Levi Bellfield’s TV bailiff best friend ‘Fat Brian’ was taken to court HIMSELF over unpaid £5k bill
THE TV bailiff exposed as once being best friends with Milly Dowler killer Levi Bellfield was taken to court HIMSELF over an unpaid debt, The Sun can reveal today.
Brian O’Shaughnessy, who forces people to cough up unpaid bills on the hit Channel 5 show Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away!, was chased for nearly £5,000 for bathroom renovations before ultimately paying a settlement at the door of the court.
The 39-year-old, who was recently revealed to once being the best friend of Milly Dowler's murderer Levi Bellfield, received summons to the County Court after miffed tradesman Doug Teuma never received £4,749.76 for the extensive work he carried out at the man's Surrey home.
Court papers reveal O’Shaughnessy, known as Fat Brian to pals, was accused of refusing Mr Teuma entry to his home when the majority of work was complete.
O’Shaughnessy raised a counterclaim against the plumber for damages and breach of contract - but eventually agreed to pay out £1,500 as part of a settlement in September last year.
Mr Teuma, 38, from Royal Wootton Bassett, Wilts, branded O’Shaughnessy a "massive hypocrite" and "bully" after the TV bailiff refused to pay for work he performed.
He said: "I’ve seen a couple of his programmes and it riles me because he puts families on the street for £500 worth of debt but he owed me £5,000 and wouldn’t pay.
"He was happy with the work I did but then towards the last days of the job, he just wouldn’t let me in the house."
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He said that he was left with no choice but to enlist a lawyer in the matter, saying: "I had all my tools in there but couldn’t get in. Eventually I had to take him to court.
"I settled for £1,500 before it went before a judge because I’d already spent thousands on legal fees.
"My solicitor told me even if I’d won, which I would have, I would still have only walked away with £1,500."
He defended his business, with the firm, DT Plumbing Services scoring an impressive 9.67 out of 10 on Checkatrade.com.
He said: "I’ve been in the game 20 years and you can see from online reviews that I do the job well.
"So for him to say I’d done a bad job was a joke.
"As a person he was quite aggressive and a bully - like he is on TV. I’m only 5’6 but he tries to be quite intimidating with his size."
After being questioned over the matter at his flat in Camberley, Surrey, yesterday, O’Shaughnessy said: "No, that's not me, not me go away."
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