Train fine summoned to court

Hi so in september I received a train fine, i had payed for alot of tickets in the week leading up, and prior etc on my bank card to which can be dated, but this day i didnt have my card and intentionally got the train, without fare. I gave all the correct details other than my first name however as i intended to pay the fine i just didnt want anything from years prior to come up which it wouldnt have, i gave correct dob, address, surname etc and i know my face is on their system from when i was a child (13) which was minor and irrelevant so i didnt try to shift any blame.

So weeks later i received a train fine in MY name, i was going to contact before that to alert that i had wrongly given a false first name, but after receiving the fine in my name i accepted that they distingiushed that themself. However, today i received a letter in the other first name (not mine???) that i have court in a month and have declined an interview (which i have heard nothing of). I purposefully avoided paying the fines that came through which were infact for my name which i did intentionally and accept responsibility for as i was going to pay, but shortly after left work for full time education and i dont earn anything. However it is the prospect of fraud worrying me.

Who should i contact about the name and what can happen, what do i do? I am 18, half a year into college receiving all distinctions and i dont want to mess it all up i have never been a criminal and have no criminal record, if i receive a criminal record then that is my fault i am just very worried about if they put me in prison for fraud or something i want to go uni in almost 2 years and have a good future have i ruined it or can i fix it? :frown:

thanks

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Reply 1

paulbarlow

sorry but your are and you will soon have a record. you could offer to pay the fine and see if they will drop the case but not likely. giving false info is a separate offence. supplying details which are false can change a byelaw offence into a RRA section C offence which is max 1000 fine or 3 months in prison.

Reply 2

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Sport209

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Pay the fines immediately that are in your real name. Make sure you have a record the fines have been paid.

Then, contact them about the second letter, under the wrong name and explain there may have been some confusion because you had a period a few months ago when you were thinking of changing your name and gave your new name to the Inspector. However, you have paid the fines for the ticketing error you made under your old name, but you gave your new name at the time, and the letters you have received in your new name seem to be a repeat of the same thing.

If they don't believe you, and they are chasing you for giving a wrong first name, then your luck has finally run out.

Reply 3

Len Goodman

I advise that you practice your soap handling skills.

Reply 4

Sport209

Thank you, will they not take college etc into consideration and character and immediately jail me over this? I did give all other info correct, could i say they misheard my first name when i pay my fines? i have to pay 110 in fines and 150 for court, i am dependant on my parents who ill be lucky if they pay the 110

Reply 5

Sport209

I am going to pay the fines then who should i contact and what should i say (about court summoning and the name on that)

Reply 6

TimmonaPortella

If I were you I would seek legal advice from a practising lawyer rather than an internet forum.

I find it hard to imagine that you're looking at jail time, but you should check out your position.

If I had got myself into this position by telling a stupid lie I would not necessarily try to get out of it by telling another stupid lie.

Reply 7

Sport209

Original post by TimmonaPortella

I dont know how to contact any lawyer or anything this is all new to me, but thank you

Reply 8

TimmonaPortella

Original post by Sport209

I dont know how to contact any lawyer or anything this is all new to me, but thank you

Speak to your parents about it.

It would not be sensible to keep playing this by ear if you want to resolve it.

Reply 9

Sport209

Original post by TimmonaPortella

Speak to your parents about it.

It would not be sensible to keep playing this by ear if you want to resolve it.

I have, thanks im just really worried and any insight could help or comfort me lol but you're right

Reply 10

paulbarlow

that is the max 1000 and or 3 months. you wont be doing jail time. the fine is possible and possible community payback. your age and education dont matter. the fact you have a history of it does. all you can do is own up to it and hope. it wont destroy your life unless you were planning to join the police or other security sensitive sector. if convicted it will show up on any police check. just remember stop doing it. its a low level offence but you are now entering a more dodgy future if you dont stop.

Reply 11

Sport209

Original post by paulbarlow

Thank you. I do not earn a penny however, and i have seen circumstances effect other peoples punishments. Such as the prison environment could make them worse etc as they arent that type.

Reply 12

paulbarlow

your 18 the fine will match your income level. but you not walking away from it assuming you have the level income of a person on jsa then you will end up with a fine of about 200 plus costs of about 150 but it could go up depending if they believe your a repeat offender. youve been caught at least 3 times so they could reasonably look at you at the top end. you need to mitigate the seriousness of it. admit your offence. accept any fine and find a way to pay it off. in reality you probably took more from them than the fine will be. dont ignore. if it goes to court an early plea will reduce your penalty by a 1/3.

speak to your family and stop worrying. call them on monday and hope.

Reply 13

Sport209

Original post by paulbarlow

Thanks for your time but i didnt say anything about having done it 3 times?

Reply 14

Sport209

Original post by paulbarlow

I guess im going to pay the initiall fines beforehand, although they came in my name and this in the other which is weird.

Reply 15

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Sport209

I guess im going to pay the initiall fines beforehand, although they came in my name and this in the other which is weird.

Forget the weird, just drop it, it's not weird at all, you are a habitual train fare scammer and the person entering the data isn't the idiot you took them for.

Your position is immensely strengthened if you pay the fine (which is legitimate, whatever name it is in) promptly.

Once the fine is paid, the only outstanding issue is the false name you gave. With the fine paid, their only reason to pursue this issue is if they decide you are a habitual defrauder (which you clearly are and they know because their records are clearly stronger than you thought) and they have to decide if it is worth pursuing you over that matter. If you still have an outstanding fine at this point, they probably will, if you don't, they might decide not to bother (or you wait until they have a couple of examples when you are over 18 and then really go for you!)

Reply 16

ddrrzzeerr

Call up whoever sent you the fines and tell them that you go by two names but have got two fines and that you are prepared to pay the fine for what you did but not twice and see what they say. Tell them that you haven't heard anything about an interview either. See if you can sort something out.

There is nothing wrong with using multiple names, you can call yourself whatever you want as long as it is not for fraudulent purposes. I don't really understand why you did give a different name and whether that amounts to fraud but since you gave the correct DOB and address, it does look like you weren't trying to evade the penalty.

As I say, it is best to communicate and try to sort it out with them. If they do take you to court then get legal advice.

They would have to tell you and you would have been arrested if you were facing criminal charges. The court thing means it is being dealt with through a Civil process so there is no need to worry about a criminal record or prison.