Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be fed up of being asked for money?

27 replies

MermaidTailUnicornHorn · 22/02/2018 15:17

Sat in the station and I’ve been approached 5 times whilst drinking my coffee.

I’m not a heartless bitch, and I give to charity but this is really getting on my last nerve now.

OP posts:
AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:20

Which station?

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:21

It's just it's never happened to me in a station. Bus stops, yes. I just say sorry no.

Original poster
MermaidTailUnicornHorn · 22/02/2018 15:23

Charles de Gaulle. Happens to me countless times in London too.

OP posts:
frasier · 22/02/2018 15:27

Happens to me most days (London) and I've been spat at and "cursed" (language I don't speak so no idea what they really said but lots of angry gesturing and shouting and it seemed like a curse IYKWIM!) and kicked by a child once.

I've started taking out my phone to film them. They go away.

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:29

Ah I was going to say the last/ only time was in Gare du Nord! I gave the second one very definitive non and it seemed to keep it at bay while we had a cup of something hot.

Its 20 years since I commuted in London and I never got asked back then apart from odd buskers on the underground.

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:30

Anyway YANBU.

AtlanticWaves · 22/02/2018 15:31

I use Charles de Gaulle everyday and have never been asked for money... some beggars on the line 6 though

frasier · 22/02/2018 15:37

AntArcticFox There are a lot of homeless/beggers, on the street in London these days. Many are in gangs and are quite intimidating.

MinorRSole · 22/02/2018 15:41

Yanbu, I can't even pay for fuel without being asked to add a donation to my card transaction. Made to feel heartless when I select no but I hate being coerced like that

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:41

It sounds bad frasier. The phone is a good idea.

billybagpuss · 22/02/2018 15:47

We had the same problem near the Eiffel Tower, they were targeting English speakers, we started speaking German and they left us alone.

CherryMaDeary · 22/02/2018 15:51

I don't mind being asked by old people or those with (visible) disabilities but I do get annoyed by young and healthy people who ask for change (I realise they may have MH issues).

I was asked to sign a petition near the Eiffel Tower by a young woman. When I agreed to sign it, she demanded money. I then told her to get a job and she actually stamped her foot at me. I stamped mine right back.

Coyoacan · 22/02/2018 15:51

I can't even pay for fuel without being asked to add a donation to my card transaction

This is usually a donation to the company's tax bill, IMHO, as they get tax relief on your donation.

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 15:57

I was repeatedly targeted by the young women with petitions at Charles de Gaulle airport. Luckily I'd already heard it was a scam.

Original poster
MermaidTailUnicornHorn · 22/02/2018 15:59

I was having a coffee at St Pancras and one guy walked in asked for money from me and was so angry when I said no.

Even on my lunch breaks I can’t have an hours peace without either being asked for money or asking for me to give out my card details.

OP posts:
Original poster
MermaidTailUnicornHorn · 22/02/2018 15:59

What’s the petition thing?

OP posts:
ChikiTIKI · 22/02/2018 16:01

I always decline at petrol stations since I'm never told what the "charity" is... what really grinds my gears is when they tell me how much I should donate. I've been told in the past when I don't want to sign up to a £10/month donation because I prefer to donate when I'm sure I have the money (was a student at the time), "that's ok, we do a one off donation, it's £30" Angry

littletykeboy · 22/02/2018 16:01

I'm in London, it's a massive problem but I do feel for some of these people.

The main problems here are gas stations and outside supermarkets

AntArcticFox · 22/02/2018 16:04

It seems to be a thing in Paris : a couple of young women asking you to sign a petition and it becomes apparent afterwards they also expect a cash donation from you.

CatchyUsername · 22/02/2018 16:07

It seems the "petition" scam has spread to Berlin. We were there recently and there are warning signs in English around the main museums, about these scammers approaching tourists.

As pp have said, they ask you to sign their "petition" and according to our guide can be quite intimidating when you refuse their "request" for money to continue the petition.

kerryleigh · 22/02/2018 16:13

If people stopped giving money to beggars, they would eventually give up. The East-European beggars make a fortune on the streets, and I know what I'm talking about. It's not that I read it in the media. Years ago there were lots of them here as well, stealing and begging. Since the shops upgraded their security and people stopped giving money, they just left. Most of them. There is still one "selling" magazines

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 22/02/2018 16:15

I saw the petition thing in Budapest some years back. Had been tipped off by friends though, so knew to give them a robust refusal.

TemptressofWaikiki · 22/02/2018 16:29

I live in central London and am faced with aggressive begging on a daily basis. I have lived in the same area since my late teens. I know most of the local ‘faces’ that are genuinely vulnerable and occasionally might get them a sandwich etc. But I won’t get too involved. In the past, my naïve kindness cost me a lot. I am well aware though of the organised beggers, who literally clock on as a job. I spotted one very prolific and vocal beggar park up in not so old, decent mid-sized car and know he has a flat in one of the nicer council estates near a friend’s place. He tries to shame and aggressively bully passers-by on the high street to buy his mangled copies of the Big Issue. When he tried to accost me, I told him no thanks, I rather buy the Vogue in my best Marie-Antoinette impression. He gawped at me as I sauntered off. A lot still try to pester me even though I see them every day. It all reminds me of Berthold Brecht’s ‘Three Penny Opera’ that begging is for professionals…

SlothMama · 22/02/2018 16:36

For the first time ever I was approached by a man whilst I was having a coffee in Euston station! Pretty annoying tbh, I donate to homeless charities and I don't like to give money to strangers.

DatingLife · 22/02/2018 16:36

To my surprise, I was asked to donate £1 to charity at the TKMaxx till yesterday. When I politely declined the cashier looked at me with a clear disdain. What is all this constant charity shit.

Swipe left for the next trending thread