Any legal experts in the house?

[FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast]

hi it is about my son who is 19.

About 6 weeks ago he was arrested in South Wales for fare jumping and then hitting a railway employee.
If you want to tell me what a shit parent I must be, please hold off, because I already know that.
That night I spoke to the arresting officer, confirmed that I was on my way to get him, and that he could use my address, although he doesn't live with me.
After that we heard nothing.
I went to see my son in London a couple of weeks ago, and he asked if any post for him had arrived, and that if it did, I was to open it.
Well it arrived this morning, summoning him to appear on the 14th of August. The letter was postmarked the 16th.
What situation does this leave him in?
I cannot phone him , as he doesn't have a phone, normally he phones me, or in an emergency I can phone his "boss" who would give him a message
STupid stupid me has lost my phone. I have to go to London to put this in his hand.

I have tried to phone a friendly solicitor that we know (don't ask why) but his number goes straight to answer. He is probably in court.

Can anyone tell me what legal position this leaves my son in?

nobody?
Would it be better if I said he was bright but quirky - should he go to Eton or Winchester?

nobody?
Would it be better if I said he was bright but quirky - should he go to Eton or Winchester?

I'm not sure the sarcasm is called for. It's an unusual situation and not many people will know the answer. Those that might are probably at their job and not on Mumsnet mid-morning.

You are right, they are probably in court along with our friendly solicitor.
Sorry for the sarcasm, but sometimes it just seems as though only 'lovely' children appear on Mumsnet….:(

I'm afraid I have no idea about the legal position; but have a look at the summons letter: is there a contact number of any sort on there? In your shoes I think I would phone up and explain about the impossible dates, then see what they say. If there is no contact number I would try phoning the police station where he was charged and ask them what he should do now.

Find a phone box or get an emergency PAYG phone to make those calls and to try your son's boss. Much more useful to have information about his situation before you dash off to London.

Love your second post!

Perhaps ask for the thread to be moved to Legal Matters.

MNHQ are red-hot on threads being where they belong, apparently.

no there are no contact details on the summons.

It was issued by the British Transport Police.

I cant get hold of son's "boss" as he is a fly-pitcher.

oh FFS I am nearly in tears here.

There may well be a warrant out for him now. Get him to phone the court and ask for the results team. They'll tell him.

If there is a warrant, he will have to hand himself into the local police station and be held for court. There will be a duty solicitor there who will represent him for free.

If you need advice now, just ignore your solicitor friend, there are plenty of actual firms out there who will give your son advice. If he's on a low wage, he may well be entitled to legal aid, given the assault.

It's not urgent enough for you to be worrying about a call not being returned when it's only mid day.
The hearing date has already passed, so any damage has already been done.
Call your son's boss to ask son to call you. Or email D'S with a copy of the letter.
D'S will need to contact the court himself to explain - best to phone and follow up with email.
But this all sounds really dodgy.
I'm not going to ask why D'S didn't give his own address, why he hasn't got a phone, and why you've referred to his "boss". But it's ringing alarm bells.

yes the thing is I cant get hold of him, and I cant phone him.

I wasn't talking about a 'solicitor friend' I was talking about a solicitor that we know that has represented both me and my son before now. He acts as a duty solicitor, from an 'actual firm'.

he needs to ring the court and explain

" I'm not going to ask why D'S didn't give his own address, why he hasn't got a phone, and why you've referred to his "boss". But it's ringing alarm bells."

well if you want to know...

1. because he is homeless
2. because he loses them or has them stolen
3. because he does work for a person therefore I referred to him as his 'boss'.

If the letter was postmarked the 16th how do they expect him to have attended court on the 14th? Makes no sense. I am sorry he’s in this situation. Life does throw all kind of shit at us. I hope things improves.

I know, Dreambathroom, exactly, it's impossible.
it almost feels like he has been set up and will end up in prison.
I am not blaming anyone else but him and me for this situation, before anyone starts.
The envelope is not official looking, and just hand written.

Do you have a landline that he could contact you on?
Could you contact British Transport Police and ask them what would be the best course of action, bearing in mind that the court date they issued is before the date of the letter they sent informing you of the court date? Even if your son had lived at home and even if he had s phone, he couldn’t have attended court on a date that was prior to him being told about it.
Could you get him a cheap PAYG phone, so at least you can get in contact?

OP please don't blame yourself

I don't know the answer, but your sons troubles don't make you a shit parent.

Mumsnet is super judgy at the best of times, but in the real world life happens.

I hope you manage to get it sorted.

Is it a local court? In your shoes I would prob go to the court see if there’s anyone you can speak to. Depends on distance tough. Failing that wait for your solicitor friend or go to their office.

Apologies for the friendly solicitor/solicitor friend error.

You, or preferably your son, need to find out IF there is a warrant or not. If there is, then quite frankly, the fact that he doesn't have a settled address will be a positive as the police will have more difficulty in finding him. Because it was a summons, he won't have any Bail Act offence to face, just the assault and fare dodge.
If there isn't, he will get another date to go back to court.
Again, the results team at the court will help with this. This will ultimately be quicker than phoning your friendly solicitor, as he/she will, in all likelihood, being doing that anyway.

The whole summoning for most crimes now is an utter farce, as it doesn't take into account the fact that people move, post doesn't arrive, is posted late etc etc.

Right it is nearly impossible to speak to anyone at Newport Magistrates court. You get sent round the houses in endless lists of 'options' in both English and Welsh. (to which I have no objection before anyone suggests otherwise)
Now I am going to try to phone British Transport Police.
Then at 2am I am getting on the coach to London to go and find him. He is lucky I have a little spare cash this week.

Good luck. How you get it sorted.

thank you .

OK I have phone British Transport Police, the person who took my call got confused by the situation, and promised that someone would call me back this afternoon,,,,
Almost a result...

Keep trying the court. Email them. You need a paper trail.
Don't rely on anything you're told by BTP unless you've got it confirmed in writing. If they don't confirm, it you need to... as in ," I write to confirm our conversation today when you told me x and advised y."

Right well an officer from BTP called me back and told me that there was now a warrant for his arrest.
He had made some enquiries and said that the court claimed the letter had been sent at least 10 days ago. I said well that's funny, I have the postmarked envelope right here.
Anyway he advised that the best thing that my son could do would be to present himself at the court with the paperwork and postmarked envelope.
So that means I have to go to London, find him, and persuade him to come with me to Newport. I do know where he stays. When I say he is homeless, I mean NFA.

Good luck, OP. I'm so sorry you're in the middle of this. I really hope it starts to look a bit better for you soon. And that you don't keep beating yourself up! You're on here, trying to find out what to do, and you now have a plan for what to do, and you're doing it. That makes you pretty decent in my book. x

Thank you Dolores xx really appreciated.
There is a bus that leaves at 2am and until then I can watch movies and eat popcorn with a friend who lives in town. (I live in the middle of nowhere).
It gets in at 9 or so...

How did you get on? Did you find your boy?