Coningsby man, 22, ordered to pay £400 in compensation

A man who sold tools on eBay that he was buying on a hire purchase agreement, was not entitled to sell them until he had fully paid for them, a court has heard.
Boston Magistrates' Court.Boston Magistrates' Court.
Boston Magistrates' Court.

Brandon Taylor Fields, 22, of Orchard Way, Coningsby, admitted committing fraud by false representation between June 1 and September 5 last year when he appeared before magistrates in Boston.

Michael Cole, prosecuting, said Fields advertised a Snap-On toolbox on eBay and a potential buyer contacted him and they agreed that Fields sell him the tools privately and not through e-Bay, which would have protected the buyer.

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He said that Fields did not in fact own the tools, as he had bought them on a hire purchase agreement with the company which meant he did not own them himself until they had been fully paid for, so he had no legal right to sell them.

Mr Cole said the buyer paid Fields £400, but Snap-On had seen the advertisement and repossessed the tools and so they never went to the buyer, not did Fields 
repay the money.

Michael Alexander, mitigating for Fields, said he thought he owned the tools as he had been paying every month for them, and when he found himself short of money for food and rent, he decided to sell the tools and pay Snap-On the outstanding debt later.

He said he received £400 from the buyer but he had not returned that money to him, despite the police giving him the opportunity to do so and that had he done so, he may well have received a caution.

The magistrates made a compensation order that the buyer should receive a total of £440, the additional sum being for the worry and inconvenience Fields had caused him.