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Original poster

Help - Son issued with court summons for non payment of train fare - wrong person and wrong address

112 replies

Jesuswasacapricorn · 05/04/2025 05:44

Awake and worried about potential repercussions of this. I'll try and explain it as simply as I can without giving info - all names have been changed to protect the innocent 😀

  1. Joe Bloggs - address in the North - date of birth 01.01.2003
  2. Joe Bloggs - address in the South - date of birth 01.01.2006

Son (Joe Bloggs 1) gets a court summons at his home address for non payment of a train fare by Reading Courts, travelling on GWR in January. He's never travelled on that train and was at uni in an exam at the time it was issued. The first covering page of the summons has his name and our address in the north.

On the actual court summons itself it has the name of Joe Bloggs 2, address in the south and date of birth as 01.01.2005 and also 01.01. 2006.

I am concerned about where they have got my address from and if it will affect a/ my son's credit rating and b/ his job prospects - he has just got a job today to work in finance.

I'm awake fretting that this will affect his ability to get a mortgage and they'll search him and see this against him. What the hell do we do to sort out this?

We've emailed the revenue person at the train company that's on the summons and son has called the revenue protection where he now has to prove it wasn't him - the guy on the phone called him dude - that's another rage in itself. He has the evidence of being in his final exam.

I'm absolutely fuming that they've broken GDPR by messing up all this information and caused stress when its nothing to do with him. And the original Joe Bloggs won't get his summons.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jesuswasacapricorn · 05/04/2025 06:34

Gardengirl108 · 05/04/2025 06:29

You’d be wasting your time doing a credit check, if a debt is proven it would only be registered if a CCJ was obtained - this is nowhere near that stage. Your son just needed to respond to the correspondence in writing with the proof he has that this isn’t him - which he’s done. I’d be wanting an explanation and apology for the error they’ve made but let them sort out the error. You’re going down a rabbit hole with thoughts of this impacting his job, mortgage and entire life. It’s an error that can be sorted.

Who do we reply to GWR or The Court itself?

OP posts:
Gardengirl108 · 05/04/2025 06:29

You’d be wasting your time doing a credit check, if a debt is proven it would only be registered if a CCJ was obtained - this is nowhere near that stage. Your son just needed to respond to the correspondence in writing with the proof he has that this isn’t him - which he’s done. I’d be wanting an explanation and apology for the error they’ve made but let them sort out the error. You’re going down a rabbit hole with thoughts of this impacting his job, mortgage and entire life. It’s an error that can be sorted.

MellowTiger · 05/04/2025 06:29

Jesuswasacapricorn · 05/04/2025 06:05

I know I'm fretting over something I probably don't need to be. I just had a thought that woke me up - what about his job? And its sent me down a rabbit hole. I may pay for a credit check just to see if there's anything there.

Nothing will show on a credit check at this time - only after a court case verdict against DS would anything show.

NB I think credit checks are free these days.

Lovemybunnies · 05/04/2025 06:24

If he does go to court it will probably just be him in the room with the Judge. I had to attend as part of my job recently and that was as a result of a mix up too. I explained the situation to the Judge very carefully, she made very careful notes and that was the end of it. It sounds much worse than it is.

Eastertidings · 05/04/2025 06:19

Worst case scenario - it goes to court, he attends with his has a cast iron alibi and the judge finds in his favour.

The other person not getting the summons is nothing to do with you. They could have given a false name/DOB/address they have never lived at. If DS has an unusual name, this could have been done by someone he knows. If the original person has the same name (you'll never know TBH) they could have never put themselves on the electoral roll anywhere, it's easy enough done if you live with other people. So the only address they could find with that name was DS and since the DOB is similar they've presumed it's the same person.

At the moment there's nothing for his employer to find, he doesn't have a CCJ until it goes to court and he won't get one either because thankfully he was in an exam which can be proved and not eg passed out drunk alone in his digs, at the time of the offence. Try not to panic.

PurBal · 05/04/2025 06:16

If it was addressed, instead of to Joe Bloggs, to Jack Smith you would probably put “not known at this address, return to sender” on the envelope. Joe Bloggs 2, with a different date of birth, does not live at your address. Surely his birth certificate would be enough “evidence”? I would however engage rather than ignore. And I’d write a complaint about the unprofessional call handler.

Original poster
Jesuswasacapricorn · 05/04/2025 06:15

ClearHoldBuild · 05/04/2025 06:06

The summons will have all the information about you how to respond to it on there. All your son needs to do is to write a covering letter to send with the plea form explaining that it wasn’t him, where he was, who can confirm that and the inaccuracies in the summons. Then wait.

The plea form gives Joe Bloggs 2 name and address and not my son's. All of the official paperwork details Joe Bloggs 2 and not my son. Its only the covering page that from GWR that gives my home address.

OP posts:
ClearHoldBuild · 05/04/2025 06:06

The summons will have all the information about you how to respond to it on there. All your son needs to do is to write a covering letter to send with the plea form explaining that it wasn’t him, where he was, who can confirm that and the inaccuracies in the summons. Then wait.

Original poster
Jesuswasacapricorn · 05/04/2025 06:05

I know I'm fretting over something I probably don't need to be. I just had a thought that woke me up - what about his job? And its sent me down a rabbit hole. I may pay for a credit check just to see if there's anything there.

OP posts:
ScrewedByFunding · 05/04/2025 06:01

Also real Joe Bloggs probably didn't give the true details so they've sent it to the next 'best fit' they could find.

ScrewedByFunding · 05/04/2025 05:59

Just write back pointing out that the person they've sent it to and the intending recipient are different.

Littletreefrog · 05/04/2025 05:55

I may be being stupid here but whilst I agree it's concerning the covering letter has his details on the summons doesn't have any of his details on so he isn't the person they are expecting in court and therefore doesn't have to prove anything.

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