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Protected: Hand Over The Cancer Funds, Lifestyle Magazine.

By David Lloyd / 124 comments
Labels: Feature / Talk & Opinion / /

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  • Unsurprised

    Sadly from experience there seems to be a bit of a culture of neurotic two-facedness around Ms Moss and the Lifestyle team. Would be vaguely understandable if the product wasn’t a dreary rag adorned by the occasional celebrity that most of us couldn’t care less about, a vacuous stab at being the Hello! magazine combined with the Ikea catalogue.

    Well done Seven Streets for the fundraising and exposing this unforgivably terrible faux pas and PR gaffe!

  • anon

    I write this with trepidation because I know that I will get slammed for my opinion as it is in favour of Lifestyle Monthly Mag. I have met Amanda and I liked her, I found her to be confident and professional. I read Lifestyle Monthly and I think its quite good. I also went to one of the nights of Liverpool fashion week last year at Modo, the place was packed and my friends and I really enjoyed the evening, so much so we’re going again this year. As for the Clatterbridge money, they have received it now so all is well that ends well. I have done fundraising myself all be it for a local church so I know how hard it is to get any money out of people theses days so well done for £120.

  • WirralChick

    It was only a matter of time before this unfortunate rag recieved this pretty well desereved criticism. As editor of a ‘competitor’ (Wirral based and I hope with a lot more soul) mag, and a girl with a background working at most of the City’s great media institutions, I have to say, most of us are amazed that advertisers have maintained any kind of commercial link with Ms Moss and her henchmen. We love our product, but also love socialising and sharing best practice with some of the other exciting new titles in the region ( Hotel Indigo gang - you know who you are!!). There is room enough for all of us in this market and I know most of my publishing collegues would never sink to the depths of this title simply to write business or blatently self publicise in this way.

  • Sue Me

    I hope to god Amanda’s WINK WINK legal team tries to sue me i will take her for every penny she has, i will compile a full book of screenshots of her slating and lying to all different kinds of people, you can delete your lies and horrible posts but they are kept by everyone as screenshots or cached by google.

    Calls can be recorded you know Amanda and Neil stop writing, your magazine is an advert booklet which is unreadable and tacky celebrity editor hahah spell checker my dear! and don’t try and slate my grammar i’m not a ”celebrity editor”

  • Vicky

    Unsurprised, I am very shocked and appalled at your comments. I think they’re unfounded and without reason and that you should retract them!

    The Ikea Catalogue is great!!!!

  • Wavertree Warrior

    @Business Owner - I hope you realise that emailing this article to the contributors and advertisers in the magazine is defamatory. I expect you’ll be hearing from her legal team very soon. Yes, you read that right - legal team! Amanda Moss doesn’t have a lawyer or a solicitor, she has a whole legal team behind her!

    @Anon - I’m not going to slam anyone supporting the magazine. And I’m sure there are lots of people who’ve been to the fashion events who’ve had a great time. However, I do think you should have stopped at that instead of commenting on Clatterbridge getting their money in the end “so all is well that ends well”. In my humble view, nobody should be allowed to treat a highly respected charity as badly as that and get away with it. Of course the cheque could have been lost in the post, but most people seeing that she only paid over a donation (despite previous requests from Clatterbridge) after the sevenstreets article had been published will no doubt draw their own conclusions. And as for praising them for donating the princely sum of £120…

  • Pudsy Bear

    Absolutely shocked at this story. Thoughts go to Clatterbridge and their fantastic team. I hope Amanda Moss and everyone @Lifestyle Magazine will see sense and donate at least £5,000 to Clatterbridge.

  • jane

    Anon, get a grip! Amanda Moss only paid clatterbridge because Seven Streets named and shamed her. I suppose you think it is a coincidence that she paid the very day the story was published?

  • Jonny Whitebeard

    @ANON thanks anon aka Amanda Moss !!!!

  • Unsurprised

    @Vicky
    I’ve spoken to my legal team and I must issue a full retraction of the Ikea reference. In fact, I’d like to point out that their Warrington store is quite sublime.

    Thanks for pointing this out so promptly, your feedback is appreciated!

    ;-)
    xx

  • Unsurprised

    On a serious note, I posted the article on facebook and had some rather abusive comments left below it with those trademark double commas that people here have pointed out from someone with a profile name resembling that of a certain Uruguayan footballer. Said comments mysteriously disappeared along with the double commas. Is Amanda Moss impersonating Luis Suarez on social networking sites for anyone else or have I added 2 + 2 and reached an incorrect conclusion?

  • Twinkle toes

    Does anyone know where I can find Amanda? I REALLY have to get her autograph! I mean she’s such a huge celebrity editor, if she kissed my cheek, well I just wouldn’t wash it. Like ever.

  • Mr & Mrs Smith

    My experience of Life Style Magazine is that if you want to be nominated for ‘Best Liverpool Beauty Salon/Hair Salon/Restaurant or other business’, then be prepared to dig deep. Unfortuntely, I have to wonder if Amanda Moss realises that she has closed some very important doors to reputable luxury brands in Liverpool that now shun her poorly written magazine.

  • Twinkle toes

    LEE LEATHERHEAD is definitely Amanda’s minion Neil Woods. He too uses the strange spelling of ‘yaself’ on his twitter account. (Seems no-one connected to this magazine can spell). So come on Neil, explain to us why you’re pretending to be someone else? Busted mate.

  • Wavertree Warrior

    I thought it was about time I plucked up the courage to actually read an issue of Liverpool Lifestyle Magazine, or Lifestyle Monthly, or whatever it’s called.

    FRONT COVER: I’m confused. Amanda Moss won the Lifestyle Award 2011 from Downtown Liverpool in Business, but according to the banner across the top of the current issue of “Lifestyle” the magazine is also ‘award winning’. Which award has the magazine itself actually won? I’d love to know.

    PAGE 4: “Note from our award winning editor” plus photo. Ego check #1

    “Thinking of advertising with us? Don’t take our word for it…” Queue quote such as ‘Amanda Moss is an amazing person’. Ego check #2

    PAGE 8: “Voodou held a training event to highlight the work of our trainees and raised over £1,200 for Claire House children’s hospice” That’s how you do it, Amanda.

    PAGE 15: Bellini restaurant review. Although it doesn’t say who wrote the review, it’s nice to know whoever it was has a celebrity friend to dine with. Seems like it was Pete Price being reviewed rather than the restaurant. Makes you wonder if they got the meal for free. (Possible ego check.)

    Any chance the award winning editor can check and correct the copy in the Ludus bar’s advert?

    PAGE 16: Liverpool Fashion Week merchandise, with photo of printed vest being modeled by someone familiar. Ego check #3

    PAGE 25: Article about the first cruise to start from Liverpool, saying how wonderful the Ocean Countess cruise ship is and how wonderfully the reviewers were treated. Below the article is a half page advert for… Ocean Countess cruises from Liverpool. So the reviewers were hardly going to say anything negative about the ship, were they? And Amanda has the cheek to criticise sevenstreets for a lack of journalistic integrity!

    PAGE 30: Feature on LAD Clothing (which just happens to be taking part in the next Liverpool Fashion week. Fancy that!). This firm, which specialises in men’s clothing is represented by a suitable photo - Amanda Moss holding a LAD Clothing sign. Ego check #4

    PAGE 41: The Merseyside Tourism Awards, sponsored by Liverpool Fashion Week, saw our editor present an award. Ego check #5

    PAGE 44: Jaiden Michael. ‘Nuff said.

    PAGE 49: “Within” - another uncredited article. Hang on, didn’t Amanda and her supporters roundly criticise this SevenStreets article for not having the writer’s name on it? Seems like double standards to me.

    PAGE 50: A really nice article by Jim Flemming. Well done, Jim.

    PAGE 56: “Number one and still going strong” Number one for what? It’s always nice to see throwaway claims quantified. At least Jaiden Micheal admit to being ‘self styled’ in his own description. The ‘award winning magazine’ claim is back too.

    Having reached all the way to back cover I can honestly say that it’s 68 pages of my life I’ll never get back. I really don’t know whose lifestyle is represented by this magazine, but it seems to me to be more about the adverts, product placement, infomercials, and very little about a style of life that I or anyone I know would recognise. A triumph of hype over content, if ever I saw one. And I’m disappointed there weren’t more ego checks.

  • Wavertree Warrior
  • Nel

    To say I’m shocked about this would be untrue, after coming in to contact with this unsavory woman last year for one of her events, nothing I read about her surprises me anymore!

    I’m sure there are several people who have read the original article by Seven Streets and took a HUGE sigh of relief. I have been waiting a long time for justice to be served to this woman.

    As a new business in its first year I was lucky enough to be supported by the Princess Trust (another great and worth charity) and was granted £1000 and a excellent mentor to get going.

    My first encounter with LLMM was at a trade fair where they offered me a pitch at a ‘major fashion event’ with an expected 1000 foot fall per night across 3 days. As part of the deal, the magazine would give each reader their own quarter page advertorial the month running up to the event and there would be giant bill board posters around Liverpool with each stall holder’s logo included.

    They never materialised.

    The sales rep also suggested they were in talks with some huge artists to open the event that were still to be confirmed. (Cue Leona Lewis front cover issues of the magazine to be included in the conversation. We got Kerry Katona)

    I was blown away by what was on offer and after being told also that the magazine was on a 250,000 distribution around the North West.

    When I found out some of the brands, including huge high-street retailers and equal amounts of sole traders were taking part, I felt like I should grab hold of the opportunity with both hands.

    But when I chatted to other participants it soon became apparent that they were worried about the gulf between Ms Moss’s promises and what she was delivering.

    There were rumors being bantered about that stall holders were slowly deciding to pull out and I felt worried that if I didn’t try to claim my money back soon I might never see a penny. I did not want to attend the meeting to become involved in a verbal slanging match so I chose to email Amanda to make sure the conversation could be recorded.

    In the email I request a full refund. I felt strongly that as I had not signed anything in terms of an actual contract that I was entitled to a refund and was not obligated in any way to attend. She had not fulfilled her side of the agreement so I felt therefore that this was a warranted request. Amanda replied verbally through one of her sales team point blank and in a particularly unprofessional manor that I would not be issued with a refund and that she would take me to court if I did not pay the remainder of my fee.

    As a new and inexperienced business person this worried me, I was unsure of my rights and felt backed into a corner by her threats. With no legal advice on offer I contemplated risking the 500 pounds I had already paid by not attending the event. Not to mention the extra stock I had purchased. I was very much in turmoil about the whole issue.

    A few days passed and Amanda came into my shop, in arm was a hand full of A1 posters. They weren’t the billboard sized posters promised but they were at least something and they included my logo. She assured me that the ticket sales were doing really well and I would be mad to pull out. She insisted there were going to be lots of celebs attending and nobody else had actually pulled out. The stories I’d heard were all gossip and jealous people making things up.

    When a copy landed at my door courtesy of LLMM, I eagerly flicked through the pages searching for my add. My profile had been completely missed out! I was furious.

    I felt totally taken advantage of.

    I arrived with my stock and was ushered by two assistants into a dark, cave like room and told this is your stand. The room was filthy and smelled like stale beer. I could barely see my hand in front of my face it was so dark and this is no exaggeration as this room was usually design to be used as a club. The walls were actually painted black. My heart sank! Not what you would expect for 1000 pounds. When I asked for a light so I could unpack, the member of staff looked at me very embarrassed and apologetic and replied that she didn’t know what to do. I obviously wasn’t the first to complain.

    The design of the room had initially been pitched to me as an Arabian style tent set up. I had visions of Arabic cushions, Moroccan lamps and lots of fabric. The design like everything else fell short!

    The table which had been allocated was draped with a small piece of cheap looking satin cloth that didn’t even reach the floor length. The table itself was supposed to be over 5ft long, in reality it was probably more like 3ft which resulted in one of my staff members having to return to the shop in a taxi (at my own expense) to get another. I was obviously very angry and disappointed.

    I tried to talk to Amanda on the night who began screaming at me, was very defensive and un co operative and walked away from me mid conversation.

    You may think by this point that things could not get any worse but after further investigation I found that other stall holders had paid anything from 1000 pounds – zero pounds for their stalls. There was no consistency and It seemed that she had been struggling hard fill the spaces towards the end so she began giving away free places just be able to fill them.

    I was also informed that tickets which were supposed to be charged for prior to the event were being given away free to passersby on the street just to get people through the door. Many of which were not interested in shopping as they were on their way home. I even saw a homeless person invited in at one stage of the night.

    In my opinion the event was an outright failure and by the second night I was totally drained of any optimism after not selling a single thing. I am aware that every event that you attend is a guessing game but basing sales on smaller markets and Christmas fairs, I have been know to gross anything between 800-1500 pounds per day. So to say I was at a loss was an understatement.

    The final night was very quiet and I should never have gone back. There was never a headlining act such as Leona Lewis (instead we got Kerry Katona.) There was not 1000 foot fall to say 100 would have been an exaggeration (excluded all the staff working. )

    Looking back on the decision now I was totally naïve. If I had looked into other trade shows like the NEC in Birmingham I could have probably got a stand of the same size with 100 times the footfall. I had originally felt that Liverpool being my customer base, it would be good opportunity to get my brand recognized but sadly it totally damaged my business and confidence.

    There are many other things I would love to include in this story from listening what other people have had to say about their experiences of Amanda Moss, but their stories aren’t mine to tell.

    All I know is It took me a long time to get over what happened and I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone.

  • ninjah

    @Nel… i have heard many stories like this about this vile woman. I am gutted for you that you lost money through doing this and i only hope that people spread the word and advise other new business to steer clear.

    You certainly could have added maybe another £500 to your budget and gone to the proper “fashion week” you know the one in London!!
    I know for sure that London fashion week dont put their events on in nightclubs and bars and give their designers proper professional space, and of course have the relevant people/buyers coming to see these designers.

    She doesnt have a clue what Fashion is so how can she stage a fashion event. (and as for having kerry katatonic and sinitta launching the event…. what a laugh!!)

    As for that magazine… “Wavertree Warrior” has summed it up completely… surely a proof reader is a key person when producing a “magazine”… Her and neil woods spelling efforts are a joke… in fact the whole magazine is… and how does one become a “celebrity editor”????

    Good luck with the future of your business, i am sure it will thrive as long as you steer clear of this woman :)

  • Unsurprised

    @Wavertree Warrior Thanks for sharing the band’s link to their statement

  • Eric

    Hi Nel, did Lifestyle tell you the distribution of their magazine was 250,000? That’s ridiculous, that’s more like the distribution of a national magazine. They say their website hits are 700,000, which is clearly not the number of unique users. The stats show their website gets about 6,000 unique hits a month.

  • meredith hulme

    Oh my !

    I made lots of spelling mistakes and punctuation errors in my previous correspondence.

    Does anyone know of any celebrity editors who could help me put this right?

  • Nel

    Exactly! This seems like something that trading standards needs to investigate at least I think.

    When I read @NINJAH’s comment

    ‘You certainly could have added maybe another £500 to your budget and gone to the proper “fashion week” you know the one in London!!
    I know for sure that London fashion week dont put their events on in nightclubs and bars and give their designers proper professional space, and of course have the relevant people/buyers coming to see these designers.’

    ….I actually just cringed a little…. I now know that @NINJAH is totally right…. Hindsight however is a wonderful thing. In my defence I was young and naive..

    Mistakes do make you stronger…..and I’ll certainly think before jumping next time. I should just be glad that it wasn’t millions lost I guess!…. and when I’m a professional, successful and charitable business woman one day, worth every penny! (So thanks Amanda ..I think?! lol)

    Hopefully people will see my story as a cautionary tale….

  • ARP

    Hi it seems like Amanda moss’s doings are really coming to light now , and myself and a lot of stall holders have had a few meetings about taking her to court after Liverpool fashion week 2010

    At the time there was 5/6 of us prepared to take more action but at the time I had lost money and needed to concentrate on building my business back up .

    Everything NEL has mentioned happened to me I was a new up and coming small jewellery business based in Liverpool I am a single mother and took money out my savings for this event I was soo disappointed, what made me most mad was that I got my little girl who was 2 looked after the whole week, which I missed her and also weeks before the event I’d stay up late making lots of new creations

  • TheNakedTruth

    Just come across this story, there was a rumour (and I must stress, only a rumour) that some years ago, this woman made a living taking new jobs and announcing not long afterwards that she was pregnant. It is also said that no employer ever really found out if the then Ms Black she had any ability, as she was never there long enough to find out. What is, though, certain is that none of these jobs were anything more than low to mid-level administration, and never as far as is known, involved journalism.

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