You made that up, didn't you?
Yes, UK has "said" it will guarantee the rights of EU citizens resident in UK in the event of no deal but (and here's the but) nothing has been put into law.
If the WA is agreed (as
@irlsgt said) then the rights will be guaranteed.
If there's no deal, then several countries have already stated that the rights of UK citizens resident in their country will have their rights protected
providing the UK agrees to reciprocal agreements.
French government has stated:
Until the rights of French nationals are guaranteed in law in the UK then France could in theory scrap its own contingency plan to guarantee the rights of Britons here.
The text of the bill reads that decrees could be taken that provide measures which grant British citizens in France "more favourable treatment" than people from other third countries (in other words non-EU member states).
BUT that would only happen if the British also give French nationals in the UK the equivalent status.
So that's France.
Here, in Spain, I have received a letter from my solicitor to say that my resident status will not be affected if there is no deal
proving the UK agrees to reciprocal agreements for Spanish citizens living in Spain.
The Spanish government has also issued a statement which basically says if the WA goes through then no change will occur for British citizens already resident in Spain and that the Spanish government :
La Moncloa
The rights of British residents in Spain will be protected in the case that the UK agrees a reciprocal agreement on the status of Spanish residents resident in UK in the even of no deal taking place.
Both those countries above have said the same thing on:
The UK government has already guaranteed the rights of EU citizens in the UK even if there's no deal but nothing is written down in law.
So don't say the rights of EU citizens in UK will be protected until it is put into law.
And the fact that the couple of people you have spoken to have said there is no assurances flies in the face of official statements.