9th
Sep 2015
A woman was found guilty of using her landlord’s details to set up a bogus online credit account with the Next chain and racked up debts of £500 on clothes.
The landlord discovered the scam when visiting the property and found a letter from Next addressed to him.
At the Beverly court the woman pleaded guilty of fraud by using false representation.
In the hearing the court was told that between 6th November and 17th December in 2014, she set up an online account with the High Street store using her rented address, a bogus age and her landlord’s name.
The woman who lived in the property with her husband and two children then spent £482.64 on clothes for the children and herself as well as gadgets.
Upon vacating the property without paying the final month’s rent, the landlord was alerted by his letting’s agency because of the debt and the disgusting state that the property was left in.
Upon finding the letter in the property the landlord immediately contacted the police. If her actions had continued the court was told that it could have had serious ramifications upon the landlord’s credit ratings.
The tenant’s defence told the court that she was suffering from mental health issues at the time of the offense, and just wanted clothes for her children as she had a poor credit rating.
The offence was called "unsophisticated" and the chairman of magistrates did not believe that the crime was ‘malicious.’
The woman was ordered to pay £200 in compensation to the landlord together with court of costs of £85, and was given a three-year conditional discharge.
Image Source: Next plc
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