To have bought a crappy pair of oven gloves for £6.99

[Snapespotions]

DH says I'm soft.

A young lad just appeared on th doorstep. Really bad social skills, no eye contact, but he was obviously trying his best. On some sort of scheme for ex- young offenders. Selling random household goods.

I have been thinking about buying new oven gloves, but wouldn't have chosen the ones he had.

I just felt like he was trying and he deserved a chance. DH knows I don't really like the gloves and has a face.

It was £6.99. We are not short of cash. The kid seemed really pleased.

WIBU?

no

no! that's quite a nice story actually .

I would have done the same. Everyone needs a boost now and again. Well done.

No. I've had these people come to the door selling random household items. Felt so sorry for them as they looked desperate and of course bought stuff that's still sitting in the cupboard.

I buy as well. At least they are getting off their bums and doing something. Even my tight as a tick fiancée buys from people who come to the door. Good on them I say !

Glad it isn't just me then. :) DH is now laughing at the sodding gloves.

It's a scam - lots of stuff on the web about it.

www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Door-door-salesmen-scam/story-20582577-detail/story.html

Oh shit, really? Looks like I've been had then.:(

DH was obviously right...

I bought a peg bag for a fiver in the same way about 15 years ago. A FIVER! That was a lot of money then, for a bleeding cheap cotton-clothes hanger type affair. You could hear the wince three streets away.

To add further insult, I left it hanging on the sodding line when we moved house.

I'm over it now, obviously. YANBU

well it was still lovely of you, because you thought you were giving someone a chance! if it was a scam I suppose you could have come off a lot worse than £6.99

Feeling a bit naive now. I didn't even want the sodding gloves, just felt sorry for the lad.

What an idiot!

True jenda. That makes me feel a bit better.

Just as long he wasn't "paying his way through college" you were NBU.

He didn't say anything about college Andrew. At least, not that I understood. He wasn't terribly good at articulating what he was trying to say...

Well yes, half of them (at least) are chancers but maybe some aren't and if you can afford the £6.99, why not? Feel good in the knowledge that you did a good and generous thing!

If it's any comfort, I was totally done over today by three young girls who came to the door selling fecking loom bands, of all things.

"Is this for charity or just for yourselves?".

"For charity. Yes, definitely for charity".

"Ok. Which charity?".

"Cancer".

"What kind of cancer?".

"Er. The heart one?".

" go on then..."

I just felt sorry for them, they turned up in the middle of a rainstorm looking like drowned rats. The two loom bands I bought for 50p have already broken but they've given DS three hours of pleasure so, bargain...

They are encouraged to feign a disability. We had one who pretended to be hard of hearing and another had a stammer.

I had a lad at my door with a stammer Jennifer and he seemed real, if he wasn't then he deserved money for his performance alone! He wanted cash for that course to stop people stammering and he just about broke my heart because I had none!

I think it can be a scam, but isn't always - basically, if they get a bit arsey about you saying no (and then come back later, which has happened to us) it's probably a scam.

I bought a load of stuff from one, but tbh it was very overpriced and I really couldn't afford it.

He didn't appear to have any disabilities. Just very poor interpersonal skills.

I'm a sucker, aren't I?!

Hope your ds liked the loombands, punt. I've sent kids packing when they've claimed to be collecting for some unknown charity. I'm obviously more susceptible to people claiming to have committed criminal acts.

I don't buy from door to door sales people.

I hate being bothered in my own home and hate encouraging it!

Don't they put signs/marks on your wall so mates-in-crime know what "category" you are? My parents had a mark on their wall, which was apparently a sign for "nothing to get here"

It's a horrible scam. We've had them round several times, and once the bloke had a massive go at me when I said I didn't want to buy anything. He accused me of laughing at him and got really aggressive - it was quite frightening as it was just me at home with the children!

Haven't had one for quite a while, I'm out in the day most of the time now, but I used to feel sorry for them and buy (Yes, I had the fovepound crappy peg bag too). Finally one of them caught me at a really busy time and I said no and got a mouthful. I'm more wary now.

I once bought the peg bag . Mine told me if he sold 10 things, he'd get a free breakfast bought for him too!

I learned my lesson though, after being much mocked. When they came around again about a year later I was hard as nails.

Now I can ward off salesmen (we rent), con artists (don't have cash in the house, and we look poor), and religious people (we're Catholic).

I'd quite like a window cleaner, but I think I'd still tie myself in knots there, so I'm leaving that for now