On 27 Oct 2005 16:46:38 -0700, "ribonucleotide"
wrote:

Yes, yes yes.. I hear what you are saying and agree in princeple. But
pleading guilty means accepting that I actaully intended to comit the
"crime" of avaiding the payment to TFL of £1,20! (although, I was
still going to buy a full day travel card, but that does not count as I
understand). I do not want to accept something I did not do.

Except that you did, of course. The simple fact is that you did not
have a valid ticket when boarding the bus, and any subsequent
intention to buy a Travelcard does not miraculously validate your
previous journey. If you had got off the bus, walked into the Tube
station, bought your Travelcard, and then been approached by a bus
inpsector, saying, "It's OK, I've got a Travelcard now," wouldn't cut
any ice. After all, if you had paid cash on the bus or used a SAver,
you would not have got a refund on either when buying the Travelcard
later, would you?

An administrative charge, however, of whatever amount is a totally
different matter. I believe the inspector was inexperienced or
incompetent or deliberatly deceptive (now I am beginning to think he
was envious or what not).

"Envious" of what?!

But he certainly did not take "all reasonable steps". I am afraid,
I will have to see him in court to talk about it.

Sounds to me that you provided all the evidence for an open-and-shut
case without him even trying.

Also, I have read now elsewhere that he could only ask for my name and
address, if I refused to pay on the spot.

Effectively you did, as you had no means to pay, by your own
admission.

Btw, there is a similar case now that was highlighted on BBC when a
woman had an Oyster card that did not read properly on a bus. I guess
she also made a "fatal" mistake of agreeing to pay the penalty before
she was asked to.

No, she made the fatal mistake of not having enough Prepay on her
Oyster card, and then boarding despite the card reader on the bus not
giving her a green light and the driver not noticing it. She gambled
and lost. Just like you.
--
Nick Cooper

[Carefully remove the detonators from my e-mail address to reply!]

The London Underground at War, and in Films & TV:
http://www.nickcooper.org.uk/