Beggars on the tube, is this the norm now?

[dontforgettofloss]

I lived in London until 2008, and used the tube regularly, there was sometimes buskers in the stations, but that's it really.

My sister and I sometimes visit London, and the last few times we've been, there have been people walking through the carriages begging, they'll sometimes give a speech saying how they're homeless and are grateful for anything that can be given, often looking very dishevelled.

The last time we were on the tube, this man was begging, saying how he'd fallen on hard times, and he hated having to ask for help- everyone in the full carriage just stared straight ahead ignoring him, maybe my sister and I are naive, but we felt so bad for him that we gave him a couple of quid.
So, is this the norm now in London??

I lived in London from 2000 to 2008, and it was a thing then. Perhaps you didn’t come across it, but it definitely went on.

I see this quite regularly. There is a woman on the metropolitan line who walks up and down the length of the carriage singing.

Yes and those packs of tissues ones.

It's been happening since I was a kid, but definitely more prevalent the last few years.

I would ignore these “beggers”.

I run a weekly soup kitchen. Im not in london. Never give homeless people money. The “homeless beggers” in my local town are not homeless! Even the legit homeless people have confirmed that! If anything, buy them a sandwich/drink but no money. Also, if in any doubt about any homeless person and you feel they need help, then call street link.

Yes, but I’ve been in London since the late 90s and it was common then.

I’d forgotten about them, are they still around

Yes. Don't give them money. There is a regular couple on my train line who jump the barriers together and start at opposite ends of the train. She alway goves the same emotional speech about needing money to get home. You often see them meet up again off the train and get out phones.

The women carrying a sign with a sad story about not being able to feed their kids are part of organised gangs...

I never give money to any on the tube but sometimes think the dishevelled looking ones are at least more likely to be genuine. After all, there are so many rough sleepers in London now.

Tfl purprosefully ask you not to give money to them.

I lived in London in the 1990’s early 2000’s and this was a regular thing on tube journeys then. Usually women with a sign.

It is a job for them. People give pound coins usually, so they might make more per day than many commuters. Give if you want to, but don’t be under any illusions. The tissues one gets on my nerves and I always flick it on the floor from my arm rest, they can pick it up from there.

I wasn't aware of this, I'll bear this in mind when I'm next in London

What's the tissue thing??

I was in London last week and saw a bloke take money off 2 ‘homeless’ women, he looked like the gang leader. Huge amounts of money was changing hands. It’s a thing for gangs to exploit western generosity/naivety.

I’ve never seen this on the tube, but on the streets I ignore. Give to charities instead.

I buy the Big Issue and leave a few quid extra. I like reading the Big Issue though. I also leave it out for my teenagers to read.

I was duped once with last years Big Issue Xmas Edition!!!! I always check the date now.

“Squeegee merchants” were enough of a thing in the 90s to earn their own nickname from the tabloids.

They leave tissues with a note asking for money for the tissues on the seats.

You always get it on trains.

They've been doing it for decades.
Particularly ridiculous are the women who pretend to cry while holding up signs right in your face saying their kids are hungry.

As a regular passenger on the underground, I know some of their speeches by heart, always beginning with "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, sorry to bother you..." There are some that seem to take turns outside a station I use regularly (they probably have a rota): their thing is to say "God bless" to everyone who passes. They might be genuinely homeless, or they might be part of organised gangs who work in shifts, whose leader collects their takings, and drives them to their lodgings. The daily mail will probably tell us that there are some others who make a living from begging, and who jump into their BMW after a day at work.

There are some genuinely homeless people who spend all day riding on buses and trains (not necessarily begging), because they're warm places in winter; and sometimes, the thing that has made me notice them is their smell. I don't think I've ever noticed a smell when the beggars have given their speeches. Yes, I know that some of them can go to places where they can have baths.

The window washers at traffic lights used to be everywhere in the early 90s, my mum said she felt intimidated by them. Also, in France, beggars could be far more intrusive, as I remember seeing on a school trip: you couldn't sit down anywhere outside, because they would literally tug at you until you gave them money. (Some of my fellow pupils said "look at their smart trainers!")