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s.r_1912

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by s.r_1912

Can someone please share any experience about this? I have received a letter of intent to prosecute from the Prosecutions department. I was sitting in first class without a valid ticket. I have since contacted a solicitor and they have told me that they are confident I can get an out of court settlement fine. I really want to avoid a criminal record. I accept full responsibility for this error but the solicitor has said that they will be in negotiations with the company. Weirdly he said he will contact me when the case is settled and will no provide any updates. It's been a week and he keeps telling me to carry on with life as normal. I'm just anxious- should I just take matters into my own hands and write a letter hoping for a out of court settlement fine or shall I wait for my solicitor to handle it? He said it takes about 3 weeks to hear back, but I'm not very confident in him. I have a letter drafted, it's honest and heartfelt. Shall I just post it without telling my solicitor? He seems annoyed when I ask him about the case.

You need to make a choice. Either you're going to handle this yourself, or you're going to have a solicitor do it for you. Doing both at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Whatever you put in your letter might completely contradict and undermine the approach your solicitor has taken. And vice versa.

If I were a solicitor (I'm not) and a client did what you're proposing, I'd immediately stop working for them. I'm sure your solicitor will feel the same way. So if you're going to do what you're proposing, which is going directly against your solicitor's advice, then at least end the relationship first.