Leaving a restaurant without paying the bill, or putting fuel in the tank of your car and driving off without paying, or taking a taxi ride and running off without paying, may each be a criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. This is because ‘making off without payment’ amounts to theft in law.
Under section 3 of the Theft Act 1978, it is a criminal offence if someone knows that payment on the spot is required from them for goods supplied, or a service done for them, but that person dishonestly makes off without having paid. They must also have intended to avoid such payment.
The prosecution needs to prove each of the following elements of the offence to secure a conviction:
If we take the example of leaving a restaurant without paying the bill, making off will occur when an individual goes beyond where the payment is required or expected. This would include leaving the restaurant premises, but not simply leaving the table to go to the toilet.
Without payment means what it says: not providing the cash, card or other available digital payment for the goods or services.
The individual must have known that payment was due at the place expected. No liability can arise if the person thought the goods were free or offered on credit.
Goods or services must have been supplied for which payment would be expected. Under section 3(3) of the Act, no offence is committed where the supply of goods, or the provision of a service is against the law or not legally enforceable (for example, paying a bank robber’s getaway driver).
The individual must also have known that payment was required, yet intended to leave without making payment – and had no intention of coming back to pay, or ever paying for the goods or services.
When deciding whether someone has acted ‘dishonestly’, the court will give it its usual plain meaning. If dishonesty is denied, the court may apply a two-stage (objective and subjective) test set out in R v Ghosh (1982) to determine whether the defendant was dishonest at the relevant time:
Defendants convicted in the Magistrates’ Court can be fined up £5,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. In more serious cases, if the defendant is convicted in the Crown Court (or sent to the Crown Court for sentencing), they can face a prison term of up to two years and/or an unlimited fine.
Nicola is a dual qualified journalist and non-practising solicitor. She is a legal journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years' experience writing about the law.
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