Police help- Do I have to give a statement?

bestyman

Hi all,
Not exactly moneysaving but as I am self employed I could dowithout taking time off work .

I work as a self employed plumber and back in January I did a job. I only remember the job as the customer paid me £20 short , the electronic gates closed so I posted the invoice in the mail box outside.

Today I get a call from a PC . I didnt like his attitude, he seemd rude and implied I knew more than I did. He didnt introduce himself as a policeman at first but instead asked how many people worked for our firm, it was as if he was trying to make certain who went to the job. I said it was me and he asked me what happened. I explained as above and that some people arrived as I left, posted invoice etc etc .

I asked him what the problem was, whet crime had been commited and by whom ( genuine question so I could better assist him with relevant info) and he refused to tell me . At this point I told him I thought he was acting in an unproffesional , underhand mannor and as I answered his questions politely I expected the same in return.

He then took a softer approach and said that I was not accused of anything but I could be a witness. " A witness to what " I asked and again he wouldnt tell me as he said " it could influence my statement".

He goes on to say that he wants to see me ( Wednesday) so I can make a statement . Im not sure about this as I feel I should know what ( and who) the alleged crime is. I feel I am the suspect and not the witness.
Not knowing what the statement is about could mean that I leave relevant info out. I dont trust his underhand tactics.

The customer paid me £20 short despite a price been agreed in advance so I dont owe her any favours, Plod and I didnt exactly get off on the right foot .

I am a law abiding person and would usually help the police where possible but in this case I would rather not . Tomorrow I may tell PC that due to above reasons there will be no statement. Is this wise? Can I legally do this?
What will happen then?

Suggestions please

ben500

Is this an elderly person by any chance? Could be they have been fleeced by rogue traders and on going through receipts yours has come to light and they want to put a face and name to the invoice to disassociate them with other invoices. It is common with this practice for the trader to use several letterheads to avoid vigilant family members becoming aware that all monies are being paid to one individual and this could be the reason perhaps. If you are sure you have nothing to worry about it might be better for you to attend rather than fret over it.

NAR

Definitely sounds like a case of "bad attitude" on his part. However sounds like he wants you to make a statement identifying those that arrived, when you were leaving the invoice. He probably doesn't want you to know the alleged offence in case it scares you off making a statement.
You are under no compulsion to make a statement, to answer your question directly. You will not have committed any crime, unless they believe you are involved, in which case they could charge you with withholding information.

bestyman

Thanks for reply Ben ,
But my invoice was for about £60. She was about late 50s I think. If this was the case why wouldn`t plod say so?

Andy_L

Because if they tell you that and you were "a wrong 'un" you could (possibly) work out who had shopped you and pay them a visit

ben500

As Andy says, to them you are an unknown quantity and they need to treat you with equal amounts of respect and contempt, unfortunately it just sounds like he got the mix wrong. Did he enquire about someone leaving or entering at the same time as you or did you volunteer this information? Just curious as to how it popped up as a topic of conversation.

Errata

If you needed someone to make a statement about something they'd witnessed that would help you, wouldn't you want them to? What goes around comes around.

bestyman

Hi and thanks for the replies,

The pc asked me what happened. I explained that the reason I remembered the job at all was the £20 shortfall and the electronic gates locking me out .
Usually I provide an invoice first and then get paid but in this case the customer asked me what she owed as I was putting my tools away . When I told her £68 as quoted on the phone she started moaning and eventually I settled for £48. I went to the van to get an invoce and it was at this point I saw some people talking to her ( cannot really remember anything about them ) but I do remember the gate shutting and locking me out .
I wrote the invoice out in the van, I put something on it like £20 oustanding ( TBH is she wants to con me out of £20 the guarantees void as far as Im concerned) .
I couldnt be bothered buzzing and waiting for the gate to open again so put the invoice in the mail box outside. I felt I was been rude not handing it to her and saying bye but I didnt really care in this case.
Like i say this was 5 months ago, done another 500 jobs since then so just remember the main details.
The woman struck me as been a bit looney, why else would anyone agree a price then an hour later refuse to pay it after work completed to her satisfaction. In the emergency plumbing game you meet allsorts, usually about 4 people a year like her ( refuse payment, bounce cheque etc)
Perhaps somethings happened?? Perhaps Im the suspect due to " bad feelings" and £20 oustanding.
I had forgotten all about it and didnt let it worry me in the first place but of course plod doesnt know that .
I dont really know how these thing work . Should I be arrested first and have a solicitor? ( for all I know I could be prime suspect in a very serious crime) Then can I issue for false arrest?

erm ...so Ben in a nutshell I volunteered this information .

firesidemaid

if they really need you to make a statement, make sure it is at a time that is convenient to you - i'm sure someone could call at your house on an evening if this makes it easier.

bestyman

Errata wrote: »

If you needed someone to make a statement about something they'd witnessed that would help you, wouldn't you want them to? What goes around comes around.

If that was the case I would happily make a statement. Im just not sure what Ive supposidly witnessed if at all anything.

Gorgeous_George

Before i got a speeding ticket for doing 35mph, I would have called in to the station to give a statement. Since the fine, I'd let them jump through hoops.

Not that I'm bitter.



GG