An Amazon delivery driver has said he was “stitched up” by his employer after the company took £500 from his wages.
Stephen Romain said the firm took two van rental payments from his monthly earnings, leaving him without money to pay for petrol.
The former driver left two Morrisons’ petrol stations without paying, totalling to over £200 in fuel.
Romain said he had no choice but not to pay, as the dock to his wages meant he was left without money to provide for his family.
Romain was a delivery driver for Amazon at the time
PA
The driver first pulled up to Morrisons Gravesend petrol station on July 24, where he proceeded to fill the van up with £110 worth of fuel.
His card was declined when he attempted to pay.
Staff kindly allowed him to pay later, with Romain filling out a form promising to do so.
He later returned to pay but still did not have the necessary funds.
The second Morrisons petrol garage he visited was in Sittingbourne, where he filled the vehicle up with £109.60 of fuel.
Romain, from Northfleet, Kent told workers at the station that he did not have his wallet on him so he could not pay.
Police were called after a staff member checked Amazon’s registration system and realised this was the second instance of Romain not paying.
The driver appeared before magistrates in Maidstone, where he was charged with two counts of making off without paying for fuel.
He pled guilty to all charges on August 15.
The prosecution said: “When officers attended he was still in the van and told them he’s not been paid and he needed to go to work and said, ‘nick me or don’t’.
“He told them he’d been five weeks without money and just needed a bit of fuel and then said he just didn’t care.
“He also told officers Morrisons had millions and he didn’t give a f*** and that he had to do what he had to do.”
Romain told the court that he didn’t have any money to pay because Amazon charged him two weeks of rent on the vehicle in one go.
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Maidstone magistrates court, where Romain pleaded guilty to all charges
PA
This totalled to £500, which he claimed was docked from his wages.
Romain said that because of this charge, he did not have the money in his account to pay for the fuel at both petrol schedules.
He said that he was embarrassed by his actions and accepted that he was in the wrong.
The driver, who now no longer worked for the company, told the court he regretted losing his temper with police officers.
Magistrates ordered Romain to pay £40 for each offence and £109.60 in compensation to the Sittingbourne garage.
Chairman of the bench Diane Chambers said: “We have heard you did make some attempt to pay, but your bank card was not up to it, we are being fairly lenient with you today.”