What can my mate expect in court?

[jas12]

Someone who I know has been convicted for making off payment, involving going to expensive hotels and restaurants and not paying the bill. They went to about 5 or 6 restaurants and a couple of very pricy hotels, and overall, they avoided payment for a few thousand pounds worth of food/service. It went on for a while - what can they expect their sentence to be, bearing in mind they've pleaded guilty?

[New Judge]

Making off without payment (known as �bilking�) is contrary to the Theft Act 1978. It is an �either way� offence, meaning it can be dealt with at either the magistrates� court or the Crown Court.

Sentencing guidelines vary enormously and magistrates� sentencing guidelines suggest a starting point of a fine or a dsicharge for a first time offender pleading Not Guilty.

Your friend�s guilty plea will go in his favour, but the offence is considerably aggravated by the relatively large amount involved and the fact that it was committed on a number of occasions, giving it a �planned and organised� element.

Magistrates have the power to commit the matter to Crown Court for sentencing and would normally do so if the total involved exceeds �5,000. Your friend should have been given an indication of the Bench�s intentions following his guilty plea.

If the magistrates do retain jurisdiction I imagine his guilty plea will keep him out of prison and he will be looking at a hefty community penalty, prboably involving unpaid work of around 200 hours.