My own son has left me homeless

May 8 2008 By Gary Fanning

A GRANDMOTHER this week claimed her son showed her the door following a row over a Sunday dinner.

Jean Brown (64) said she was asked to pack her bags by her son 42-year-old Garfield and leave the house in which she had lived for 30 years.

Only three weeks before, Jean had sold the house at Glenoran Lane, Larkhall, to Garfield and his 28-year-old partner Karen McKelvie.

At the time, she also gave them a £10,000 gift and a further £15,000 to cover lawyers fees and make home improvements.

Jean said the couple agreed that she could stay with them in the house for a further six months until she found a council house,

Jean added, however, that dad-of-one Garfield, who works as a manager at Chivas Bros in Paisley, told her to leave following the bitter row.

Garfield declined to comment on the story when the Advertiser spoke to him on his doorstep on Tuesday afternoon.

A furious row broke out between Jean and the couple when they failed to turn up for a Sunday dinner.

Jean said: “I called Garfield on his mobile and asked him if I should get dinner ready for them coming home after Karen finished work at the Ranch pub in Larkhall at 7pm and he agreed to it.

“So I was peeling the potatoes and vegetables and made them their dinner.

“But they didn’t come home that night until 12.30am and said they had a great laugh at the pub before they went to bed.

“The following day Garfield asked me what was the matter.

“I told him that I went to the trouble of making them dinner.

“He told me that he could go to the pub when he pleases and if I didn’t like that I could leave and go somewhere else.”

Now Jean, who worked as a sales advisor at B&Q at Parkhead Forge before she retired, is homeless and faces a wait of up to six months for a council house.

She told the Advertiser: “He definitely put me out.

“He told me that if I didn’t leave he was going to get the police.

“I admit that I called Karen all the names under the sun because of the way I was treated.

“I am shocked at what has happened.

“I don’t think I would take a drink of water off him if I was dying. I brought my son up on my own since he was six years old.

“I gave them £25,000 but have been left homeless.”

Before moving into the house in Larkhall, the couple had been renting a flat in Glasgow for £450 per month, but the lease ran out.

They couldn’t get a mortgage to pay £95,000 for the house and in November moved in with Jean.

Jean added: “I wanted to sell my house and they wanted to buy their own home.

“I thought I was doing the best for everyone.

“They agreed that I could stay on for six months until the council found me a home.

“And they told me that they would look after me and that everything would be OK.

Jean went back four days later to pick up her personal belongings.

She was upset that her son hadn’t contacted her during that time to find out where she was and if she was okay.

While waiting on her council house, Jean is living between a friend’s home in Larkhall and her 76-year-old aunt's house in Kirkintilloch.

She said: “I don’t keep the best of health.

“I regret that I have sold my house as I am now homeless.

“I will only be offered one house from the council.

“I could wait six months for that.”

When the Advertiser contacted Garfield on Tuesday, he said: “I have no comment to make. What she says is a lot of rubbish.

“She has keys and access to the house. In fact, she was here today (Tuesday). “Three-quarters of her furniture is still here.”

When asked if he showed his mum the door, he replied: “No comment.”