Bride-to-be is a victim of cruel facebook scam
Bride to be Sandra Potterton was conned out of cash by Facebook scammer - (who has been sentenced at court this week). She had paid for a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses but lost more than �300. (P504B311)
A bride-to-be who was conned out of hundreds of pounds on a Facebook site says she’s glad the woman behind the scam has been locked up.
Sandra Potterton, of Abbey Walk, Pontefract, had spent years saving up and planning her wedding to fiance Frank Dougan, which is set to take place in June.
She was excited to find the wedding and bridesmaid dresses of her dreams on the Happy Days Events Facebook page, and paid £360 to the site. After several weeks of waiting the items had still not arrived.
She went back onto the site only to find many more unhappy customers in the same position.
They grouped together and contacted trading standards, and now, Caroline Oates, formerly of Mill Street, South Kirkby, has been jailed for fraud by false representation.
When customers contacted her via the site, she pretended to be another family member and then said she had died.
Last Wednesday Oates, 21, was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison by Pontefract Magistrates for taking almost £3,000 from other brides-to-be.
Miss Potterton, 48, said: “It’s terrible what she has done but I am glad that she has been punished. We work hard and had been saving every last penny towards our big day but had to start all over again.”
She has since bought her wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses from shops.
She added: “I feel so sorry for people who have saved up and had to cancel their wedding because of this. I think we have been fortunate that we can still get married when we planned.
“Frank just said put it down to experience and enjoy planning the rest of the wedding. It’s going to be our day and won’t let anything spoil it.”
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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