Firm's boss caught conning Royal Mail

[POSTMAN]

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A FORGER faked Paypal refunds to con Royal Mail after becoming fed up with items allegedly being lost or damaged.

Peter Goldby was caught trying to get refunds for products which had been delivered.

He made about £1,000, afterabout using the scam 41 times.

Goldby, 43, of Massingham Drive, Earls Colne, ran several sign and banner businesses from Hunts Yard, including Chic Banners and footbalsignage@bt internet.com, sending out thousands of items by recorded delivery.

After struggling to get refunds for items allegedly lost between 2011 and 2013, he began claiming a refund every time a signature was not obtained by Royal Mail after January 2014.


He would have been entitled to his £1 back, but instead claimed for the manufacturing cost as well. In order to get his refund, he faked messages from Paypal which stated customers had been refunded.

When investigators at Royal Mail became suspicious, they contacted customers.

They found he was claiming items were lost when it was only that they had not been signed for and was forging Paypal refunds as apparent proof.

They carried out test purchases and caught him.

He admitted six counts of forgery at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday.


Ellis Sareen, prosecuting, said: “He was making claims when it was only possible items had not been delivered.

“Enquiries were made with customers who said they had received the goods.”

He has repaid the estimated £1,000 he made during the scam.

Royal Mail has refused to accept any of his claims for actual losses during the investigation.

Elizabeth Marsh QC, mitigating, told the court he did so much business and he had lost so much money over the years through items lost or damaged by Royal Mail that he justified his action to himself.

But now he has lost almost everything.

She said: “He has had a breakdown.

A psychiatric crisis team was called out.

“He tried to put the company into liquidation and couldn’t.

“He has had to make six employees redundant and borrow £40,000 to pay the redundancies.

“He now runs the company on his own.”


Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC gave him a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £4,700 costs.

He said: “This was a dishonest attempt to achieve what you saw as rough justice.

“It has been devastating on you, this act of dishonesty. It has worsened your health problems and mental health issues.


“The stress in the marriage, the redundancy of six employees, the general financial circumstances.

“You have suffered professionally, personally and psychologically.”

[meercat]

He could only get away with this because some posties were putting RD items through without getting a signature. No doubt they were reprimanded too, quite rightly.

[Surreypostie]

These OPG's who fail to obtain signatures for items are the same kind of people who start early, don't take breaks and do anything else they possibly can to make that extra 5 minutes and because they do they save RM money, nothing ever happens when they are caught posting signed for items or doorstepping as the lino's know doing the job properly takes longer and that is not what they want.