A care worker who "exploited" a vulnerable person she was looking after to treat herself to new clothes has been struck off.
Shirley Thomson, 47, used the card for online retailer Studio to purchase "multiple items" on two separate occasions and bought goods understood to have totalled around £300.
An investigation by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) also found that Thomson, from Dundee, charged the person £12.50 an hour for cleaning services and to give them lifts in her car between August and December 2021. In that time, she also accepted money and cigarettes from the individual, named as AA to protect their identity.
Thomson admitted some of the breaches, but denied not paying the money back. She also denied accepting money for fuel and cigarettes.
She did not fully co-operate with the SSSC probe and also declined to defend her conduct at a fitness to practise hearing.
The regulator said Thomson had not shown any "remorse, regret or insight" for "exploiting" the person under her care and concluded that she "abused her position of trust" and breached "professional boundaries".
The SSSC said: "You used a supported person’s credit account to purchase items for yourself as well as accepting money and cigarettes. This was an abuse of your position of trust.
"Your actions resulted in financial harm to the service user concerned. Social service workers are expected to maintain professional boundaries and not exploit people who use services.
"Your behaviour overstepped profession boundaries and exploited a vulnerable service user’s good nature for your own financial gain. You have not provided any comments to the SSSC and have not shown any remorse, regret or insight into your behaviour.
"You were an experienced worker at the time of the incident and should have been well aware of your duties and responsibilities towards vulnerable supported persons. Your behaviour damages the reputation of the profession and needs to be marked as unacceptable."
Retail website Studio, which was bought out of administration by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group in 2022, sells cut-price clothing, furniture and electronics, and offers shoppers a credit account to spread the cost over several months. While customers who pay their balance on time pay no interest, the store card is advertised with an APR of 39.9 percent.
The Daily Record approached Thomson for comment. She said: "Doesn't really matter what I say, does it?"
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