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?

If you disagree with it why have you bought so much detail to our attention?!

Where’s all the stuff about them scamming other people?

The state of them !

Who really cares? They’re a couple of scheming, lazy gits. They didn’t respect the hotel enough to pay, so why should the hotel respect them?

You reap what you sow. They chose not to pay. They chose to go to the DM with an attention seeking sob story. They chose to scam other people. One potentially chose to scam PIP payments which she may not be entitled to.

So if the comeback of all that is you get publicly shamed and your PIP payment investigated, it’s very much on them. It would have never happened if they had paid the hotel.

I’m not a fan of cancel culture, but these two clearly aren’t exactly contributing much to society and are draining small businesses/individuals of money that they’re rightfully owed.

I’d go to the hotel. The reviews seem good (ie a man travelled 5h to visit his sick dad in hospital and they upgraded his room, which is lovely) and I wouldn’t be leaving without paying because I’m not a stain on society. I think they’ll do well out of this- those saying they wouldn’t go would never have gone anyway!

@mam0918 "and still being enjoyed by guest at 10.22 instantly disproving the entirety of that claim."

In the photo I saw it looked like a group of people were in a corridor, and I couldn't see the buffet table.

My thoughts, OP, are purely about why you are giving any of this any headspace unless you are either one party or the other.

Who cares? I mean, they're clearly hard up and are looking for an excuse not to pay the bill, and they're probably in the wrong. But I'm so fed up of people who goes to the press to sort out their spats. News is news. Personal spats are not news.

I hope the hotel gets their money and I hope they learn from their stupidity. I mean, what kind of a business takes a booking for a wedding without taking the address of the organiser? 🤦‍♀️. Idiots all round...

I’m so bewildered why a company would have a wedding at their hotel and they wouldn’t have all the details of the people booking it ! It says we’re trying to find the couples address ! Huhhh

correct me if I read it wrong as I’m tired .

I live in Durham too and have been following this on Facebook. Found it all a bit entertaining to start with, why shouldn’t they name and shame the couple for refusing to pay. But now all the posts like “Wait til you hear the next twist in this tale” and such are coming across quite “pitch forks at the ready”.

By all means, let people know they’ve hugely taken advantage of your business, but posting very personal details regarding an apparent affair in another country and such seems a little bit too far.

Bffr most disabilities fluctuate. You don't know whether it's the first time in a month she's managed to dance or not use her stick. She could have been in agony or whatever but pushed through it. I don't really care about this pair or this story but it's not nice to throw disabled people under the bus

The hotel is turning it all into a bit of a cheap cabaret act for publicity.
There are other ways of getting people to pay what they owe without all this hoohah.

Karen is not a slur and it is the most Karen thing to think it belongs in the the same category as the n-word and the like.

a) Karen is not a slur? Really? What is it then, a compliment?
b) It doesn't have the same history as the n-word "and the like".Of course not. But let's not pretend it isn't a sexist put-down. Calling a woman a Karen, is a quick way to make clear that any refusal to accept shoddy service will be characterised as entitled, bitchy and high maintenance. It serves the same purpose as "angry black woman" or "got a chip on his/ her shoulder". It is a way of telling people in certain groups, that they have no right to demand anything and no right to complain about anything. You might want to consider why there's no male equivalent of Karen.

That's a bit of a diversion from the main issue of this wedding, but why not.

Karen is not a slur and it is the most Karen thing to think it belongs in the the same category as the n-word and the like.

I didn't say it was in the same category as the n-word.

I’m in the area too and will be avoiding the townhouse now. The manager sounds like a fucking loser the way he’s going on. Everyone I know agrees too

I can't get past a tenner per bottle for corkage! No wonder they are querying the bill.

But this is precisely the problem there are very few options open to you to recover your money.
I had wages stolen from me this time last year and I still haven’t got it into court yet and I’ve been asked for a further £250 for a hearing on top of the £150 I’ve already paid to try and get my money off this company. If I was actually unemployed as a result of their actions can you imagine being able to find £350 to recover £2 1/2 thousand and actually once I’ve got the county court judgement there’s still no guarantee that I will be paid. So frankly I do completely understand the hotels course of action.

@NannyOggsWhiskyStash really? Because the hotels I held events at almost 10 years ago were charging £12-16 per bottle corkage. And this wasn't in London or the South East. The idea is that they don't lose out financially compared to if customers were buying wine.

A tenner a bottle for corkage is cheap. Where do you lot live? 1974?

I'm in the North East area but don't live in Durham. Saw this post come up on my feed a few days ago.

It seems to me the hotel are just trying to make light of a horrible situation instead of all doom and gloom. They are not the ones in the wrong.

Those two thieving bitches will get what's coming to them.

@ScreamingBeans "You might want to consider why there's no male equivalent of Karen".

There is: Ken, Kevin the male equivalent can also be called a Karen also...
Alot of Mumsnetters always deny the male version exists, when it really really does.

Try Googling Ken, Kevin videos...there's loads of them.

I rather fancy that hot tub room.

—Missing the point spectacularly—

(Or maybe that is the point - I live about an hour from Durham, don’t really care if the hotel has spats with people who don’t pay on Facebook and now have a thought about a nice weekend away…..)

Its obviously all gotten a bit ugly but fundamentally they should of paid for the wedding. The costs of running a hotel are high and this could easily fuck their cash flow.

What kind of a hotel doesn't take their client's card details, AT LEAST a deposit and their address before a booking is confirmed?

I don't doubt the claims that the two are scam artists, but don't roll over and make it so easy.

@beatricedarl
Bffr most disabilities fluctuate. You don't know whether it's the first time in a month she's managed to dance or not use her stick. She could have been in agony or whatever but pushed through it. I don't really care about this pair or this story but it's not nice to throw disabled people under the bus

also this. It's hard enough to get any money out of the current government if you're disabled - let's not stoke further disablist points of view when none of us know the full extent of her disabilty/PIP situation.