London Strip Club could lose licence after wiping Thousands off customers Credit Card

London strip club Sophisticats, on Eversholt Street in Euston, Camden, London, could lose its Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEV) licence next week after patrons alleged they were victims of fraud.

Customers at a London strip club claim they were fleeced out of thousands of pounds while drunk. One customer told police he woke up to find credit card receipts totalling £50,000 according to a report by Camden Council

SophistiCats, which bills itself as the capital’s “premier” lap dancing club, on Eversholt Street in Euston, Camden, could lose its Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEV) licence next week after patrons alleged they were victims of fraud. The Metropolitan Police and Camden Trading Standards have both recommended that the licence is not renewed by Camden Council on January 9.

It comes after one customer, who works in finance, told police he woke up to find credit card receipts totalling £50,000, after visiting the venue on February 27 2019, according to a report by Camden Council. The man claimed he did not remember agreeing to pay the amount, which included £28,000 charged to his credit card “in the last few minutes” before he left the venue.

He told police he first visited the SophistiCats club on Brewer Street in Soho at about 2.15am, before later being transported by car to the Eversholt Street venue, which he had no recollection of. A police officer who reviewed CCTV footage from inside the Camden club’s VIP area on the night said it was “clear” the man was not fully aware of what was going on around him.

A card machine was taken into the VIP area, while a waitress “on more than one occasion” indicated for performers to start dancing, which appeared to distract the man as he entered his card details, the officer said in the report.

“All of these actions appear to be aggressive sales techniques with the victim looking unaware of his surroundings and predicament,” the officer said.

“This victim did not even know that he had attended the SophistiCats in Camden, as his last memories were of him and his friend having a drink in the SophistiCats venue in Soho, Westminster.”

Meanwhile, another man claimed £8,000 was taken from his account in several transactions during a drunken visit on September 28, “without his consent”, while his friend was charged £2,500, the report said.

SophistiCats said in a statement: “These are allegations not incidents and the club will supply, at the hearing, a full rebuttal to all accusations.”