Conman hit in the pocket

Compensation order and fine

An opportunistic conman took a £ 250 deposit from a Coatbridge couple for electrical work he knew he wasn’t going to carry out.

Thomas Wale, 32, of Harthill, appeared in the dock at Airdrie Sheriff Court from custody earlier this month as he is currently serving a separate six-month sentence.

After taking their cash, he evaded the unsuspecting Coatbridge couple for a number of weeks in October 2017 and didn’t turn up at an arranged place to return the deposit he had tricked them into paying.

Wale had appeared in the Airdrie dock near the beginning of the month but sentencing was deferred to ensure he could secure the £ 300 compensation order Sheriff Petra Collins planned to hand down to him.

That was subsequently confirmed during his latest appearance, along with a £300 fine.

With no time to pay the fine sought by his solicitor, though, 14 days were concurrently added on to Wale’s current prison sentence.

The procurator fiscal said: “The witnesses wanted electrical work carried out in their home so searched Facebook and contacted a company.

“They received a response and were told someone would come to their house to get a quote.

“The accused attended and they told him what they were looking for; the couple were quoted £ 600 and requested to pay £250 for a deposit.

“He gave the witnesses his bank details and the money was transferred over.

“He told them he would come back on a specific date but didn’t arrive, so the witnesses contacted the firm.

“The accused provided an excuse but then didn’t turn up to the next arranged date.

“Due to not being able to make contact, and the work not being done, they asked for their deposit back.

“The accused asked for bank details but they didn’t feel comfortable doing that so a time and place was agreed to meet and hand over cash. The accused failed to attend and the witnesses contacted police.”

Sheriff Frank Pieri said: “I’ll confirm the compensation order of £300 and also a fine of £300.

“With no time to pay, the alternative is 14 days in jail.”