Photo: Devonyu (Getty)
Way back last year we told you about a British couple who tried to sue a resort after claiming they got food poisoning. The only problem? They had just had 109 drinks. And the reason we bring this up is because another British couple has been caught trying to use a fake food poison claim to grab some cash.
The couple, 21-year-old Chelsea Devine 22-year-old Jamie Melling, demanded thousands of dollars from a resort they were staying at during their ten day all-inclusive trip to Benidorm in Spain. But their lawsuit was soon kicked off when selfies of them posing during their vacation were posted on their Facebook.
And now because of their lies a judge has ordered them to pay £15,000 ($20,914), a record amount for costs awarded against a fraudulent claim of holiday sickness.
Liverpool County Court heard how the pair were caught out after posting photos of their holiday at the Levante Beach Apartments in September 2015 on Facebook. The pictures showed them smiling and happy in their room and swimming in the pool.
But in May 2016, they submitted identical claims, each demanding £2,500 ($3,485) in compensation. The judge, Recorder Sally Hatfield QC, said of Devine and Melling:
“I find that they have not proved that they were ill. I cannot accept that they would upload photographs of themselves as a happy couple if the holiday was as they claim. The statements are identical. They say that they did not collude, but it is clear the statements were not written by them. There are inaccuracies in them. ‘They did not complain [at the time] despite it being easy to do so. They did not complain when they came home. Have the claimants proved that they were ill?
I do not accept that they did not raise the fact of their alleged illness with the hotel because they were young and inexperienced. They were young, but they were in contact with their parents, who apparently gave them no advice. I find that there is no reason why they did not complain. I do not attribute any illness to the unsatisfactory food. There is no evidence of contamination. I accept the evidence of the hotel, and there is no evidence of any outbreak.”
So these dummies tried to get a couple of thousand of dollars by lying, but they ended up having to give up their own cash. What does this tell you? That actually having food poisoning is less painful than having to give up $20,000 because you’re an idiot.
