Go fund me...people taking the piss

[Wonders71]

Someone on fb has set up a go fund me page for her best friend to get married the write up says how they are soulmates they have been together years and their dream is to get married but with working long hours and family commitments and paying bills they are asking for donations! I think it's a piss take!

It's just modern age fraudulent begging.

Given the dreadful economic inequality we have, and how very hard it is, these days, to get out of poverty (shitty wages, insecure jobs, immense rents) I don't, actually, blame people who try it. A lot of my friends (I am a writer) use Patreon: some do better than others. I remember one friend getting some really horrible abuse on social media when she used GoFundMe for conference tickets - something which is not uncommon in this particular circle and which she had been advised by others to do.

Again, if you don't care for someone's appeal, don't donate. But don't try to cause trouble for them unless you think it's actual fraud.

Someone i know did a crowd funding to get her and her child to Vegas so her kid could take part in a pageant. She got the money.

Someone I know is trying to raise a few £1000 for an item that they "desperately need" due to illness (can't be too specific as it's very outing). The whole page is a pack of lies, the person is nowhere near as ill or in need as they are making out and it makes me sick as there are people donating who can't really afford to do so. It makes my blood boil!

I would never give to go fund me It's a bloody con.

I would only ever donate to someone that I actually knew and even then for something like funeral costs/vet bills etc.

While I think the ones who lie/embellish/make up sob stories are disgusting excuses for human beings, I can't get too worked up about the ones chancing their luck like the OP's example.
Yes, they're being a bit entitled/grabby, but they're honest about what they want, and it's up to the donors if they want to give them money. No harm done in those cases, really.

I wouldn't donate to a stranger on go find me as I'm very sceptical about how the money would be used.
I did however recently donate money to an old school friend for medical treatment. I donated not minding whether it would be used in medical treatment (which really was her intention) or on her family (four children under 9). Unfortunately she passed away just a few days after her treatment started

My brother did a GoFundMe to raise money for an electric bike (his health issues means that he cannot pedal far). I didn't donate. He had previously spent an inheritance on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, and somehow found the money for a share in a narrow-boat ...I was embarrassed.

Deadly serious oh mumsnet i need a nanny for the remainder of the summer, my 3 dcs are driving me crazy and my sanity is at risk!

You reckon it would work?

I feel even worse about starting one now with all these responses, I didn't realise people felt so strongly against them in general, I thought it was just the daft, cheeky or downright fraudulent ones 😞.

I have a major issue with the fact that some are portrayed as charitable.

They aren't charities. Charities are regulated and to have them passing themselves off as the same as a charity is well dodgy in my view.

Don't feel bad Lily. If you were a friend of mine and needed a wheelchair that would help you tremendously I would donate. I'm sure your friends will too.

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It doesn't bother me. I take the point about the actual ceremony part of the nuptials costing diddly squat.

Unless they're literally living in a chip bag in the gutter, they can afford to get married. They just can't afford the unnecessary "fancy" dress and party afterwards.

So it's disingenuous to dress that up as being unable to afford to get married.

That said, I don't see anything inherently wrong with asking for a cash contribution for the wedding or honeymoon.

Gift giving can be extremely hit or miss and at least this way, you're giving the couple something they really want.

I would expect the fundraiser to be in lieu of a wedding present though.

Anyone who expects a contribution to their wedding costs AND a wedding gift should be hung out to dry in a Force 10 gale.

I treat them all sceptically as I think scammers will target the gullible and I don't believe in online scrounging so I only give to known registered charities

Don't we all have bills/commitments/work?

I'm engaged and we both work full time, have a mortgage, run two cars, have bills to pay, busy social life and we saved to have the wedding we want.

We knew we wanted a big wedding, but that's what WE want, we would never expect anybody else to foot the bill.

The entitlement of some people is shocking!

Awww diddums. If such soul mates why didn't they get married pre children when they had no commitments and could work more, save more etc.

I don't think I've seen one go fund me project I would ever donate too. Most seem to be about wants that people don't intend to fund themselves.

So many seem to think everyone else should pay for them and their lifestyle choices, it's getting worse.

I would only give to genuine charities/friends doing stuff for charity. There are fraudsters a-plenty - when you've been (almost) defrauded, you become very cynical.

I need several pages

1. Nice house not too big - I'm renting and will never be able to afford to buy.
2. Nice holiday - I know I'm going next week but I want a luxury holiday in the Seychelles I deserve it I'm a teacher and I've looked after my own child for the whole of the holidays.

Most importantly my own supermarket - dd is currently eating me out of house and home.

I can add more pages as I need stuff can't I?

Out of curiosity what would you consider acceptable for go fund me? For example, say a couple living in much too small accommodation with their children and nightmare neighbours, and they can't get the deposit together to move and the council won't move them for example, which was our situation a while ago, although we're sorted now. Would that be something people would think is acceptable for go fund me or would people find that cheeky like funding a wedding?

cookies , I'd find that as appalling as someone begging for a wedding , but then I doubt I'm the target audience as I wouldn't give to anything . My dh was asked for sponsorship by a colleague doing a skydive and gave the poor bloke the third degree on who was paying for the skydive ! As a family we do give a reasonable amount to charity but I'm very particular as to which I give to .

I would think cheeky fuck. But then I only give to reputable charities and it grips my shit when go find me shite is passed off as charity.

Hmm I must be unusual then lol as that's the sort of thing I would find acceptable on go fund me. Not weddings as there not a necessity but things like being in an overcrowded property I would find OK. Although in fairness I've never really looked on go fund me so I don't know what sort of things people put on it. I do remember reading something about a lady wanting to take her kids to Disney land, no other reason than she wanted to take them, which I found cheeky