Millionaire Trial

[petem]

Cor what a farce, 21 day trial, found guilty and all he gets is a suspended sentance. The mind boggles how much this has cost the taxpayer. No wonder the Police element of my Council Tax has rised by 50% this year. Why don't the police spend more time catching criminals who make other peoples lives a misery? As usual the only winners are the lawyers. If I was Celador I'd have offered the good major £100k and told him to be on his way. If he didn't like it he could sue. Far better than a ridiculous criminal trial.

Rant over.

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[Johnjo]

Yeh and he will probably make a million now selling his story to the papers and anyone else who
will listen!

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[Steve_D]

Its not the Police's fault, its the legal system. All they can do is get the evidence and present it to the CPS, then its out of thier hands as to what happens in the courts.

Steve D

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[jfm]

send him down

I thought the sentence was way too light. I read that the judge didn't want to jail them because it would have deprived their young children of parents. So, why not jail the major (he did it) and give wife a suspended sentence (she was an accessory only, sort of? Then the kids would be fine. And what of the Welsh guy, why not jail him too?

I dont accept that it was a victimless crime. If someone broke into your house while you were out and robbed a million quid or £100, would that be victimless? In this case, the victim was Celador - that is a company but remeber companies dont really exist, Celador is owned by real people and it is they who were being robbed by the major.

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[hlb]

Re: send him down

Opened up a whole new can of worms. No one with kids can go to jail anymore!!

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Haydn

 

[jfm]

Re: send him down

Good observation Haydn. Right, I'll get my gun and put the wife's tights over my head. Where's the nearest post office?

It's crazy, the judge seems a lunatic. I dont think he took this offence seriously. The guy should have been jailed for a few months imho. Or am I being victorian about this?

The other factor possibly was that the major will (I guess) lose his job and pension, because the army doesn't approve of crimes like this. I think. So mebbe the judge thought that was a form of punishment?

I suppose they're unlikely to re-offend. I mean if they appear on Family Fortunes everyone in the audience will be too frightened to cough or sneeze in case they get arrested

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[milltech]

Re: send him down

Well I surprised myself, being one who's generally tough on crime and the causes of crime etc., and who hands lost property in, and who wouldn't nick a thing, by thinking actually that Celador are fair game and outside the normal rules, (not that I would do it). It's not like cheating at school or robbing the bank, having one over on those who try to have one over on us, well why not? Scamming the scammer.

A few weeks ago I happened to catch Richard and Jude banging on about some competition scam and how it was a disgrace and I thought, what's not a scam about setting a "so called" question like, "What's the capital of France?" Choose from London, Paris and Chicago, when really the only purpose is to get silly people on the phone spending 50p for nothing, thus making the TV company a nice fat profit. Pay TV where you get nothing back, lottery odds without the big prize. That kind of thing is a misuse of the power of TV in my book, in most trades the public are protected against that sort of thing.

So "Millionaire" is funded by all the no-hopers getting on the phone to be on the competition, and if they can scam us why shouldn't someone try to scam them? Of course they could, and did, get caught, it was their risk, but perhaps it didn't include a great moral lesson for us all.

...and by the way, do we not think they'll make a ratings fortune showing that show without having to give away the prize? Will they be giving the prize to charity or thinking its bonus time in the Boardroom?

It did interest me how they'd managed to both get selected for the same show, did anyone hear how that was done?

Mr. Angry ranting from Berkshire! Sorry.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[jfm]

how to get all your mates on the show

Hmmm, yes, I agree your sentiments. I too hate these so-called competitions that are really devices to lure pople into making a premium rate call. But I can't quite think that trying to nick £1m off some people is ok just becuase they operate questionable (but legal) business practices!

I think the appearances on the show was organised by Celador. I think Mrs major won £32k a while back, and her brother (in law?) also appeared on it. That was coincidence. Then she planned to write book on the show, with Celador's approval. The plan agreed between her and celador I think was that the Major would go on the show and then the book would be launched, so much publicity etc. At least I think that's the case, I heard something along these lines on the radio, though I'm not totally sure

I'm not sure how the Welsh guy got on the show, but I think he just applied in the normal fashion, got his date from Celador, secretly told mrs major the date, then mrs major organised the book thing so the major got on the same date as the welsh guy. I think.

If this is true, it seems wrong of Celador to take people's money on the premium phone line and then allow the major to queue jump. So now I find myself agreeing with you a bit more.....

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[MedDreamer]

So will Celador from the picture rights and the inevitable documentary

<hr width=100% size=1>Martyn

 

[milltech]

Win Win

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

There is already a documentary in the pipeline. A Martin Bashir special, I believe

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[Deleted User YDKXO]

According to today's Mail, the fount of all truth and knowledge, the trial cost you and me £1.4m. The fact that a show with flagging ratings gets some free publicity is purely coincedental of course
As the Mail points out, Celador could simply have withheld the prize and challenged the Major to sue which he would'nt have done since he's borassic. Apparently, the Major was really an awfully nice public school thicko who was manipulated by a scheming Lady Macbeth type SWMBO who also happened to have 2 brothers with various aliases and a string of fraud convictions

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[HowardB]

Here here!!

I agree, well said. Cynical but accurate. we get scammed too much by the so-called competitions. Milking the population who don't know better.
Howard

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[Observer]

Re: send him down

I agree with you on this.

Seems to me that this type of quiz show is akin to a gaming contract - "binding in honour only".

So Celador refuse to pay? What's he going to sue them for? There's no contract that I can see. It fails on the basic pre-requisite of "consideration". Even if that's wrong, he loses on any number of counts such as misrepresentation (fraudulent or otherwise, express or implied). And as a civil offence the burden of proof is much less as well - "balance of probability" rather than "beyond reasonable doubt".

And what was the crime he was guilty of? Deception? Obtaining a pecuniary benefit by false pretences? They're giving money away anyway. It's not like they were robbed. I'm not defending the Major - he tried to pull a fast one and got caught - serves him right.

But it's us, the taxpayers, who've really suffered - paying £1.4M so that Major and his mates can be fined a few thousand. What's it cost Celador - nothing. They didn't pay the prize money and don't have to pay for the trial. It's the inadequacy of the security on their show which allowed the Major to nearly get away with it.

Maybe he got off so lightly because the judge concluded that the whole basis for prosection was flawed?

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[petem]

Ah but surely the police have to present a case to the CPS. IMHO it should never even have got that far. I am also of the opinion that the CPS should act in the interest of the public. In this case they have not done so.

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[milltech]

Re: send him down

Yes I agree that's probably why the Judge let him of lightly. A civil case dressed up like a criminal one for the sake of the media and the great unwashed.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[petem]

Re: send him down

I'll tell you who ought to be worried, 'Nasty Nick' from Big Brother. He tried to cheat. Can't be long before the rozzers are knocking on his door.

And all them cheating buggers off the Generation Game who have had "what's on the conveyor belt" answers shouted out for years.

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