the lines of " you committed an offence on tfl, plead guilty or not guilty". I just ignored it because firstly didnt travel that day and secondly it was very vague, it gave no details on the offence, just that apparently i committed one, not even a time or location was given. I obviously dont want this to go to court because it would be such a hassle, so i think contacting tfl and getting the charge withdrawn is the best course of action, but where would i contact tfl on?

Is there more paperwork? I cannot see any offence stated on that paperwork so how can you plead guilty or not guilty?

 

[some bloke]

TfL are unlikely to want to go to court and argue it was you, when the burden of proof is on them.

As @WesternLancer suggests, you can put a draft on here so people can comment.

If TfL don't immediately agree to apply for the case to be withdrawn, you can keep communicating with them.

are they gonna show cctv to show its not me?

It may have been wiped after 30 days - unlikely to matter.

Its genuinely shocking how the TFL can charge someone with a crime without verifying the information given by the perpetrator, theres clearly a flaw in the system.

In effect they did try to verify by writing to you.

As your non-response may make them initially more sceptical when you say it wasn't you, you might briefly explain/apologise.

Any evidence you can use to support that it was not you would be worth including (eg a copy of your photograph for example from some official ID)

Yes.

Do you have the letter you ignored still. Contact details on that might be a starting point.

Otherwise search on line or on this forum to link to TfL revenue protection policy and enforcement as that may have contact details. Do it in writing. Keep copies. Get proof of postage if it has to be hard copy

Agreed. You could also call customer services to ask for the email address.

returning it might mean it doesn't get to the court and the single justice procedure will just proceed on with its unhealthy efficiency!

Writing to that address might help, though, so long as a plea is returned in time if TfL don't confirm they're withdrawing the charge.

Affirmative.

They don't need the originals back in order to understand it wasn't you/they can't prove it was you, and get the case withdrawn.

 

[Snow1964]

In effect they did try to verify by writing to you.

As your non-response may make them initially more sceptical when you say it wasn't you, you might briefly explain/apologise.

Although clearly TfL failed to verify it was the correct person, and have decided to proceed against you anyway.

Explain yes is now needed, however needing to apologise for not responding to a false accusation is stretching etiquette. If anything the other party should send a grovelling apology (and ideally a compensation voucher) for wasting your time.

 

[AlterEgo]

Although clearly TfL failed to verify it was the correct person, and have decided to proceed against you anyway.

Explain yes is now needed, however needing to apologise for not responding to a false accusation is stretching etiquette. If anything the other party should send a grovelling apology (and ideally a compensation voucher) for wasting your time.

Why would they compensate someone or have to grovel when they didn’t even make a mistake here?

 

[Haywain]

Although clearly TfL failed to verify it was the correct person, and have decided to proceed against you anyway.

That's why they send a verification letter. What else are they supposed to conclude when they don't receive a response?

 

[Snow1964]

That's why they send a verification letter. What else are they supposed to conclude when they don't receive a response?

Try a different method of verification especially if date of birth doesn't match and only name is same

 

[Haywain]

what is point of posting a SJP to same address unless you are assuming guilty (and correct person identified), rather than innocent until proved guilty

The purpose of court proceedings is to establish guilt*, and the issuing of a summons or SJPN does not make any assumption.


*No one is found innocent at court; they may be not guilty but that isn't the same.