Rogue DJ Sentenced To Six Months

A rogue DJ who cancelled appearances at a number of weddings at the last minute, by falsely claiming his father had died, has been jailed for six months.

Michael Stockman, 31, who traded as Northwest Discos, was found guilty of 12 counts of theft. He was also ordered to pay compensation of £1,200 to his victims.

Between December 2013 and July 2014, the Trading Standards Service investigated 11 complaints from consumers who had paid Mr Stockman a total of £1,320 to provide DJ services at their forthcoming weddings and parties.

In eight of the cases he cancelled the discos less than 24 hours before the event. On six occasions, Stockman gave the reason as either himself or a relative had been involved in a serious car accident, while on two occasions he claimed his father had died. In the other three cases, they received no contact at all. Only one person was refunded £120 they had paid.

The deposit amounts Stockman received were between £40 to £300 and is understood he accepted the payments for most of the booking while he was already under investigation for similar offences.

In a statement, Moira Todd from the Trading Standards Service, said: "Michael Stockman took money from a lot of people to provide discos at their weddings and parties, and either cancelled at the last minute or ignored their messages and calls in the preceding weeks.

"His actions were cruel and had the potential to ruin what should be the best day of people's lives. He made no apology to anyone and totally ignored requests for refunds. The Trading Standards Service is determined to bring traders who behave like Michael Stockman to court and hold them accountable for their activities."

(JP)