Fare play at last for ID victim

WRONG rail passenger, wrong address and the wrong prosecution for rail fare evasion.

The incompetency of authorities led to an innocent young man being fined without his knowledge for something he did not do.

Now, Crusader’s battle to clear Tom Newman’s name has been won. And instead of having an unjust record for dishonesty and a stain that could have so easily blighted other areas of his life, from getting credit to applying for a job, he is off the hook.

But it took a lot of protesting. His ordeal began in June last year when he received a fine from train operator Greater Anglia via IRCAS, the service that manages penalty and unpaid fares on behalf of a number of rail companies.

It alleged that he had travelled between two stations in Essex without a ticket. Tom, who suspected his identity with his correct name and address had been hijacked by an acquaintance, could prove his innocence. So he sent IRCAS his identification and signature, cancelled.

But in October he was horrified to receive a court notice stating he had been fined for not paying for another, separate journey and needed to stump up almost £700.

“This came out of the blue, with no warning,” he remembers. “I felt sick, I was so worried.”

The charge dated back to September 17, 2017, so this was before the cancelled one.

Tom eventually discovered that the person who was caught had been charged with travelling between Southend and Wickford, Essex. The individual had given Tom’s name but got his address wrong. And when supplying two signatures he botched the forgery which alerted the authorities.

But what exactly went on between the day of the offence and October this year when Tom first got the court fine, correctly addressed, remains a mystery.

In that time he slipped through several nets, his name staying on notices which presumably kept and the charge was being sent to the wrong address and went unanswered. With the basic checks clearly not done, the errors compounded.

Eventually a debt collector must have made the link and found out where Tom did live. Possibly that was after the fine when he was being hunted by the court’s enforcement officers.

Tom’s family instructed a solicitor and Crusader took up his case, alerting both Greater Anglia and IRCAS to the injustice.

A few weeks ago Greater Anglia’s prosecutor confirmed to the court it had withdrawn the matter against Tom.

Greater Anglia stated: “We sincerely apologise to Mr Newman for the distress and inconvenience. Our customer service manager will be in touch and we will work with IRCAS to see where system can be improved.”

Questions we asked IRCAS about the process fell on stony ground however. Its response appeared only to refer to the penalty it had cancelled, not the one which had caused all the subsequent damage.

We also wanted to be sure Tom would have no lasting problems so we asked leading consumer credit check agency Experian to examine his record.

“Happy to report ‘all clear’,” was its reply, delighting Tom who has had every weight removed.

“I thought all was lost, I can’t thank you enough,” he told us. Tom is now in talks with Greater Anglia about acknowledging all the worry and expense he was forced to endure. the

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TOm was innocent and right was done. He was backed by loving parents and knew where to turn for further help. What if this happened to someone less able? They would not have stood a chance. The powers that be should remember that.