Wolverhampton businessman cost Royal Mail more than £42k
An online businessman who did not inform Royal Mail of the high volumes of items he was posting cost the company £42,728, a court heard.
Nicholas Barratt, of Stockwell Road, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining services dishonestly at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court this week.
The total calculated by Royal Mail covers the posting of work and safety boots sold on Barratt's Ebay store The Boot Locker over a 15-month period.
Prosecuting, John Dove said that Barratt had committed 'systematic fraud' by failing to register hundreds of items posted in connection to his Royal Mail Online Business Account. But Barrat's defence solicitor Richard Quinn said that Royal Mail's estimated total was too high and that his client had already paid back £30,254, which covered the actual cost.
The case will next be heard at Wolverhampton Crown Court on October 10.
