Benidorm sickness scam couple are hit with £15,000 bill
A COUPLE who demanded thousands of pounds in compensation after claiming they fell ill on holiday were caught out – after posting selfies of themselves cavorting by the pool.
Chelsea Devine, 21, and Jamie Melling, 22, from Liverpool, claimed food and drink at their resort in Spain had left them feeling ill for weeks.
But a judge found them ‘fundamentally dishonest’ and ordered them to pay holiday operator Tui £15,000 – a record amount for costs awarded against a fraudulent claim of holiday sickness – by Friday.
Liverpool County Court heard that the pair posted photographs on social media of their ten-day all-inclusive stay at the Levante Beach Apartments in Benidorm in September 2015.
The pictures showed them smiling and happy in their room and swimming in the pool. But in May 2016 they submitted identical claims, each demanding £2,500 in compensation. The judge, Recorder Sally Hatfield, QC, said of Devine and Melling: ‘I find they have not proved that they were ill.
‘I cannot accept they would upload photographs of themselves as a happy couple if the holiday was as they claim.’
The doctor who backed their case, Dr Zuber Bux, has been referred to the General Medical Council after it emerged he is married to a partner at the legal firm representing them, Sehana Bux, of AMS Solicitors in Preston. The law firm has been referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.