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Old 12th Jan 2014, 13:28
  #408 (permalink)  
Jonzarno
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
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What you do in such circumstances is to move away from prosecuting fraud
It's quite difficult to define the point at which serial incompetence turns into fraud and I suspect that's one reason why it's difficult to get the authorities to prosecute.

This is discussed at length on the CPS website and it's worth a read if you are interested in this case:

Fraud Act: Legal Guidance: The Crown Prosecution Service

Here is an extract:

QUOTE

"The borderline between criminal and civil liability

The borderline between criminal and civil liability is likely to be an issue in alleged Fraud Act offences particularly those under Section 1. Prosecutors should bear in mind that the principle of caveat emptor applies and should consider whether civil proceedings or the regulatory regime that applies to advertising and other commercial activities might be more appropriate. Not every advertising puff should lead to a criminal conviction but it is also the case that fraudsters prey on the vulnerable.

Prosecutors should guard against the criminal law being used as a debt collection agency or to protect the commercial interests of companies and organisations. However, prosecutors should also remain alert to the fact that such organisations can become the focus of serious and organised criminal offending."

END QUOTE


Taking this together with other sections of the CPS document suggests to me that, in order to get a prosecution started, you would have to prove conclusively that there is a clear intent to obtain money by deception.

One way you might do that would be to demonstrate a pattern of behaviour over a long period where a trader takes payment without delivering in the hope that the amounts involved are small enough for the victim not to bother pursuing them.

In order to demonstrate that, you would need several victims to make complaints to their local police (and document them thoroughly) pointing out that they are not isolated cases and then make a nuisance of themselves by chasing the police to see what action they have taken.

That's how a serial fraudster not unknown to these pages wound up in front of the beak a few weeks ago.
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