Posted 11 January 2009 - 09:49 AM
I used to work for a small business many years ago and an episode with forged money turned my life upside down.
I used to be paid monthly in cash and this particular month, I opened my wage packet to find 10 x fake £10 notes. £100 in dodgy money. Although I won't elaborate, as it will take ages to explain, I was pretty much 100% sure my boss was trying it on. Several things happened that week that pointed to this being the case.
I took the money to the police, who in turn, took the money off me and gave me a reciept for it. I gave a statement about what I knew was fact, about how I came to have the cash, but it was my brother-in-law, who also worked at the same company, who saw the 'shady dealings' involving my bass a few days beforehand.
OK. I will elaborate. I was breaking off from work for a weeks holiday. I had asked my boss if I could be paid early. I was employed by an Alarm Installation company of all things. I fitted the alarms, collected the cash/cheque and did the customer paperwork. Oh, and only I was installing. The boss lived off the company earnings, his partner worked, and he had been declared bankrupt some years beforehand.
An incident a year earlier, where I crashed the company vehicle, only to find out he hadn't insured me should of been enough for me to chuck in the towel, but I had known the boss, I'd say, as a good mate, for almost 10 years. A little bit of good fortune and a fake signature, totally against my better judgement, and the police accepted I was someone else. That was probably the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I regret it even now. It's amazing how others can deliberately make you commit an offence without you having no idea. After all, you drive a company vehicle, providing you have a licence, and the vehicle is roadworthy, taxed and MOT'd, you presume you are driving quite legally. Last thing on my mind was to ask my boss if I could check everything was legal. I was just an employee.
Back to the fake money....
For the month prior to the incident, I fitted an alarm a day. We had a finance deal on where the customer paid £100 and got 5 x £20 installments. £200 the full price of the alarm. Strangely, the deal was lapped up by customers and everyone went for it. All the £100 part payments were paid by cheque which were banked. No cash collected. Well, all except 1 customer who lived a few doors away from the ex-wife, who I sort of knew. All though the month, my boss was asking if anyone had paid cash and if they did, I had to go to Beverley to give him the money. Only this 1 customer all month paid any cash and it was all in £20 notes.
3 days before I got paid, my brother-in-law, was getting a lift home from my boss and they called in at Craven Park. Hull KR's ground. He said my boss counted out £100 in the van, disappeared for 10 minutes, came back, and counted £1000 on his return. Ironically, my bro-in-law mentioned this to me later that evening. He was quite sure that this was the exchange of real money for bogus money.
The day I finished for my holidays.....
I had to take my vehicle to Beverley, and I was given a lift home. I asked about my wages and was told it was in hand. It wasn't until I had arrived at home, and got out of the vehicle when he gave me my wages, istantly driving away as I walked through my garden, opening my wage packet. I gave it to my then wife, who realised straight away that £100 in tenners were fakes. I rang my boss, and 5 minutes later, he came back.
First, he pretended to be shocked, that his speedbank must have chucked them out, then trying to pass the blame, said I couldn't prove they were from him. Then he suggested I try to spend them. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and was pretty numb. I was best man for the guy just 6 weeks earlier at his wedding and here he was, pretty much shitting on me. This made me angry and off I trotted to the citizens advice bureau.
What I wanted to know from them, was wether I would be protected if I quit working for him because of him paying me fake money. An hour or two later and it was still a question they couldn't answer. It was unprecidented they told me. Either way, I wasn't gonna be working for this guy anymore.
I left and went into town to hand the money to the police. They issued my a reciept, and I went to the dole office to ask advice. I was told to come back monday. Monday arrived, and I filled out the application for dole money. Handing them my police reciept as proof of my predicament, and was told everything would be OK.
I returned home to find my boss had been camped out awaiting my return. He began to confront me, with his brother there now. Trying to tell me how good he had been to me. Getting me out of the crashed van predicament, best man at his wedding ect... and told me he would put into place something so it would never happen again. All he did was make me more resolute. I began to realise that he probably needed me more than I needed him. I told him that I had had enough. He asked what did he need to do to fix things, I said I just wanted my money that I had worked for. Ofcourse, that was never going to happen.
Incidentally, the following week, normal payday week, my brother-in-law left also. Leaving my boss with no one to work for him. Ironically, he has an advert in the paper advertising his alarms and he has 'police accreditation'.
The dole decided to dock me 30% of my giro for almost 3 months over the incident. So much for helping the victim and punishing the criminal. They sent my boss a letter asking for his side of the arguement. He had 30 days to reply, which he didn't. Then the DHSS sent him a second letter, then a third, each giving him 30 days to reply. Only after the time had expired on the third letter, did the DHSS re-instate my dole and back pay my deductions.
The police investigation went on for a couple of months. 2 detectives came round one evening and we had a chat. They were very sympathetic towards my predicament and what I had gone through, but due to time, costs, and my bosses word against mine, they could go no further with the case. They pretty much told me that he, my ex-boss was indeed a criminal but they could do nothing more.
I'm not sure if theres a moral to this story likes. It apparently pays to pay someone in counterfeit money as it's the reciever of the money who has to not only do all the leg work, but accept the hardship to do the right thing. The system literally forces a victim to accept this sort of shite from people. I think what is worse about all of this, is that a criminal is fitting intruder alarms in peoples houses, and the customers have no idea.
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