Criminal record for mother whose forgot to pay 90p bus fare

A young mother was given a criminal record after forgetting to pay a 90p fare on a bendy bus.

Maja Krogh, 29, was taking her two-week-old daughter Misty to buy a baby bath when inspectors stopped her.

The photographic assistant offered to swipe her Oyster card, which had £2 credit on it, and then pay a £20 fine, but the inspector made her leave the bus and demanded her details.

Six months later, she found herself sitting with partner Neil Soni next to drunk drivers and shoplifters as she appeared at Brent magistrates’ court, northwest London.

Danish-born Ms Krogh, who lives in the Harlesden area of the capital, represented herself in the dock, claiming she was just a busy mother and her only ‘crime’ was forgetfulness.

She said: ‘I had never been to court before and never done anything to get a criminal record.

‘I represented myself because I thought I had to stand up for myself, although it was quite nerve-racking.

‘I based my case on points made in a Transport for London leaflet and told them it was a mistake.’

The three magistrates found Ms Krogh guilty but reduced the penalty to £50, although she now has a record.

The bench told her the record would be deleted after six months — but despite this it will still always be flagged up when checks are made, especially when she begins applying for a job as a teacher.

The offence took place in February on a number 18 bendy bus near Kensal Green station as Ms Krogh travelled from Harrow Road to Edgware Road to visit a Mothercare shop.

She claims she ‘completely forgot’ to swipe her Oyster card and was concentrating on getting Misty and her baby buggy safely aboard.

Ms Krogh said: ‘I was simply preoccupied by making sure Misty was safe as the bus was busy and I was quite nervous.

'As soon as the inspector saw me go for my card she jumped in front of me and it was clear she wanted to nick me.

‘The inspector, accompanied by a police officer, asked me to leave the bus.

'I tried to explain there had been a mistake and that I had money on a valid Oyster card, but she said she needed to take my details.

‘The woman, who gave evidence against me in court, seemed quite understanding after I explained that it was an honest mistake.

‘I offered to pay the £20 there and then but the woman said they would write to me.’

In May Ms Krogh received a letter from London Bus Services, part of TfL, giving her a court date but offering her the chance to plead guilty to avoid appearing.

She said: ‘The only thing I am guilty of is forgetfulness. It was a simple human error — I am not a criminal and I wanted to plead not guilty.’

Her case was heard last Thursday.

She said: ‘It really made me quite angry to have a criminal record. My family in Denmark are stunned by the whole thing.

‘They never heard of anything so ridiculous as getting a criminal record for a bus ticket.’

TfL said it had offered Ms Krogh the opportunity to pay £102 and receive no criminal record, but she was adamant she wanted to put her case forward.

Each case costs £270 to prosecute and TfL says it may still try to recover its costs from Ms Krogh.

Steve Burton, director of community safety, enforcement and policing at TfL, added: 'Our aim is not to hand out criminal records.

'Prosecuting fare evaders is not about 90p - it's about more than £30million of taxpayers' money lost every year through fare evasion.'