Thousands of rail fare prosecutions set to be declared void after judge’s ruling
Thousands of people accused of fare dodging, and prosecuted behind closed doors by rail firms, are to have their convictions thrown out. ITV's Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports
Tens of thousands of rail passengers who were wrongly prosecuted and fined for alleged fare dodging are set to be refunded after a judge ruled that their convictions were void.
Four companies, including Northern Rail and Greater Anglia, brought prosecutions against thousands of passengers using the single justice procedure (SJP), despite not being permitted to do so.
At a hearing in June, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Westminster Magistrates’ Court he believed the prosecutions were "void" and "probably unlawful".
Lawyers for rail companies told a further hearing last month they were "in agreement" the cases should be quashed.
In a ruling at the same court on Thursday, Judge Goldspring said six "test cases" should be declared a "nullity", so it was "as if as though the proceedings never existed".
Giving a summary of his judgment, he said: "Parliament did not envisage these offences being prosecuted through the SJP.
"They should never have been brought through that process. This is, to my mind, a paradigm nullity."
He continued: "I’m satisfied that the correct approach is to declare each of the prosecutions void and a nullity."
What is the single justice procedure and what is it for?
The single justice procedure (SJP) was introduced in 2015 to make the legal process more accessible, speedy and efficient.
It means a single magistrate with a legally qualified adviser can try minor, non-imprisonable offences without a court hearing, unless the defendant chooses to attend.
It can be used if the defendant has either pleaded guilty, or not responded, to notification of prosecution.
The SJP was designed to deal with minor road traffic offences such as speeding and driving without insurance, TV licence evasion and similar matters.
Defendants receive notice of the charge by post. They have the option to plead guilty by post or online or to ask for a court hearing in person.
If a defendant pleads "not guilty" their case will be transferred out of the single justice procedure process, and listed for a in-person court hearing in the usual manner.
More than 500,000 SJP cases were heard in magistrates' courts in England and Wales in 2020.
The system has been criticised for not being adequately transparent, with it happening largely behind "closed doors".
The Magistrates’ Association has previously expressed concerns that cases are being brought before magistrates without prosecutors, such as the DVLA or TV Licensing, reading mitigations, and that many of its members are “uncomfortable” with the system.
The exact number of those affected is currently unknown, with a previous hearing told around 75,000 people could have been prosecuted for fare evasion offences under the SJP.
Judge Goldspring said "the number seems to change every time I ask", but a figure of "over 74,000" is a "best guess at the moment".
Thursday’s ruling only affects the six "test cases", with the judge putting in motion plans for the thousands of other prosecutions to be declared void in the same way.
Following his ruling, he said attempts would be made by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Department for Transport and the train operating companies to identify those affected in the coming weeks.
He said a list of those affected would aim to be compiled by the end of September, with the cases listed as a "bulk" hearing “by the end of October”.
He said: "I will simply list them as a bulk listing, no parties required, and then I will then make a similar direction in relation to all these cases affected, so everybody is in the same position."
The judge said by the end of November, "a team will be out in place to begin the work of recovering the money paid and refund the money to individuals".
"There are discussions ongoing with all the parties about how that may be paid," he added.
After the hearing, a spokesperson for Northern Rail said: “We welcome the judgment of the Chief Magistrate in court today. We would like to apologise again for the errors that have occurred.
“We will now work with the court to implement today’s findings. We are unable to respond to individual inquiries in the meantime.
“Northern remains committed to ensuring that all our customers are treated fairly, which means ensuring all passengers who board our trains have a valid ticket.”
Rail companies were permitted to use the SJP in 2016 to prosecute privately fare evaders, but the Evening Standard reported that several of these cases were brought under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which is not allowed under the procedure.
At the hearing in July, Brian O’Neill KC, representing Northern Rail, said both his company and Greater Anglia “recognise there was no power” to pursue such prosecutions.
He said: “We are all in agreement that the proceedings which were brought by the single justice procedure were a nullity.”
In written submissions for the earlier hearing, Greater Anglia said it acknowledged “a series of significant errors” had occurred and wanted to “apologise unreservedly” to those affected.
'I felt like a criminal'
Among those wrongly prosecuted under the SJP is Christian Waters, from West Yorkshire.
He was unable to buy a ticket at his local station, Kirkstall Forge in Leeds, in 2022 because the machine was broken at the time.
He received a penalty fare from Northern and ended up being taken to court.
Christian said: "I thought I'd either get [a ticket] on the train or the excess fares booth in Leeds. And then when I didn't see a conductor on the train, I got to the excess fair window there was a group of revenue inspectors and they pulled me out of the queue and they gave me a penalty fare.
"I felt really annoyed, it's not the first time the machine hadn't been working and I'd felt like a criminal."
After challenging the use of an SJP his case was taken up by the UK's Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring.
Sarah Cook, from Barnsley, became a test case for the Chief Magistrate after she was fined when she was unable to buy a £4 rail ticket because a machine was broken.
She appealed the £20 fine, but was told she could be convicted and face a £500 penalty.
The 42-year-old said that the train companies admitting that her prosecution was wrong after fining her was “a kick in the teeth” and that the matter “puts a massive no-go” on travelling on trains.
Ms Cook, who owns a pet shop, said: "I know some people would say take the win, sit back, appreciate that. For me, although money at the time was an issue, for me more than the money was the stress.
“I have not got a criminal record, I’m not somebody out there committing crimes, and for somebody to say you could have a criminal record, you could potentially face jail time if you have been a repeat offender, to me that was terrifying.”
She added: “For them, their punishment is ‘we’re sorry’, and there is a bit of me that thinks I don’t know if that is good enough.
“When you have put 75,000 people under the pressure of going to court, having to fill out multiple documents, potentially being threatened with larger fines and criminal records, I don’t know if ‘I’m sorry, here’s your money back’ is good enough.”
Tom Franklin, the chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association, called for reform of the SJP and said "serious questions" had been raised by the case.
He said: “This ruling has big implications for tens of thousands of people, and there are serious questions that the prosecuting authorities – in this case the train companies – need to answer as to how this was allowed to happen.”
Most of these cases have happened since 2020. But If you were prosecuted for fare evasion between 2016 and 2023 and remember receiving what’s known as a “single justice notice” which mentioned the Regulation of Railways Act you may be affected by all this and entitled to have your conviction quashed - along with refund of fines and costs.
The train firms involved are Northern, Transpennine, Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Arriva Rail Northern and Merseyrail.
If you’ve changed address since the prosecution there is a number you can call to let the court service know. You can call them on 0300 303 0656.
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