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 never thought he was that wonderful. So didn't donate. Glad I didn't. Looking back, it was so cringey!

Yes, same here.

But you weren't donating to him, when he was doing his walk, you donated to NHS Charities

His son in law is an account. I think he saw the momentum after the initial fundraising (which was his idea) as an opportunity. He knows his way around a spreadsheet and has started several companies.

I think the walking thing started off as legit, poor Tom is legit (all this he appeared on a game show therefore he must be fame-hungry is laughable. I mean, I've been on Pointless but I have no aspirations to ask the public to fund a hot tub in my garden shed)....But what came after was a big mistake. Huge.

If they had been cleverer, they would have put this to bed for a while after he died and then come back as speakers/advisors/ambassadors for charities, or even motivational stuff. Set up a legit business.

They also made the mistake of thinking Piers was their mate. To have had all that hate mail and then think it was a good idea to include their kids in that interview was really poor judgement. They are in an 'us and them' mindset.

His daughter pocketed £800k from the sale of his books.

That Michael Ball duet was so 🤢 inducing, summed up the whole debacle.

I tried to raise it on here at the time and was treated as if I'd said the worst possible thing ever.

Did it fuck!!

I donated right at the beginning when it was still pretty small, I also donated to another elderly man doing similar and I was happy for my money to go to the NHS charities and more useful than clapping on my doorsteps(still can’t believe people did this).

Then it blew up and it was everywhere, always with his daughter and grandkids and I thought wtf. People were going crazy over it, tattoos, vans painted with it, that awful single with Michael Ball etc. It was lien he was the only person who ever did something good.

I think it started off as a decent thing and then when it blew up (helped by his daughter) and they realised they could profit from it they did. I think Tom may well have been involved, he appeared to be of sound mind still and he could have refused to do some of the things they did(Barbados anyone?) but I guess we will never know for sure. I feel sorry for his other daughter who kept out of it all.

This 👆

The whole thing disgusts me. He more than likely was an older chap just wanting to do something nice but his greedy daughter had other ideas. How you can ruin your dead fathers name like she had I’ll never know but her kind tend do see money and nothing else

There was another old woman who went up and down the stairs countless times and never got a look in. I hope shoes not still doing it

all this he appeared on a game show therefore he must be fame-hungry is laughable. I mean, I've been on Pointless but I have no aspirations to ask the public to fund a hot tub in my garden shed

Appearing on a game show doesn't indicate you aspire to rip off the public. But it might indicate you like the limelight

I agree with @CaramacFiend

Overall, 40 million WAS raised for the NHS. Did anyone else raise such a significant amount of money?

Proportionally, I don’t think they’ve taken anymore than most charities do for ‘running costs’ - in fact probably a lot less.
If you donate a £1 - usually about 80% goes directly to the cause.
The issue is the family are in the spotlight, and they’ve made misguided and dubious decisions about the ‘running costs’/spending.
Again - as with Captain Tom, there is NOW a lot of media hype about this. It sells papers.
I agree with ‘more good has been done than harm’ by Captain Tom.

🤣

Of course it wasn't a scam! The daughter scammed the fund, but it didn't start out as a scam!

I think his intentions were good it tapped into we are all in it together like we’re were in the war

and being a rich old white war hero certainly helped of course he is respectable 🤔

his family are absolute scammers though

@Ballsbaill when you buy charity cards etc, only a proportion goes to the charities.

And when he was doing his walk I didn't think you donated straight to him, wasn't like an old fashioned sponsored walk your kids used to do at school!

I think our Amazon driver must think it's still 2020 then cos he's still bloody doing that shit now.

How do we know its not true and he didnt want them to have the book proceeds?

wonder what happened to the other daughter.

No proof Tom was involved its not nice to speculate on that. Just go with the facts.

Barbados was a bucket list dream, although having said that abit unwise for a man of that age to travel me thinks.
Hannah has received death threats its abit over the top, are all those threating her whiter than white themselves. Any old excuse to be abusive and stick the boot in sadly.

Dont ever serve on a jury will you? youd be no good, making a decision without all the facts.

Can people honestly say they wouldnt the same?

I’ll be honest I never paid him any money nor did I clap for the NHS. I’m not a fan of bandwagons. I try really hard to avoid getting caught up in these hyped up situations.

See my 99 year old fathers first marriage and sex life detailed in books and the papers for money? Make a mockery of him with a stupid song for money ? Nope