Home CCTV exposes delivery driver’s false claim about dog bite

A food delivery driver who attempted to sue customers for £3,000 after claiming he was bitten by their dog had his lie exposed by the household CCTV footage. Sean Dore, 37, was captured on camera being greeted by the family pet labrador with its tail wagging when he arrived to deliver a takeaway. Despite this friendly interaction, Mr Dore later alleged that the dog had caused damage to his car and arm at the farmhouse near Bodelva, in Cornwall, where the Eden Project is located, in July 2021. He presented the dog owners with a repair quote of £185 for scratches on his car and also filed a claim for injury worth up to £3,000. However, the owners’ home insurer Axa became suspicious when they reviewed the CCTV footage, which clearly showed the labrador, named Marley, enthusiastically greeting the delivery driver. Medical examinations further disproved Mr Dore’s claims of deep scratches caused by the dog. In an attempt to salvage his case, Mr Dore alleged that the video footage had been tampered with. However, Deputy District Judge Healey, presiding over the case at Plymouth County Court, dismissed Mr Dore’s claims as “fundamentally dishonest” and ordered him to pay the owners’ legal costs amounting to nearly £5,000. A lawyer representing Axa stated that Mr Dore had underestimated both the owners’ vigilance and the power of surveillance technology. The owners had installed CCTV to monitor access to their driveway, and this evidence, along with other inconsistencies in Mr Dore’s claim, such as disappearing puncture marks and his failure to seek medical attention, led to the dismissal of his case. Marley’s owners described their pet as an active, friendly dog of the labrador breed and stated that he had been under their control throughout Mr Dore’s visit.