Law Weblog

R v Sofroniou (2003) CA – Credit Card is “service”

Monday 22 December 2003 at 12:15 pm | In News | Post Comment

[Obtaining services by deception ‘services’ includes bank account or credit card]
D obtained a credit card from a bank and obtained property using it.

Held: Dishonestly obtaining a bank or building society account or credit card services constituted obtaining services by deception (Theft Act 1978, s 1).

The words “services” and “on the understanding that the benefit has been or will be paid for”, used in the Act, covered obtaining of a credit card. The card itself was not a service or services. The “services” were those which underlay the card holder’s use of the card.

Similarly, opening of a bank account could constitute obtaining services by deception.

The dishonest operation of a bank or building society account over a period and a dishonest use of a credit card over a period constituted obtaining services within the section.

The section did not cover obtaining free services by deception. Banks often made charges on accounts which were in credit and charged interest on accounts which were overdrawn. Similarly with credit card providers, and that is what happened in this case when the account went overdrawn. D was dishonest.

It was possible to have the benefit of a credit card without ever making any identifiable direct payment to the credit card provider.

Guilty
WLR report here