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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think you can't claim to be homeless living in an airport if your income is £1400 a month

444 replies

dhdjdbrjrkbr · 07/02/2015 11:15

Strange DM story today, nothing adds up

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2943251/Homeless-Heathrow-look-holiday-truth-middle-class-couple-living-airport-losing-500-000-home.html#article-2943251

OP posts:
Hamiltoes · 09/02/2015 23:59

Your post x100 expat.

So many other truly worthy causes. It is shameful.

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 10/02/2015 00:30

Completely agree with Expat!

Eve you seem incredibly invested in this B&B for someone whose only connection with it is that you say you stayed there. Also this Lucy person from the DM, if you have no involvement in the matter why are so fixated on her?

paxtecum · 10/02/2015 06:05

Expat: Flowers for your and your family.

I didn't know your story, thank you,

EmpressOfJurisfiction · 10/02/2015 06:12

Expat Flowers

NimpyWWindowmash · 10/02/2015 06:42

Good point well made expat

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 10/02/2015 06:51

Flowers expat

YoniMitchell · 10/02/2015 08:09

Well said expat Flowers

QueenBean · 10/02/2015 09:27

Expat that brought tears to me, so sorry for your loss Flowers

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 10:20

oh ExPat xxxx

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 13:46

expat
Firstly I am truly sorry for your loss and the way you have been treated. It is appalling and I totally agree with you.

The couple in the story should have been ashamed of themselves. But that's been repeated over and over.

I live in London and even here they could rent a self contained studio for about £600 per month. Clearly not in Mayfair which they appear to aspire to. It's their self-pitty and entitlement which drives me mad as many other.

The reason I am 'fixated' on the B&B issue is that I know the owners very well & happened to be there on Sunday. They built their business from nothing over many years working around the clock haven't had holidays etc for years have no help never claim a penny from the state. Always putting everything back into the business. Out of nowhere they are being vindicated for working hard (unlike the two posh scrounges) and Lucy Osborne keeps associating the B&B with the two 'too posh to live within your means' with no inclination of putting things right! Clearly this is not right and clearly ordinary working people will not be listened to.

What I also don't understand is why they are not supported by their children however if they treat them with the same entitlement as British public I could understand.

My siblings and are have been supporting financially our parents for years. They made bad financial decisions and we, the children, are paying for that. If we did not help they would be on the street. However they have always been thankful as they know very well the monies do not grow on trees and we need to support our own families now as well. Regardless we do it. I am sure everyone on this forum could tell their own story and if they had that couples income they would be grateful.

So I will go on about the B&B as when people's livelihood is being jeopardised by pure malice they all need support.

If you had seen Lucy Osborne and they way she spoke to the owners you would not even bothered contacting press. The same posh middle class totty as the couple. To be fair to other journalists who visited as well they listened got their facts right and clearly didn't see a story there as there was none. Hence no other newspapers run it.

And the people who write malicious comments with no evidence should be ashamed of themselves.

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 13:57

Just coming back to the point about the B&B, why havent they spoken out then straight away? If you know them 'so well' you can obviously ask them as they are being accused by people of being this pair (or, more likely IN MY VIEW ONLY they are indeed this Katrina and Alan)

There is no logical reason to delay speaking out... Daily Mail would have loved it. Their business will suffer now because they havent

Sorry - i dont believe them & I dont believe the story about living in LHR spending 300 a month on storage, 400 on B&B and not being able to rent a flat!

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 13:59

Eve117 "So ONCE, if you had a full time job/ business to run to earn living you would try to defend yourself to the very same people whos job is to print lies without a shred of evidence"

Too chuffing right i would, the real question that needs to be answered is why wouldnt you - unless you were getting new staff in with different names!?!!??

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 10/02/2015 14:21

Eve if you are a friend of B&B owners, I can understand why you want to defend them. The problem is, this link has been made across the national and international media and it can not be good for the reputation of their business. If what you are saying is true, they are not doing themselves any favours by making no attempt at all to manage the image of their business. A simple press release would take almost no time to compose and would clear the matter up. Do you know why they have decided not to do that?

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 14:34

once

They have no staff and they are called Alan and Katrina.
Also you seem to think it is right again to victimise people for malicious rumour?! As indeed if there were staff called by those names, would you really make them jobless?! You clearly would. How despicable of you!

You seems to despise them just for the fact they work and earn their own living!? I would question your work ethics since the owners work pretty much 24/7 365 days a year. Clearly that doesn't seem to be right either.
If you had read the posts it's been said that they have spoken to Lucy but she said things like that happen and to get on with it. As she did see with her own eyes what they look like. In general journalists will not vindicate their 'colleagues' because of some little people. If it was MP/ Philip Green and the rest of the lot it would have been different story. Plebs do not matter.

By the way where is the couple in need now? Why are they not putting people's mind at peace telling us they are now well looked after tacking into their lobsters washing down with Moët!!!

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 14:44

Saskia
They have spoken to the press but the press is not interested as it clearly makes their colleagues look like idiots and the same could happens vice versa in the future.

They have been advised that they cannot take legal actions either.

So they just want to get on with their lives and run the business. When you don't have the millions and teams behind you it's rather uneven keel.
People like once will never see it as they would have to admit they were wrong.

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 10/02/2015 14:52

Do they have social media accounts for their B&B - a blog, a Twitter feed and a Facebook page? That would be an ideal way to bypass the mainstream media and get their side of the story out.

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 14:53

SaskiaOnce
If you actually check TripAdvisor and DM people comment that they stayed there too and WTF is the story about.
Journalists know very well when other journalist made themselves look like idiots and will stay out of it.

Not everyone is fame hungry one way or the other. I am sure the B&B was featured some time ago in Sunday Times (not 100%sure of the title). They were actually featured without them even knowing as someone from the newspapers happened stay there.

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 14:57

Saskia
As far as I know they haven't got FB page/ Twitter and never had. It's literally two 'men' business. Couple earning their living by running B&B doing all the cooking/ laundry/ maintenance etc themselves. Trust me it's never ending job. I am 'glad' for mine Mon-Fri 9-5 job with the security of paid holidays etc.

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 15:06

Eve - please accept this totally missing the point award!

It is claimed that the owners of the B&B are in fact this couple. It would be VERY easy in todays world to prove they are not, by simply speaking out...

I'll ask again as you have not answered "why havent they spoken out publicly to protect their business"

"You seems to despise them just for the fact they work and earn their own living!?" Why would i do that? I despise liars and theives and cheats, ......

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 15:28

once
I despise despicable malicious people together with cheats/ liars/ thieves as they cause the same harm.
Clearly with you innocent until proven guilty doesn't exist.
Read the facts in the News Statesman
I rest my case as you appear to be incredible righteous and would never admit to being not right. Or you must have clear evidence that the B&B is run/owned by the couple. Thought not.

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 15:37

You dont have a 'case'

I'll ask again as you have not answered "why havent they spoken out publicly to protect their business"

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 15:51

I said about new staff with different names, to cover themselves if they were indeed the named couple 'living at heathrow' at NO time did i say 'put them out of work'

You are protesting too much on one theme .... all we are doing is asking a very simple question which you (who claim to know them) have not answered

Wanting to stay private and run a business is not really viable these days - how will they get customers. If they are not the LHR2, then their business (which they have worked hard to build up i imagine) will suffer, as a lot of people will only remember the negatives

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 16:01

just for your record
the new statesman writes

"One blogger even claims to have reached a Katrina Smith at the establishment by phone. In fact, the B&B appears to be run by a different Alan entirely, and the property hasnt changed hands since 2001. Im pretty certain the names are a coincidence, and in fact the couple have denied owning the B&B in a follow-up for the Mail. (I've been unable to reach them for comment on my other queries.)

Eve117 · 10/02/2015 16:19

once
And your point is? You are the same as Lucy who couldn't believe she made a fool of herself when turning up. You made yourself look like a fool as Alan Lane never answered the phone when you called. Was 100% Alan though never denied it.
Martin Robbins is the only one who has done his homework.
The blogger (Matthew Steeples from Steeples Times) claiming reaching Katrina SMITH later admitted reaching a women called Katrina - no surname.
They are cracked in the story already with people claiming lies just digging their heels in.

OnceUponATimeAgain · 10/02/2015 16:26

no i'll spell it out for you

how does a business survive and be profitable with such negative press against it?

I would never stay at Heathow Cottages now, because they have not catergorically denied the allegations, and in my view, now has a stigma of guilt by association . Is that clear enough for you to understand.

We are not ACCUSING them of being the same people, we are simply asking if they are not, then why havent they spoken out.