From the Dumfries and Gallway Standard

A DREAM life in the sun turned into a nightmare for a former Gretna couple.

Ian Cairns and wife Gail sold up and moved to Bulgaria three years ago – but a catalogue of disasters has left them penniless and fighting to save their marriage.

Gail, 58, is now stuck in Bulgaria while desperate Ian is living in homeless accommodation in Dumfries trying to raise enough money to fly his wife home.

He said: “We had a nice life in Bulgaria at first, but it started to go wrong when we spent too much money too quickly.

“We paid £10,000 for our house there and spent £15,000 doing it up. When we realised we had no option but to come back to Dumfries, where Gail’s family are from, we put it on the market for £40,000 and are now so desperate we would accept half of that.”

Ian, 57, had his own upholstery business in Gretna before the Cairns decided to start a new life in the sun.

They opened a bar in the holiday hotspot of Mamarchevo but, when Gail was attacked by a customer, things quickly turned sour.

Ian said: “Gail has been registered disabled since 1994 but after the attack she developed thrombosis which was followed by a stroke.

“Her health kept declining and, as the bar only just about broke even, we decided to give it up and come back home and try and get back to a stress-free life.”

The couple decided that Ian would return home first to try and find a house and a job and then pay for a flight for Gail to come back.

But he has been living in homeless accommodation in Dumfries since June 13 and hasn’t seen Gail since.

He added: “I just can’t find a job and I don’t know how long it will take to get a house.

“I’m living on £64 a week benefit money and have been sending Gail £20 of that so she can afford to eat.

“We also have two dogs in Bulgaria and she won’t come back without them. She’s over there with no money and I’m desperately trying to find the cash from somewhere to get a flight back to Bulgaria to tie up loose ends and bring her home with me.

“But the problem is that we then wouldn’t have any money to get us both back. She’s so upset because I’m still here that I’m afraid this is going to finish our marriage.

“I’m an ex-prison officer and we both did voluntary work for the Red Cross, but I’ve tried the prison benevolent fund and contacted the Red Cross and they can’t help.

“Social services also contacted the Bulgarian Embassy and they can’t do anything either to get my wife home. It’s a living nightmare. We’ve lost everything and I’m crying out for help.”

To read this makes me very sad, but many of us have done the exact same thing. I do feel for them and know how and what they are going through.

How many of us here are close to that situation happening. I would think if there was a poll, we find it is probably over 90 % of us are almost in that situation or in it. How many would be honest enouugh to admit it.

For many going back to the UK is not an option as there is nothing to go back too. For the moment there is no answer to the problem, unless you have family who can help get you out of this till everything gets better.

I wonder how many wake up in the morning with a panic attack and hurry to get on with something to take their minds of the problem. How many just shut that part out and just try to continue as things are for the moment with no way to solve the problem.

Yes it is very scarey, for many of us. Many of us are desperately trying to find an answer and doing almost anything to just survive till the market opens up again.

I've probably done things I should not have done, gambled on maybe making a little money to carry on living. Got into more debt, just to earn some cash to keep going.

I could as with others be in the same boat very soon. It frightens me, probably as much as it does many others. I'm praying, just like others that something will happen for us all. Just so we can continue with our lives here.

I've done all I can to help others and I'm trying hard to help myself as well. But reality for many of us is something we try and ignore for most of the time.

I like many others have made a new life, got a new partner, who beleives I am the answer to her prayers, as she has 4 girls that need a home and security. I have 3 Bg dogs. Everything I have is here in my new life and it just might be like the many others here, not existant very soon. She sleeps dreaming of a wonderful future and I lay awake worrying and asking my self How I can face reality and sort the problems out.

I've built a web site, offer many services and tried to supply jeeps that no one has the money to buy for the moment. I think every day what can I do to carry on.

Well reality is keep my head down spend as little as I can and keep praying that something will happen for all of us out here. I spend many hours with the same thoughts as most of us. I wish I could find a magic wand and wave it to make everything like it was just over 1 year ago.

I don't know what the answer is, I have lent money to others worse off than me and that is now money gone for ever. Now I'm facing those problems. But I know going back to the UK to find work is no answer as there is no work there to get.

I'm really sorry for all those who have run out of money completely, here it is difficult as Bg's think we are so rich and have no problems at all, only the BG's have the problems.

For the moment, all I can say is I just don't know any answer.

I do wish everyone reading this a good day, but it does deppress us, thinking about it. I for one don't want to think about any of it. Yes bury my head in the sand till it blows over, if it does. I just don't know

I have read about this myself on another forum and from what I can gather others are saying that they got what they deserved :shock:

The trouble with the other forums, is that truth on them is rarely considered and even talked about. I know this from personal experience.

Mostly, it is inuendoes and idle gossip that has maybe seen them as bad. The perpatrators of the problems have got off scott free as they are in the clubs of esteemed members and are the untouchables of said forums.

But rarely do you get to read both sides of debates on these forums as one side nearly always gets deleted before it can be read by the members. I would say to you believe little of what you read on those forums as most of it has little to do with the truth and figures mostly about jealousy.

I can say from personal experience that the truth is not even considered when the talking starts and much slander is given by the protected ones, with no chance of any defence by the innocent parties, making them look guilty and bad people.

I know nothing about this couple, but would not even consider whether they deserve it or not. I personally don't think anyone should be a judge or jury unless they new all the facts, which you would never get on the other forums, as they are too controled with closed ranks all the time.

This site will not allow any kind of inuendoes, slander, or any kind back stabing. If both sides are present then it is ok to debate. But when there is only the lets hang them brigade opperating, sorry it will not be alowed.

There is much gossip on the other websites about how bad some people are and the ones giving the gossip, themselves have no space to make comments.

God said let those who have no guilt cast the first stones, There is rarely anyone with no guilt and over here few can stand up and be tested honestly with no guilt. We all have some kind of skeletons in our cupboards. None of us are perfect or free of innocence, so lets give them the benefit of doubt, till they have the chance to defend them selves.

I personally do not want to see this site go the way of the others, suggesting wrong doing with out any hard evindence. Mud sticks, even when there is no cause, only jealousy. This "
I heard from someone"
, abounds on all the other sites, it is gossip and rarely is there any truth in the gossip.

So please can we not comment on what we have heard from others, when it is detrimental to some who has no place or chance to
respond.

I want this site to be a friendly and happy site, open and with all feeling, it is a free and level playing field. I don't want to read the kind of garbage that abounds on the other sites as it will deter the much need members with the input we all need.

I'm sorry my words maybe read as strong, but I intend to nip anything that is detrimental to someone else in the bud before it stetches to a debate on them.

Please take note as I do not want to to start being heavy handed and deleting comments all over the place. But I will, if I have to.

It is part of my job to make this the site, all who have anything to do with Bulgaria, want to be members of. Rather than looking and saying no way will I be a member there.

Well said Tony, I have to agree with you on this as you say they are not here to defend themselves and even if they were I don't believe other peoples business is anything to do with anyone else unless they want it to be discussed ? I too have seen on other sites so many discussions like this where the members play Judge and jury [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and that will not be tolerated on here, I'm guessing that meandmine is only commenting above on the fact that he had seen it elsewhere? and that it had obviously turned into a Kangaroo court session [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] as is per usual for some of the sites on the net, so if this is the case thank you meandmine for bringing this to the attention of others but it's not for this site to discuss, as Tony has said :Congrats:

Well said Guy's there is too much of this sort of thing in other places I could mention but I won't [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] what I say is live and let live and worry about your own l;
ife and where it's taking you [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I will not post the details unless I get the go ahead from admin but I would like to point out that I had the unfortunate experience of knowing this couple and befriending them and basically they squatted in my house, caused damage, stole from me (including taking a dog and a cat) and tried to blackmail me and reported me to tax authorities to try and get me into trouble (luckily I had done nothing wrong).

Suggest those interested take a look at discussions on other forums and also [url=http:
//www.
novinite.
com/view_news.
php?id=108594:5y5vuse9][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi I don't have any problems with you posting your experience here as I believe it could be valuable to other members ? however I will only accept the facts as they were and not speculation or hearsay? this is the only fair way that this can be written but please be careful for your own sake as to what you say please stick to the facts only [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I agree with you here Ashley, we don't want this forum to turn into one of the others I could mention where they are only interested in stabbing people in the back with there speculation as most of them do? I for one will be interested to hear the story first hand

sarah

This is the REAL story and I should know as I am the person screwed over by this couple:

My first contact with Ian and Gail Cairns was back in around October 2008. I was looking for some help with my gardens and basically for someone to dog sit for me whenever I was away from my house for a night here and there or longer periods. At the time I had 3 cats and 5 dogs. I posted another forum and someone from Mamarchevo village who knew Gail and Ian contacted me (she has since apologised prefusely saying they were new to village and had been befriended by Ian and Gail but at the time knew none of the trouble they had caused in the village). She told me that Ian and Gail were desperately needing to find some alternative accommodation. We were put in touch and spoke briefly on the phone and then they came to visit me at my home. They explained they had had many problems in their village, with Gail being beaten up by another English lady who had come into their bar, how they hated Mamarchevo and the people living there, both British and Bulgarians. They were desperate to get away. I showed them the small villa that they could live in and the barn where they could keep their goats and explained what I would want with regard to the dog sitting and help in gardens and with odd DIY jobs and cleaning. They said they were happy to do the dog sitting and jobs in return for free accommodation with all bills paid (electric, water and wood provided) and to receive 200 levs a month towards their living expenses. It was agreed they would come on November 7th 2008 and I helped them organise removals from Mamarchevo to my village and helped unload the lorry. They brought all their stuff and there was alot of it. Much had to be stored in my barn. For the first couple of months all was fine. They seemed lovely and I introduced them to my friends here who also made them welcome, I would go round to where they were staying for meals and drinks in the evening and they came for meals at my house with other friends invited.

I had just come out of a long term relationship and was in a fairly fragile state so decided to go away for a week early December skiing and then decided to go back to my family in the UK for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year. All arrangements were discussed before hand and Gail and Ian were happy to feed the dogs and cats while I was away and keep an eye on building work I was having done. While I was back in the UK I decided I wanted to get away for a longer period and was considering going to France for 3 or 4 months. I spoke to Gail while I was back in the Uk and we corresponded by email. They said they were more than happy to look after everything while I was gone but would want more money. They originally said they could not afford to live off any less than 1000 levs a month (plus all bills being paid and being given my internet connection) and that the villa they were in was really too cold for them and too small so it would be better if they moved into my house while I was away. It was agreed that on top of covering all bills and expenses I would give them 800 levs a month for their general living costs and as a good will gesture for looking after dogs and cats and doing odd jobs. They would move into my house and wanted to bring their own bed and own sofas. I briefly returned to Bulgaria to sort everything out and opened a bank account which Ian was given a debit card for. I put a sum of money in this to cover expenses for a few months. I then left for France.

After being in France for around a month I could get very little response from Gail and Ian as to how things were, what they had been doing. I noticed that large sums of money were going from the account and could only get vague answers when I asked them to account for this. When I pushed the matter I was always faced with emails about how they felt I did not trust them and this was very hurtful to them etc. Eventually after getting no real answers and seeing that around 3000 levs had gone from the account and when friends who had visited my house reported concerns over the fact that one of my outdoor dogs was now living in my house with all their animals, that their goats were being grazed in my garden and kept in the pens meant for my dogs and how they had completely tried to remove any trace of me from my house, taking down all pictures, removing all my furniture and items to one room and putting up all their stuff, I transferred the remaining funds to another account and asked them to send a full report of money spent and work done.

In response I received a text from them saying they were not leaving my house and there was nothing I could do about it. There followed various texts and emails from them, and then their lawyer demanding 3000 levs to move out of my house, threatening to report me to the National Revenue Agency for failing to pay their social security contributions and pension in Bulgaria and other bizarre threats. They said I owed them money for removals to my village and for looking after dogs and cats while I was back in the UK. I have the emails from their lawyer. There then followed several weeks of correspondence between myself and the mayor of my village and the local police, via a friend here, to write formal letters of eviction and for the police to serve these on Gail and Ian. (I have these also). The police had to visit on a few occasions and were met with hostility from Gail and Ian and it was reported back to me via friends here that Gail was standing outside my house, screaming it was her house. They claimed they had nowhere else to go and so should not be evicted, even though they had a perfectly good house in Mamarchevo and that they had no money at all to hire a removal firm, even though they had taken vast sums of money from my account. Eventually just as I was looking to have to fly back from France to sort the matter out personally, I received a text from Gail and Ian to say they had left and the keys were left with their lawyer and would have to be collected from there (an hour away from my village). They said they had had an independent report done on my house to show there was no damage and an inventory of items yet on pressing for this from them or their lawyer, I have never managed to see this list.

A little time later I was served with a notice from the National Revenue Agency saying they were investigating me for not paying contributions for Ian and Gail as they had made a complaint. Luckily this went nowhere as Ian and Gail were not officially employed by me or my company, they were given free accommodation with expenses covered in return for dog sitting and other small jobs (hardly any work was actually done).

I was contacted by a couple of people from Mamarchevo expressing their sympathy and saying that while they hoped I got it all sorted and got them out my house, they did not want Ian and Gail back in Mamarchevo and they would not be welcome there.

I returned a couple of months later to find that several items were missing (including a set of ladders and 4 tyres for my car), many of the things from my house has been thrown into and left in the barn, there was damage to the dog pens, holes in my walls where they had hung large pictures or put up shelving, places where they had bashed door frames moving furniture around, an apple tree had been chopped down in my garden, one of my dogs and my cat had been taken and I was left with a 300 lev phone bill amongst other large bills.

There was another sob story printed not long after their return to Mamarchevo about how the recession was effecting Brits in Bulgaria and how they had lost their job with me due to economic pressures etc, which of course was a load of ******. Then of course there was this article in the Scottish paper.

I contacted the Scottish paper and this was the response:

Here is response from the newspaper:

Hi Rachel

I was off work last week and that's me just getting your email. I was contacted by someone when the story first came out telling me about what they did to you. I was very sorry to hear that. He came across as very genuine and was even reduced to tears at one point when he was telling me his story. I did phone him and ask him about the allegations of what he did to you but I was met with a vague response. All I can do is apologise and tell you that this is something that happens in the newspaper industry on a regular basis. I had to take his word for it and go with the story. I hope you can eventually put their treatment of you behind you and that you hear no more of this couple.

Kind regards
Jackie Grant
Reporter

Another report has now been published apparently giving both sides. I even gave the reporter Gail and Ian's number so he could get quotes from them - they told him I had been admitted to a mental hospital, they took my dog because I was treating my animals cruelly, I owed them money.....

This couple are completely off their rocker. They are hated in their village and that is why they want out and back to Scotland. They have caused a huge amount of trouble for many British here.

Hi Rachel, Well having now read this I do feel so desperately sorry for you and to think of what you have gone through here its no surprise that you are so angry with the 2 concerned it always amazes me however how we as Brits seem to take people into our homes and trust them when we know very little or nothing of them ? this is not a criticism of you or how you behaved here, I am merely pointing out that us Brits need our heads looking at sometimes and me included, but I guess your heart was in the right place as you were trying to help fellow Brits in what seemed to be a very difficult situation for them? I think we can all learn a lesson from your experience here but we can't assume that all Brits are like this? it was just very unfortunate for you that these 2 came your way so lets hope that you have seen the last of them or even the likes of them [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] other than what of I have said above I can't say anymore as I didn't know the couple mentioned and I wasn't there so witness the events so forgive me if I seem to have been a bit vague about how I have answered.
Very good post and informative and I am sure other members will comment
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