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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be annoyed with the Big Issue vendor ?

40 replies

Alligatorpie · 23/12/2011 07:24

I not live in England but whenever I am here, I try to buy the Big Issue. Yesterday I went shopping and saw a guy selling it. I asked his much it was now and he said £3. Fine, I was giving him the money and he said most people give him £10 as it was Xmas. He was quite I insistent. This is not someone I have ever seen before and I thought he was being really pushy to ask me for £7. So I told him so. I had already given him the money, (£3) but I was seriously thinking of walking away.

Am I being tight? Is this was people do? I went to uni in Lodon and bought it weekly for years. I don't remember tipping this much, a quid or two to my usual venor, but not someone I don't know. But this was 10 years ago, so maybe £7 is the going rate now ?

Maybe I was pissed as I live in Egypt and am constantly being asked for tips for things. I didn't expect it here though. So AIBU?

OP posts:
CailinDana · 23/12/2011 07:26

YANBU. If people do give 10 pounds then good for them. I doubt they do though. It's totally up to you if you want to tip or not and for him to pressure you is really off.

mumblechum1 · 23/12/2011 07:27

yanbu.

We have a guy outside Sainsbos and I stopped buying the BI from him because after I gave him the money he'd always ask if I wanted to actually take the magazine. Bit cheeky I thought, and he's lost my business.

nomoreheels · 23/12/2011 07:36

YANBU but don't tar all vendors with the same brush. Some are pushy, some are not. It wasn't good of him but people's survival instincts sometimes make them push social graces aside.

I had a customer cheat me out of a pound at the till yesterday. He insisted I'd short changed him. I knew he was lying (I'd counted it twice already) but the shop was heaving, he was kicking off & he was using confusion tactics. I was angry afterwards but then figured his life must be a bit desperate if he had to go round shops scamming £1 change each time. In fact he was only 70p up as he'd bought a paper...

ZillionChocolate · 23/12/2011 07:36

HIBU

www.bigissue.com/downloads/user/code_of_conduct.pdf

TroublesomeEx · 23/12/2011 07:45

YANBU and The Big Issue office would be very interested to hear that he was saying that too!

The whole point of The Big Issue is that it is supposed to move people away from begging into a whole different transaction. You wouldn't go into a shop, pay for something and walk away without taking it, nor would you give someone a tip of that percentage!

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who come on here to tell you not to be so tight, but they are wrong. Xmas Grin

TroublesomeEx · 23/12/2011 07:49

Oh and nomoreheels is right. Don't tar all vendors with the same brush. The one outside our local Sainsbury's is lovely.

Awayinamangercooper · 23/12/2011 07:51

No you are not being unreasonable. I saw the CEO of the Big Issue speak at a charity event and he said he would never pay more than the cover price, or not take a magazine, and he hoped noone else would either, because it undermines everything they are trying to do.

quirrelquarrel · 23/12/2011 08:05

I thought that vendors weren't allowed, like really it was the thing they couldn't do, to ask for donations? Even if most people do it doesn't mean it's protocol!

I buy the big issue, but I don't look forward to reading it- so it's nice when the person is pleasant.

catsareevil · 23/12/2011 08:14

YANBU, begging for money really isnt the point of the big issue. Was he a genuine seller?

needanewname · 23/12/2011 08:17

£3 now - wow!

FriendofDorothy · 23/12/2011 08:19

You should have asked to see his Big Issue vendor badge and then taken the number. He was breaching the rules of BI selling and you could have contacted the office.

I refused to buy a BI off a guy who didn't have his badge. He also then asked me to give him half the money and let him keep the magazine to sell on again. It's a typical scam.

post · 23/12/2011 08:25

I think it's just the Christmas issue that's £3. that's interesting, awayinamangercooper, I do generally put a couple of quid on top of the cover price, and I did actually pay £10 this week, I dont think I'm going to stop.
The woman I bought it from certainly didn't ask, though, and she seemed really surprised and happy.

norrishohoholeforsaviour · 23/12/2011 08:30

They are not supposed to do that - if you feel strongly about ti, then do find out the local office and report him. Also, as friendofdorothy says, they must be wearing a badge. A lot of people do 'buy' the mag and give it back, but the vendors really shouldn't be asking people to do that. It's pretty much like any other 'business' though - some good, some bad!!

guinealady · 23/12/2011 08:39

I several times fell for BI sellers at night time who'd say 'this is my last copy, please buy it so I can go to bed' only to see him with another copy half an hour later...always made me feel mildly annoyed.

If you buy a copy regularly from the same seller and give them a bit extra because it's Christmas, fair enough. Being strong-armed into it by the seller definitely not ok though!

pigletmania · 23/12/2011 08:47

YANBU at all, that Big Issue seller was being rude and cheeky, I would at best give him a couple of quid extra thats it!

bigbadbarry · 23/12/2011 08:54

Erk, is it £3? I gave my regular vendor £2 for it yesterday and he didn't say it had gone up. I feel awful now.

slavetofilofax · 23/12/2011 09:34

YANBU

That seller was breaking all the rules that the sellers are supposed to stick to. I know it sounds very uncharitable, but I would report him. Sellers like that put a lot of people off Buying BI, and that is harsh and unfair on the people who are genuinely trying to sell. The ones who would never ask for extra and always insist that you take the magazine. There are some that have morals and dignity, but you don't know which they are until after you have parted with money.

I don't buy the BI anymore because of sellers like that and I'm sure I can't be the only one. But I would feel really awkward in the situation you were put in, so it's easier just to say no altogether.

quirrelquarrel · 23/12/2011 09:40

Was £2 in Yorkshire a couple of days before it was £3 in Oxford- I thought it was because of the rich Southerners...he said it was Christmas.

edam · 23/12/2011 09:45

For everyone worrying about £3, I think the Christmas issue is more expensive. But demanding £10 is Not On.

I used to work for Sheila McKechnie, who had previously been the boss of Shelter. I asked her about the ethics of giving money to beggars - it was in the news at the time, and although I do, I wondered what her take on it was. She said basically it was up to the potential donor - if you want to, do, if you don't, don't. (She was being serious, not brushing me off - very nice, thoughtful and funny woman who is much missed.)

Leni75 · 23/12/2011 09:48

You can't ask for a tip, that is just wrong.

when I lived in the UK i used to buy the BI off guy in my local town, he was really sweet, was always really lovely to my dog who would howl when I left him outside the shop where the guy had his pitch, I always paid a bit extra. One day it was really raining hard and cold and I worked outside all day too but had stopped early coz of the rain. So i decided to go buy myself some chips from the chippy. I walked past the guy, still out in the pissing rain, so I bought my usual copy from him, with a bit extra too, then went off for my chips. bought an extra portion for the guy to cheer him up/ warm him up. try to give them to him, explain about me working outside all day too, and how shitty and cold it was, thought he might like them, but he said " I don't like chips" and wouldn't take them...... I was a bit like eh? Hmm who doesn't like chips?, had to feed them to sea gulls as I couldn't eat two portions.... still bought BI off him though and gave him a bit extra each time.....

SantieMaggie · 23/12/2011 10:05

being in bristol we have loads of sellers and they vary but my fav is a really chirpy black fella that is usually at the top of park st. he says hello to me every morning and evening on my commute to work and chats to everyone whether they buy from him or not. he even helps the metro bloke give the metro out. some people are a bit wary of him but i would much rather converse with him than the other grumpy sellers who huff and tut at you.

Bloodymary · 23/12/2011 10:19

I never buy it, altho I would if I could be certain that he/she was a genuine homeless person trying to get themselves off of the streets.

But I know for a fact that a great deal of them have homes, and even more of them are feeding a heroin habit, or are spending it on special brew.
And do not even get me started on the one who used to sell the paper in the summer, and spend the winter in India off of the proceeds.

DigOfTheChristmasTreeStump · 23/12/2011 10:24

I don't buy it after reading a story on one of their sellers who had really turned his life around, which was great, but he had a great pitch and consequently made more money than me, so I no longer deemed him as needy. Given I only ever bought cos I thought of it as charity I stoppped, and give any spare cash I want to ito the can rattlers at aupermarkets.

Booboostoo · 23/12/2011 10:49

OP YANBU you should report him to the local BI office. Ocassionally BI vendors get mugged for their magazines which are then resold by the people who stole them, so it's always worth checking the person's badge and not buying if they don't have a badge.

Bloodymary: some BI vendors are in accommodation because that is the point of the scheme, to give people a job so they can save some money so they can put together a deposit so they can get off the streets. With a bit of luck these vendors can then go on to other jobs and release their pitch for someone else to benefit from. I doubt anyone can support a heroin habit off the proceeds though!

Digof: you sound a bit resentful of the guy who did well. Why would you be resentful of someone who made a go of selling a magazine? The whole point of the scheme is that it's not begging, it's not asking for charity money, but it's a job, selling a decent magazine. You pay for the magazine and if he managed to get a lot of people to buy from him then good for him!

norrishohoholeforsaviour · 23/12/2011 11:11

bloodymary true some of the vendors are housed, but they are ex-homeless, generally housed in a very vulnerable place/way and may well be using some of the money to manage an addiction - they are however,in the vast majority of cases, trying to do something about the situation. Do you feel the same about people who work all summer on the land for example and spend the winter abroad??

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