A Pembroke man who failed to keep up payments on a car, and then moved address without telling the company, has been fined in court.
Forty-two-year-old Robin Williams, of Main Street, was charged with the theft of an Audi A4 in Cosheston, belonging to Advantage Finance Ltd., when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told magistrates that Mr. Williams had taken out a hire purchase agreement with the company for the vehicle, and had agreed to pay somewhere in the region of £15,000 to £16,000.
“He only made about eight of the payments for the car, then lost his job, got divorced and claimed that his wife cleaned out his bank account.
“Had Mr. Williams returned the car, then there would be no offence, but he cancelled his direct debit, moved address and didn’t inform the finance company of his new address, so they were unable to trace the vehicle.
“Some six months after his last payment, the vehicle was recovered by police in January, and the defendant admitted the offence, and that he had made no effort to contact the finance company to return the car,” added Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
Addressing the court himself, Mr. Williams apologised for the matter, and said that it was because he was ‘rubbish’ at communication.
“It was a case of me burying my head in the sand which has got me into this situation. I will try and pay it all back,” he said.
Magistrates fined the defendant £140 for the offence and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.