DH in court over train ticket

[user1497444078]

Apologies is advance for an essay. More of a WWYD than an Aibu.

DH commutes to work via train daily. Train is at 6:15 so he always purchases a ticket off the conductor (no means of buying at station before 6:30) and always by card.

Several month ago the card machine wasn't working and the conductor told DH he would need to pay a fine for 'failure to buy a ticket'. He had no ID and was asks to write his name and address down (which he did), but after a month and no news we forgot all about it.

We then moved house.

On Monday this week we received a letter saying he failed to meet a court date for 'evasion and refusal to pay for a ticket' and now needs to pay £700. They must sent letters to previous address which we never received.

DH had to go to court today and was advised if he pleads not guilty to the evasion and refusal to pay charge he would have to go to court and pay court fees and most likely the refusal to pay charge. If he pleads guilty however he was told he would need to pay original ticket plus a small fine.

DH is fuming as he never refused to pay, the card machine wasn't working. He has proof money sufficient money was in the account on that day, and proof of change of address, but says he will have to plead guilty as it will be cheaper/less hassle. DH is also questioning why he was so honest to write to down his real name/address as it's given us unnecessary hassle.

At 19weeks into first pregnancy I can really do without this stress.

So WWYD in this situation? Is it worth contacting the papers to highlight the injustice? Maybe I'm just hormonal. I know some ppl will argue he should have bought ticket in advance, but he has done the same routine on daily commutes for 5years+.

@Jellybean85

Does he regularly or always commute on that train? Just objectively it seems very unlikely he buys a ticket daily if so, it's the most expensive and least convenient way to do it: I wouldn't be surprised if a judge considered that he regularly didn't pay and only coughed up on the occasions asked

My dh travels by train daily Monday - Friday in term time. A monthly pass would cost a lot more than a daily ticket because of half terms.

The main cause of this is you not having a re-direct on your post. The train company would have written to you to sort it out with them (pay owed monies etc) as there would have been no response then it would have gone to the toc prosecutions department - this can be internal or or third party they contract to do the work. There is no chance at all now as some of suggested as trying to resolve it with the train operator informally.

General reminder to all to do a royal mail re-direct when you move!

@poorbuthappy

Lots of threads being woken from the dead today.

I hope we see the carpet thread again #FingersCrossed

[quote ThePants999]@Sometimesfraught82
Don’t give a hoot about other posters

Yes, we can tell. Delightful.[/quote]

Ceding about whether anonymous m posters post a few lines on a zombie thread? Does your heart bleed for them?!

@Sometimesfraught82 resurrected the thread and doesn't care if wasting time.

Zombie

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️

I wouldn't bother with the papers. I doubt anyone would be interested. And as you've already stated, people will say he should have bought it in advance. Mark it down as a life lesson, plead guilty, pay the fine and buy future tickets in advance.

^ You must have more money than sense.

Zombie thread!!!!

Wasting time

I regard my coffee breaks whilst perusing mumsnet as a totally indulgent waste of time

Apologies to those who regard as it as productive spend of time

@Hillarious

Illustrates how important it is to have your mail forwarded when you move house.

Agree with this.

The initial correspondence may have allowed him to pay the fare without a fine or with a much smaller fine.

I would just pay up and remember to redirect mail next time you move.

He's just coming to the end of his prison sentence

Yes, we can tell. Delightful.

It gives their life meaning to goad others

Free the Clapham Junction One!

Not another Zombie!! Argh

Haven't readl the whole thread but a conviction for this will fall under the Theft act which may have repercussions in the future. Get a solicitor to represent him on the day

Hopefully the OPs husband has a couple of years of season tickets under his belt now, and hasn’t dodged any more fares

@wewereliars

Haven't readl the whole thread but a conviction for this will fall under the Theft act which may have repercussions in the future. Get a solicitor to represent him on the day

Just the small issue of where one finds a time machine

I've only just found out when i go on day trips to london (4x a yr) I've been fare dodging.
Travelling from the North i go to my station & say London return
& have been sitting on the train to London Bridge. Turns out my ticket is only valid at selected London terminals...
London Bridge is not one of them.
What i should be asking for is a 'City Thameslink' ticket. Not once have I been asked when buying the ticket what station I am planning to go to. I always buy from the ticket office.

I used to have something similar arrive and depart at rural station no machine or offices changing on to mainline ( minutes between changes)
Arrival and departure stations just a platform and shelter many time challenged about not buying ticket as I'm stood d there with card/cash in hand.
Resorted to taking picture of stations threatened with fine many times .
Thankfully there machine on platforms now .

Apologies to those who regard as it as productive spend of time.
All time is productive for me.
He's just coming to the end of his prison sentence 🤣

IT'S A FUCKING ZOMBIE YOU DIPSTICKS!

Sorry for being so rude.

@MNHQ. Please can you ban posters who routinely waste everyone’s time by resurrecting Zombie threads for no good reason?

He has a phone. He has a bank card. He can buy an eticket online for any journey. Yes, phone signal can be intermittent on trains, but not so patchy that for the entire journey there was no signal.

Season tickets aside, I don't know why anyone uses paper tickets/ticket machines any more!

So yes - he absolutely dodged the fare if he had his phone and a bank card on him.

If you want to get invested in something I suggest a soap opera or drama. Not an incredibly inane 4 year old post about train tickets for fucks sake. It’s also pretty grim that other people’s reality is your entertainment! I agree that @mnhq need to do something about these zombie threads, it’s getting absolutely ridiculous the amount of shite that is getting drudged up lately.

On the odd occasion that I haven't been able to purchase a ticket from the conductor, I have always gone straight to the ticket barrier at the other end and bought a ticket then.

And still they come...

Just proves that people only read the OP and then blindly reply ignoring other posts, doesn't it..