Payments withheld, say witnesses

Press, 5 October 1984, Page 21

Payments withheld, say witnesses

Allegations were made at a District Court depositions hearing yesterday that a debt collector withheld money and goods worth more than $43,000 that he had collected on behalf of finance organisations.

The defendant has elected trial by jury on five charges of theft, five charges of theft by failing to account, and two charges of false pretence. Evidence was given on six of the 12 charges yesterday and the hearing, before Messrs J. B. Anderson and J. H. Christensen, Justices of the Peace, will continue today. Mr G. S. Brockett appeared for the defendant and Sergeant G. C. Cleland prosecuted for the police. The defendant was granted interim suppression of name.

A freezing worker, whose name was suppressed, told the Court that he borrowed $2OOO from the Fletchers Credit Union in 1982, but fell behind with his payments. He started making $5O payments to a debt collection agency that was later taken over by the defendant. He said he continued to make about eight or nine $5O payments to the defendant in 1983. The assistant treasurer of the Credit Union, Margaret

Douglas, said that in late 1983 it became apparent that the defendant was not forwarding the money he collected to the Credit Union. She said the defendant made many excuses for this and on October 4 he said his daughter would drop in a cheque the next day.

Mrs Douglas said this cheque had never been received.

Detective Senior-Sergeant M. L. White said he spoke to the defendant about this on July 23 this year. The defendant denied being asked to hand over money collected from the freezing worker and added that even if he had been asked, there was the question of his fees. Geoffrey Harold Smith said his son bought a vehicle from the defendant in 1982 who arranged finance with a finance company. His son fell behind with the payments and also had an accident in the uninsured car. With the defendant’s authority, Mr Smith said they decided to sell the vehicle as it was and he made three payments totalling $lOOO to the finance company. The defendant demanded further payments and Mr Smith said he made another five payments of $2OO each in January to

March, 1983. All of these payments were made by cheque payable to the finance company and Mr Smith said he was dismayed to find out that the finance company did not receive any of these.

A woman who worked as a clerk for the defendant said that any payments: received were banked in a Canterbury Savings Bank account but the defendant was the only person with signing authority to make withdrawals.

A furniture polisher, Stephen Ralph Whittle, told the Court how he set up a sound system hire business in 1981. He took out a hire purchase agreement with the finance company to enable him to buy the equipment but in mid-1982 he fell behind with his payments. The defendant asked to see him about this and effectively took over the running of his business. Mr Whittle said he had not wanted this to happen as he had taken out a contract with a Christchurch band, “Paris,” for $3OO a week which would have been enough to meet his commitments. He said the defendant adopted an overbearing attitude towards him and kept him “in the dark.”

While he was in hospital in September that year Mr Whittle said the defendant went to his home and took electronic goods and tools worth about $l6OO. These were unencumbered goods owned by himself, relatives and colleagues.

Mr Whittle said he has not seen these goods since. He said the defendant also took all the goods subject of 1 the finance company’s hire purchase agreement, with the exception of the goods being rented to “Paris.”

He said his account with the finance company had never been credited. He had an “astronomical” debt for 'which he was paying $25 a week and he imagined he would be doing this for some time. Evidence was given by “Paris” band members that they bought an amplifier from “Music City” in early 1982 and took out a hire purchase agreement with the finance company. Later that year they decided they no longer needed it and the defendant suggested that it could be voluntarily repossessed. The amplifier was given to the defendant on October 19, 1982, who said he had a buyer for it. The band members thought that was the end of the matter but one month later received a

letter from the finance company stating that they were behind in their payments.

The manager of “Music City,” Anthony McLaughlin, said the defendant gave him the amplifier which he sold on behalf of “Paris.” He gave the defendant a cheque for this and another amplifier he had also sold, payable to the finance company.

The managing director of the finance company, John Raymond Martyn, produced computer print-outs of payments received from Mr Smith, Mr Whittle, and “Paris.”

A former finance company clerk, Bruce Clark Dolamore, said the defendant would not hand over money

he received or goods he repossessed until his fees had been paid. A dispute had arisen about the defendant’s fees and Mr Martyn said he only signed a letter of agreement between himself and the defendant in April 1983 because the defendant said that if the finance company did not pay him he would sell a large amount of repossessed property and deduct his fees from that

Mr Martyn said he believed the defendant concocted his costs to justify withholding money owed to the finance company. During interviews with Detective' Senior-Sergeant White the defendant said he withdrew $l5O costs from

the $lOOO he received from Mr Smith and the rest was held against work done for the finance company. He told the detective that he withheld Mr Whittle’s goods because the finance company owed him $3038. Although five payments totalling $1433 from “Paris” did not appear in the finance company records, the defendant told the detective that he had taken his costs from one and the rest had been accounted to the finance company. He thought he had paid “Paris” for their amplifier and said he had a computerwritten repossession order to take Mr Whittle’s property, but had since returned it.