M&S Food for Shelter

Yes, no landlord should buy any sandwiches from M and S. We can also get as many of our family members as possible to also boycott them. We also need to decide whether we will boycott M and S completely because of their support of an anti-landlord 'charity.'
We should also all write to M & S and point out that Shelter provides no shelter and constantly slags off those of us who do. I wrote some of my thoughts on this topic here:

https://www.property118.com/campbell-robb-supporting-tenant-tax/85102/

Reply to the comment left by Dr Rosalind Beck at 27/11/2017 - 14:11
A total boycott of M&S that is communicated throughout the PRS and to M&S and a formal letter to Shelter to name all their main donors. What are their donors individual contributions and a copy of shelters accounts to see where all this money goes to. There must be something thats not right there. Just the £2.8 million on its own is a travesty as they don't supply a single bed, just bile, hatred and a call centre who call landlords begging to put their people up whilst their leaders prepare their latest landlord attack.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1191547/2014-15_Shelter_Annual_Report_and_Accounts.pdf
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Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 27/11/2017 - 15:59
Ah yes. I forgot spareroom also donate to them. We should also write to them. Matt Hutchinson - who i assume is still their Chief Exec - is supposed to be against Section 24.

Whilst the majority of the discussions on the forum are generally interesting and the property118 community are helpful in providing advice on landlord issues, some posts really do appear to be really rather mean spirited sometimes, and I think in this case actually quite petty.
To be attacking a retailer because they donate to a charity focused on preventing homelessness, at Christmas, to me comes across quite distasteful too.
I wonder if discussions like this one actually paint landlords in a very good light, and might suggest there are better ways to focus efforts in as far as policy on housing goes.

Reply to the comment left by James Barnes at 27/11/2017 - 17:17
I think you're right in the main James except for the bit about donations to Shelter. They are engaged in the creation of mass homelessness via their vitriolic attacks on the private rented sector who are now being forced out of business through Shelters and others direct campaigning for political and financial gain. They ignore the fact that for every bankrupt landlord there are 10's of families evicted to make way for some 1st time buyer or political point. 55,000 private rented sector properties have already seen their tenants evicted so far as the mortgages have been handed in and S24 has only just started. No landlord can survive this attack and the unintended or intended consequences of the plethora of attacks on us in the PRS will make thousands more of families and individuals homeless this christmas and beyond because people can't see beyond the perceived doo gooders own trumpet blowing. Do you think if M&S realised how many people their donations help to make homeless, they would continue in this vein? We value and look after our tenants (after all we are nothing without them) and only ask two things of them in return. 1. Rent paid on time 2. Keep the property reasonably clean and in reasonable condition and stay as long as you like. The propaganda re us making people homeless is total BS!
There are 2 million landlords of which there are alleged to be 3000 rouges, thats 0.15% of us, not bad eh? (we all wish there were none) Regards Jamie

Just think many homes could have been built instead on CEO wages

Anyone who has studied marketing will have heard the expression that "perception" is real! In this case the perception of Joe public is that M&S are helping the homeless or those struggling to get through Christmas. There could be a damaging backlash if landlords are seen to be objecting to M&S efforts to help those in need. Some things are best left alone.

Reply to the comment left by Rob Crawford at 27/11/2017 - 21:15
I completely disagree. Shelter doesn't help the homeless in any practical sense; we do. They pay their senior staff exorbitant amounts and from their lofty heights they cook up plots to discredit private landlords. It is their raison d'etre. Anyone who has studied their activities over recent years can see that they have a blind hatred for landlords and can also see that they provide no housing. Why on earth wouldn't we call that out and why would we instead pretend with others that Shelter helps the homeless? In fact, in its activities against landlords it makes things worse for the homeless. If M & S want to help the homeless they should fund genuine charities which offer a warm place to stay which gets them off the streets; not a toxic and vitriolic organisation like Shelter.

Reply to the comment left by Dr Rosalind Beck at 27/11/2017 - 21:28
Precisely Ros