Hotel gate - couple refused to pay their Wedding Bill shamed on Social Media

[StrawberryRed]

A hotel in my area 'The Townhouse Durham' was ripped off by a couple. The couple are trying to avoid paying there bill by complaining.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11257679/amp/Battle-Buffet-Town-House-Durham-shames-newlyweds-bill-dispute.html

There is a huge backlash against the couple with people sharing their own problems they've had with the couple - they seem like a pair of scammers.

HOWEVER

I'm finding the Hotel a BU now, they seem to be really enjoying the drama and stirring the pot with updates on social media in a vendetta against the couple, it looks cheap IMO. If their is a complaint in place, perhaps libelous and a breach of confidentiality?

Thoughts?

Unless you actually know the parties involved and the details of their agreement you have no idea which side is scamming. Whenever someone is accused of anything the SM worms will pipe up and make claims, especially where one party is unsympathetic due to appearance, benefit claimant or other sub group (on both sides).

I've been in the situation where a venue tried to renege on a contract claiming the person who agreed it had left - not uncommon in such a high turnover industry. If the venue try to recoup the costs by offering a lesser service or adding in costs not in the agreement then they are in the wrong.

I've also seen people try to rip off venues by spurious claims.

Without inside knowledge of the situation I don't see how anyone on this thread can judge either way.

I think people have probably keep quiet about their encounters with these people in case there were reprisals.

Well going by the screenshot of one of the brides fb page, THANKING the hotel for their service, then how come they are suddenly furious with the service and coming up with all kinds of problems?

Bullshit comes to mind and scam artist, although not a good one. I'm not on the side of liars, they should pay up and slink away quietly and stop being stupid. It will all die down if they just do that but they seem happy to fan the flames too so sod them.

I think the way social media facilitates these modern day witch hunts is terrifying. There was something on the news yesterday about parents being wrongly convicted under truancy laws. Imagine if everyone had piled on and trashed their professional reputation, and then it turns out to be a mistake? Or those people who were screwed by the post office claiming they were thriving from the till. It’s too easy to destroy lives for nothing nowadays.

This 100%

That's a bit harsh given you're contributing to the thread too.

contributing to the thread to say things like "there are 2 sides" or "they should take it offline" is not contributing to the public naming and shaming that is going on on both sides of this dispute though.

What kind of business doesn't take a deposit? We paid for our wedding way before the event. It seems ridiculously naive for the hotel not to do that. Deposit, contract, schedule of payments - it's basic stuff and if you don't put that in place this sort of thing will happen. It's horrible not to be paid for a service, but maybe they'll have learned a valuable lesson from it.

If the couple did take it to the DM in an effort to shame the hotel, then they have courted this themselves, they refused to pay, then have tried to double down by going to the press with a sad story hoping that the public will be sympathetic and they'll get plenty of attention and the hotel will be too scared of the media backlash to continue to chase their money and it's backfired on them.
Too many people do this under the guise of 'poor customer service' and 'the customer is always right' and it can end up ruining businesses and further more the lives of the individuals who work in that business. They use it as a tool to get what they demand, get stuff for free and bully, I've lost count of the amount of people who've threatened me with Trip Advisor because I wouldn't give them something for free, or because I asked them to behave in a decent way and take into consideration other guests they're disturbing, or not to abuse the staff.
Situations like this are stacked against the business because to some 'the customer is always right' translates to 'the business/staff are always wrong' and this is one story where that hasn't worked.
The hotel hasn't been above reproach for some of their actions, but tbh if the couple went to the press themselves then they took the risk it would backfire like this - they just never expected it to because of the general attitude that prevails towards these types of businesses and they were wrong. As someone else said, actions have concequences and they're experiencing theirs.

Pay your bill and it won’t be a problem. Several
other vendors also voiced missing payments and attempted fraud by the couple. Scammy mcscammersons get everything they deserve 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah I live in this 'area' too... we are one of the biggest counties in the country with a populartion of 527,000. its a tiny city smaller than most towns but still the immediate area (not the whole county) has a population over 7000.

Might aswell just post my address as clearly saying I live in the area is outing lol.

Before clicking on the link I assumed there was a huge amount of money outstanding. It seems the couple owe just over £1k and are only disputing £200? Why is this even a story.

Joanne and Claire should pay the £800 odd part of the bill they are happy to and the hotel can take them to the Small Claims court for the remaining balance. What a lot of drama over a few hundred quid, burgers and ribs.

The business owners are clearly very naive. Agreeing to go ahead without payment because the brides couldn’t afford to pay until they received their wages days is ridiculous.

It all seems highly disproportionate. And yes it shouldn't need the oxygen of publicity to sort it out. Sounds like everyone needs their heads knocking together and a dose of common sense.

Everything the hotel has done is a reaction to their action of not paying, so tough shit.

Also, if one of them was saying she needed PIP and is now being investigated for dancing, then that's an added bonus for the taxpayer which has only come about because of her own action of not paying. Good.

agree with this

I used to work in a branch of customer service where bills were disputed, and we always advised "pay the bit you agree with and we can discuss the rest later!"

Which is why I think it's fair that this couple are being rightly called out. This isn't their first time scamming, so the more companies/people that hear about them, the better.

I'm down that way in a couple of weeks time, and I'm going to book the hotel because I admire their stance against scammers and non-payers. I like their spirit! And I will definitely pay for my meal!

I believe it was the couple who went to the press initially (probably in an attempt to get their entire bill waived by the hotel) and the hotel then just defended themselves.

Even if the company were truthful and being scammed, the way they handled it wasn't great.
It would put me off going there seeing how they handle disputes.

If the couple are telling the truth that they weren't given the agreed food, didn't agree to pay corkage and that staff took away the buffet 30 minutes after putting it out then I can see why they are disputing the bill.

The hotel should have taken them to small claims court rather than post on social media and start a witch hunt. The couples lives could be ruined here. What if one of them couldn't handle the escalating abuse and killed themselves?

Not saying the couple were not scamming them though, I don't know. That's what the court would decide.

The couples lives could be ruined here.

Which they should have thought about before scamming people. Maybe next time, they'll actually just pay for things. It's not just this hotel that's been scammed by them.

I'd go to the White Moose specifically because they're able to stand up for themselves against scammers. All they do is call out people who try to either rip them off or denigrate them unfairly. Good on the Durham hotel for doing the same. The comments on the Facebook page are pure gold, and the people coming out with their own details of how they've been ripped off by them are very interesting.

Regarding the 30 minute claim, the hotel has uploaded footage with time stamp showing this is blatantly untrue. They're a pair of liars who've been well caught out.

www.facebook.com/TheTownHouseDurham - it's fascinating to read!

It's just spiteful. All the gleeful cheerleaders in the comments section adding their own tales of woe.
And people receiving PIP are allowed to dance for gods sake.

They've stolen from this business and they've got form for the same behaviour apparently.

They're responsible for this whole mess by not paying up.

The hotel comes across has quite laughably inept

I must admit I do have an interest in scammers and swindlers finding their comeuppance! The bit on the FB post where the woman purporting to one of their daughters comes on and asks to be disassociated from it all and from them and says she didn't even go to the wedding because she doesn't speak to to her own mother!

Social media can be useful for protecting businesses, theres a local one going round at the moment involving someone who books expensive holidays and then disputes the cost at the end with trumped up issues trying to get large refunds. He has now done it to so many businesses that I think they are right to publicise it.