Derbyshire dad-of-six collecting doorstep loans for Morses Club pilfered over £1,500

A Derbyshire man pilfered over £1,500 from hard-up householders while working as a collection agent for doorstep loans firm Morses Club, a court heard.
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Mark Cole, 36, pocketed payments from 54 customers made during his rounds - not entering money they handed over onto the company database.

Prosecutor Becky Allsop told Chesterfield Magistrate father-of-six Cole failed to input loan repayments onto a tablet device he used while collecting on a daily basis.

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Conman Cole’s crimes came to light when a customer got in touch with Morses Club querying an arrears letter for £15 - which they had already paid to Cole.

Mark Cole, 36, pocketed payments from 54 customers made during his roundsMark Cole, 36, pocketed payments from 54 customers made during his rounds
Mark Cole, 36, pocketed payments from 54 customers made during his rounds

During police interview Cole admitted stealing the payments - saying he was struggling to afford essentials such as petrol - and that “he knew what he had done was wrong”.

Cole’s solicitor Georgia Collins told the court Cole was “embarrassed” to be before the courts and “ashamed of his actions”.

She said: “He has six children and is heavily-involved in their daily care - he understands he may be given a custodial sentence and is absolutely petrified of going to prison.”

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Cole, of Morewood Drive, Alfreton, admitted stealing the money over a nine-month period between September 2017 and June 2018.

A magistrate told him: “This is despicable - the amount of stress you’ve caused to people in a really sad position.

“To be pilfering money like that for your own gratification is intolerable.”

Cole was jailed for 18 weeks suspended for 12 months and handed 120 hours’ unpaid work.

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He was also ordered to pay £1,585 compensation to Morses Club.

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