To think many fell for the Captain Tom scam

[Binjob118]

I never understood all the fuss about Captain Tom. A rich old man walked around his garden and was lauded as a hero. Family then go on freebie holiday to Barbados whilst rest of us were locked down for Christmas. Then it turns out he was part of family scam to pay the family from book proceeds. No wonder so many people in this country are targeted by scammers, we are a gullible lot.

I think we’re very much on the same page.

Nothing is black and white - there’s all shades of grey in between - and people seem to have generally got very polarised, particularly about anything covid related:

”If you don’t agree/comply you are selfish/granny killer/ personally responsible for thousands of deaths”

or

“This is all about control. The government want to insert microchips into us/install a new order/put Bill Gates in charge”

Both equally daft.,

We were very manipulated by the government and social media during the pandemic. I didn’t agree at all at the time, but I do get why. Most people feel happier if it looks like those in charge are being decisive and have control - even if they haven’t! Captain Tom came along at the right time. He was the ‘cute’ side of covid. A soppy and feel good distraction from the depressing news and the necessarily dour and mirthless daily updates.

Again, the media got behind it and almost drooled over everything he did. The news was full of updates about the donations and what Captain Tom did next. As other posters have said, I think we all slightly lost our heads and sense of reason during the pandemic, maybe just because we all needed respite from the gloom and negativity.

Spit on @JohnPrescottsPyjamas

Spot not spit! Sorry @JohnPrescottsPyjamas

Oh my word @Ballsbaill that's quite something! 😳

The song was awful. It was a shark-jumping moment in a situation that was all shark jumping.

@Binjob118

I don’t think it was a total scam. I do believe £39 million went to the NHS. Which is a massive achievement.

I think the press made a huge thing of him, and are now making a huge thing bringing them down.

They are in the media spotlight so I don’t think they could have really ever thought they could get away with being dishonest with his money.

It seems to be what’s happened afterwards : the pool house, the books, the clarity of what was personal profit/donation. I don’t see how someone could be so brazen as to intentionally pull a scam when in full media spotlight. I think there is an element of greed, I think advisors were needed, I also think naivety?

Of every £1 donated, about 80p goes to charity. 20p on running costs. So if they took ‘running costs’ of about 20% on £40 000 000 that’s not very different from percentage donation to Oxfam. And I doubt they ‘profited’ that much.

I'd be furious if someone made a mockery of my elderly father in that way with a naff song.

It was worth it for the money I guess for Hannah.

And now we know why…

People are so bloody gullible to have fallen for this in the first place.

This.

I do not believe that he wasn't aware that his daughter was a greedy grifter. He knew who his daughter was.

I never paid much attention to the Captain Tom saga or the other people who jumped on the bandwagon to raise money while doing some activity in their garden.

I considered the fact that I was working (as a nurse) all through the pandemic, putting my own life on the line enough.

The pot banging and clapping was also a source of annoyance to me. Particularly since now, some people seem to think NHS staff should be grateful for it 🤔

I find it sad that the family has exploited the situation to make money out of their father. But then nothing surprises me anymore.

According to this, it was strongly suggested that the books were written to raise money for the Captain Tom Foundation.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/captain-tom-book-charity-b2123203.html

Agreed

I haven't seen the documentary but my instinctive impression of the daughter with the pool house, sudden new business role etc was that upper middle class entitlement. A sort of savvy resourcefulness, when the resources in question come from privilege and networks, but the profits they generate are used to fund a lifestyle level that they consider 'normal' but is the dream of most people, and are justified by the argument 'well we work bloody hard, our time and skills are valuable and we deserve payment.'

@CandyLeBonBon please direct me to where I have sneered, mocked or called anyone thick for donating?
I didn't buy into it because I am sadly a natural cynic and such stories don't appeal to me but many people I love did and were warmed by it all.
I believe as others have stated it was an incredible piece of PR spin which leaning into the whole veteran fine English Captain narrative was a massive part of and that was someone's active decision (I believe his daughter is on record as saying she told him she was going to call him Captain Tom when she went to the press and he initially objected)
My original comment was about the adoption of his title and my second was a response to others comments with a genuine if provocative question but it wasn't sneering.

It couldn't have been spent on employing doctors or financing operations. That is not within the remit of NHS Charities Together. They provide funds to individual NHS Charities (most hospitals have a charity dedicated to that institution) which are spent on specific projects. Paying salaries would not be permitted. That is the job of the NHS Trust not something charities can get involved with.

Oh come on. Parents generally think the best of their children and he very probably wasn't aware that she would steal money.

Um I didn't say you had. I said I find the sneering attitudes unpleasant. Of which there have been several - mostly deleted now I think. I haven't accused you personally!

At least the house with the sauna is set to be demolished as it breached planning regulations.

I saw the long suffering neighbour being interviewed on the news and immediately wondered how it would play out if posted here.

@Aaron95 absolutely

I didn’t wash shopping, but it was definitely a thing. I have a friend who used to quarantine her post for 3 or 4 days before opening it.

If we were to look back through MN during 2020/2021 we would see the amount of craziness that people were doing!

The Amazon delivery driver would stand at the end of the road and chuck things like a frisbee.

The song was just dreadful... I wonder how Michael Ball feels about his involvement with it all now. I cringed at the time and couldn't believe they did it. And as for the Barbados trip... c'mon BA, why not use the money to fund something more worthwhile than a free holiday to a family who could well afford it themselves!!

Yeah, not many people can say they've raised anywhere remotely close to that for the NHS so in aggregate he's likely done far more good than harm.