Revealed: Serial dine-and-dash solicitor was struck off for ordering £43 Just ... trends now
A serial dine-and-dash solicitor has been struck off after ordering a £43 takeaway and shutting the door on the delivery driver.
Kerry Ann Stevens claimed she had already paid online for the Just Eat order from a kebab shop but this was a lie and the innocent driver had the cost deducted from his wages, a professional tribunal heard.
Ms Stevens was found guilty of two counts of fraud at a magistrates court and has now been thrown out of the profession after the tribunal found her guilty of misconduct for her 'premeditated and deliberate' acts.
Due to her profession, she would have been in 'no doubt whatsoever' that she was committing a crime, the panel found.
The hearing of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was told that in January 2021, Ms Stevens ordered £43.47 worth of food from a kebab shop via the Just Eat app.
Solicitor Kerry Ann Stevens (pictured) claimed she had already paid online for the Just Eat order from a kebab shop but this was a lie and the innocent driver had the cost deducted from his wages, a professional tribunal heard
Ms Stevens was found guilty of two counts of fraud at a magistrates court and has now been thrown out of the profession after the tribunal found her guilty of misconduct for her 'premeditated and deliberate' acts
Ms Stevens and her partner Daniel Alani have allegedly left multiple restaurants across Essex without paying
A driver arrived at her home address just after 8 pm to deliver the food and asked Ms Stevens for payment.
But, the Essex-based solicitor insisted she had already paid when she placed the order and as the driver rang the restaurant to confirm - she shut the door in his face.
The Essex Grill kebab shop said Ms Stevens had not paid for the food. The delivery driver knocked on her door for several minutes but she did not answer and the bill was subsequently deducted from the driver's salary.
The solicitor - who qualified in February 2016 - told the police she believed her boyfriend had paid when placing the order online.
The panel heard the year before, Ms Stevens and her boyfriend ordered £60.91 worth of food at a Harvester restaurant in Rayleigh, Essex.
After they had finished eating, Ms Stevens' boyfriend left the restaurant and she told a member of staff that she was unable to pay for the food as her partner had taken her bank card.
The solicitor said she would return to settle the bill and provided both her telephone number and her passport to staff.
