Dundee fraudsters paid just 40p for two TVs worth over £450
TWO fraudsters who put an unexpected item in the bagging area of a supermarket's self-scan till - putting two TVs through for just 40 pence - were today facing jail.
TWO fraudsters who put an unexpected item in the bagging area of a supermarket's self-scan till - putting two TVs through with the wrong barcode and making off with them after paying just 40 pence - were today facing jail.
Mathew Ferguson and Liam Gorrie took two TVs worth a total of £467 to the checkouts at the Tesco Extra store in Dundee's South Road.
But instead of scanning the barcodes and paying full price, they entered an incorrect barcode that "magically" reduced the price to just a fraction of the true cost.
The pair then put just 40 pence into the machine - around one 1200th of the actual retail price - and made off with the flat screen tellies.
They were caught when Tesco workers realised what had happened and CCTV was reviewed showing the crime being committed.
Ferguson, 21, from Dundee, and Gorrie, 22, from Arbroath, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud.
Gorrie also admitted obtaining a £329 TV by the same method on a separate occasion, this time paying just 20 pence.
A third accused, Kyle Christie, 23, of Adamson Court, Dundee, had his not guilty pleas to the charge accepted by the Crown.
Jim Caird, defending Ferguson, said: "He has no previous convictions.
"He is a single man who lives with his mother and is employed as a canvasser.
"He was given this numerical code to type in that magically produces a lower price for the particular item.
"He very much regrets it now."
Solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin, defending Gorrie, said: "Given his record I expect the court will require a report on him."
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentence until later this month for social work background reports.
The pair were released on bail meantime.