STAFF at a well known Dumbarton hotel say they have been flooded with calls from anxious brides-to-be after a Facebook post falsely alleged wedding bookings were not being kept.

The Dumbuck Country House Hotel in Glasgow Road was targeted on social media by an individual who accused the venue of voiding bookings and "not recording" future plans.

The post was quickly shared nearly 140 times and expected to have been seen by thousands of people.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

A screenshot of the false Facebook post which is being shared online

Hotel director, Barry Nicholls, who has been dealing with the fallout, told the Reporter: “On Sunday morning I was made aware that a gentleman had taken to Facebook to say that all weddings that were booked were void, and all future bookings were unrecorded. Both statements are completely false.

"I have had to draft in extra staff to deal with the calls. I've had countless calls to the hotel from brides to be, grooms, mothers of potential brides, mothers of grooms to be, it's been bedlam."

The hotel has bookings for 50 weddings from January to December, 2018.

“I was annoyed to say the least, added Barry. " It’s the fact that someone can take to Facebook and make defamatory comments against the business with no substance whatsoever.

"I know who the person is. Under the previous management he made a booking for a wedding in April 2018, but never paid a deposit. If he had, of course we would have honoured it.

"The previous owners made numerous attempts to contact him, without success and eventually sold on the date to another couple who did pay a deposit. When he contacted us at the weekend we had to tell him it had gone.

“I’ve already spoken to my legal team about it but we don’t have any options. We can send the gentleman a letter, but when his post is at 140-odd shares, the damage has already been done, which could effectively ruin the reputation of my business.”

The Reporter understands the management at the Dumbuck have never met the man who made the original post.

Barry added: “Our staff have had to deal with brides who are phoning the hotel anxious to see if their bookings are okay – which of course they are. It’s sending brides into a panic.

“It also puts a negative spin on future bookings. They could’ve read this on Facebook, maybe looking to get married in 2019 or 2020, and now they think the Dumbuck’s in disarray, which it’s not.

“We’ve come on board with the business in June, and inherited a bit of a mess from the previous management. We know what we’re doing and what the vision is for the hotel, but with people trying to bring down the reputation within the local community and surrounding areas, it isn’t going to help us."

Barry also had some advice for people browsing through social media.

He added: “Whenever you’re going to share something local on Facebook, have a think about how it’s going to affect the business. Have a think whether the post is even true or not, and if you really feel the need to share it, I’d advise the person to make sure it is true, because it does have an impact on people’s lives, and people’s livelihoods.

“I just think people can be too quick to spread gossip on social media. It spreads like wildfire."

The Dumbuck House Hotel was originally the home of Buchanan, a famous Scottish confectioner. The 19th century mansion house has been sympathetically restored, decorated and furnished. The three star hotel, which was taken over in June by Barry, has 23 rooms including single and twin club rooms, double and family executive rooms.

Barry revealed they have plans to reduce the number of rooms to 19 as part of an ongoing plan to be elevated from a three star to a four star hotel by March 2018.

"We are here for the long term and to do our best for the Dumbarton community, so we could have done without this Facebook episode," added Barry. "

The Reporter has tried to contact the person who posted the false Facebook notice to give him the opportunity to comment, but as yet have had no reply.