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

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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

It must be a scam - look how quickly the fund was set up.

It seems to follow very closely the news stories about the disabled man who genuinely suffered problems not his own fault, the failed scam about the people who wanted money to extend their holiday in New York, and the story about people having to spend the night in a US airport because everything closed down because of the snow.

I wonder if either of them has "form"? Or maybe they just spotted an opportunity.

I read this at my mum's earlier and TBH, my first instinct, on seeing the headline and accompanying sad face picture was to feel sympathy - as I would for any homeless person.

But once I started reading so many inconsistencies jumped out and by the end I felt really cross with them, for all the reasons you lot have already pointed out. The most gobsmacking of which was their decision NOT to buy - anything - when they realised around £200k (can't remember exact figure) in, I think, 2006. The article seemed to imply that for some god-knows-what-reason they decided to rent instead and it all disappeared in 3 (IIRC) years ! Which is going some by most people's standards surely ?

And okay, even if you accept they'd been very very foolish in the past and are now 'stuck', can't even afford a rental deposit, 1st month's rent etc., I find it hard to believe the bloke's daughters can't help them with that (assuming no bad blood between them and no dreadful circumstances applicable to them). If your parents were in dire straights most people - unless they were genuinely on their uppers themselves would scrape up a 1000, 1500 or so wouldn't they.

The storage thing doesn't add up, the Travelodge thing doesn't add up, turning down work because she doesn't want to be apart from him doesn't add up. It's not easy to find work for many ATM, and especially at her age, yet she freely admits she's been offered work - so why not bloody take it. She could work for 2 or 3 months - only - to get a rental deposit together and then resign for God's sake if it was that awful (she's not earning now so they'd be no worse off) but they would then be able to rent somewhere, would be able to apply for housing benefit, would be able to have a fixed address as a gateway to other benefits perhaps as well as the other opportunities and advantages of having a fixed abode.

Just doesn't make sense.

Whenever I read the DM I'm regularly astonished by some of the stories they print which are so full of holes and fantastical. The online version is so often appallingly written to boot - spelling mistakes, contradictions within the same piece (one minute's someone's 47 then they're 53 ...), grammatical errors, incorrect captions attached to photos identifying their subject as someone completely different etc etc etc. How half the stuff gets past its editor is beyond me .......

Why don't they get help?

Because there's two of them with an income of £1400 pcm.

catsmother "Whenever I read the DM I'm regularly astonished by some of the stories they print which are so full of holes and fantastical."

To be fair, journalists and editors are expensive; if your readership is only interested in confirming its own prejudices and has no interest in truth or accuracy, why bother?

I see the Daily Mail more as a magazine/newspaper crossover, in fact some of the Femail stuff appears in much more expensive women's magazines. And the online content free, which has extensive photographs to look at interspersed with some writing, which considering many people pay regularly for OK etc magazines isn't bad going.

They must be as thick as pig shit to have made the decisions they did.

Some are saying they own the B&B, as per TripAdvisor reviews.

They are proprietors of B&B, Sept. 2014.

I'd encourage to report to police, this fundraising page.

here

Just been reading the comments on the go fund me pages. Very negative and imply that the couple own a bed and breakfast.
Fund is at about 7k now. All very odd.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g528817-d1547477-Reviews-Heathrow_Cottages-Stanwell_Greater_London_England.html

It even says their names on the trip advisor reviews. So either they are complete scam artists or the DM has contacted some bullshit story.

All the TripAdvisor reviews refer to Alan and Katrina though I can't see any pics. Does look as if it is them. What was the point of it? Scam from the start?

In fairness it looks like a lovely B&B.
So they either still own it or have sold it as a going concern. Either way they have a house or money.
I wonder if it's that B&B that they treat themselves to, that's how come they can get washing done.

Those photo is either them or they are clones.

The whole thing is a scam.

I now might have stumbled across the very beautiful apartment they were renting prior to living in the airport. It's very very nice. Amazing what you can find on the Internet

he seems to have a job

Oh do tell SmokingGun - I do like a bit of property porn. I'm guessing it's not cheap?

Seriously, this all sounds very dodgy. If the couple from the B&B are not them then surely they'll put everyone straight?

I think some homeless folk do migrate to the airport when it's winter however what I intensely dislike about this article is that homelessness only becomes important when it's a white middle class couple

Charles

[link]www.berkeleys.com/offices/poole/properties-for-sale/4613-haven-road-canford-cliffs-poole/brochure.pdf[link]

I shall try again! here you go

m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/845858.Fearing_for_my_life_in_war_zone_Beirut/

The fund is one nearly £9k.
Has anyone on here reported this to the police yet?

It is 99% certainly a fraud.

oh my bloody god!!

Kamikazi Kazi 4 hours ago
This is a scam. I actually called the b&b in question posing as a customer i asked to speak to Alan Lane or Katrina Smith and the elderly sounding man said YES this is Alan Lane speaking and he said do you know what time it is and i replied yes its 11.50 and he said that could i call back in the morning so we can sort your booking out. Way to catch someone out is when their half asleep!!! SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!

Kamikazi Kazi 4 hours ago
This is a scam. I actually called the b&b in question posing as a customer trying to confirm a booking i asked to speak to Alan Lane or Katrina Smith and the elderly sounding man said YES this is Alan Lane speaking and he said do you know what time it is and i replied yes its 11.50 and he said that could i call back in the morning so we can sort your booking out i said i will do thank you and goodnight. Way to catch someone out is when their half asleep!!! SCAM SCAM SCAM!!! I would be asking for your money back if you have donated to this SCAM of a cause!!!