To think a lot of the hard luck stories on here are people hoping to be sent money and goods?

[silverpurplegold]

It used to happen a LOT more. I was reading some old threads this morning looking for something I remembered and came across a lot of tales of woe and hardship.

Have you ever sent money or goods to anybody? Were they genuine?

To add i snapped their photo and posted it on the local fb site yo warn people. They'd made 80 quid that day out of believers! Didn't make any more after the post...

@AllergicToAMop, my mother needed a washing machine, she didn't ask me to buy it but I know finding the money for it was making her ill as she also lives paycheck to paycheck. My nephews rent I could have said no to but that would have been giving an 18 year old a bad credit rating before he's had a chance to get anywhere or do anything. My sister can't be trusted with money and has stolen several thousands of pounds from me and our other siblings. I love her to death but I don't trust her as far as I could throw her. I just couldn't live with myself knowing that bailiffs came in and took my nieces and nephews things because she is useless with money management and prioritization. I'm trying to reduce how much I help out but I'm doing it slowly as pulling it away quickly will cause arguments and I may not be allowed to see my nieces and nephews.

I am always cynical about people being too poor to afford a tin of beans.

@ConfusedAndStressed95 aw. Hope it gets better for you soon!

Several years ago I was a member of a FB group; one member claimed to have been burgled twice during a short period of time, and each time some of the group had a whip round and replaced over 1k of goods that had supposedly been taken. I was always very skeptical about whether she'd even been burgled at all in the first place, or if she'd ever had the items that she'd claimed had been taken.

She also had loads of kids and pleaded poverty on some occasions, prompting the same members to have whip rounds to send huge Tesco deliveries to her house.

I think she was/is a CF and a con artist.

I've posted on here under a different username asking how to make money as I was panicking about my rent and genuinely wasn't going to earn enough to pay it. Some people accused me of scamming and reported me, but I didn't ask for anything except advice and nobody had offered anything, not that I would have accepted but it was a shock being accused of being a scammer when there was no evidence pointing towards that in the slightest.
I've felt bad for some people on their threads but I just don't want to risk encouraging scammers and can't really afford to do it either. I am on a Facebook group though that does crowdfunding sometimes and one was for a members family members funeral, I donated a couple of quid to that because no crowdfunding posts get approved without the admin fully checking it out.

Ok, please help this nosey cow out with a donation of the link to the prolific cf scammer thread you're talking about. I've tried all sorts of searches but it's still alluding me and now I just NEED to find it

Am I missing something.

How do some of you send things like the jeans or the wellies for example. Mn doesn't have addresses attached to posters accounts do they? Or do you message the person and they send you their address.

I suppose it doesn't actually matter but I wouldn't want my address attached to my online profile!

@Ginkypig that’s what I’d like to know too. Just how are people receiving these “surprise” gifts? I think there’s a hefty dose of disingenuousness in this thread...

@FuckingWaffleDoggy I don’t know if you mean the SadWidow threads, but some people are definitely referring to those. If I mention other prolific and well known scammers I will probably get deleted 😉.

@DontPetTheSweatyStuff Have a look in to discretionary housing payments. And also see if your local housing department has a money advice officer. I work in the housing department for the local authority and we see situations like this a lot. Frustratingly, universal credit seem to act quicker when I qualified money advice officer from the council prompts them to do something. Aside from that, they could help you to look at your finances as a whole and see if there are any alternatives that you haven't considered. In our council, you wouldn't be eligible to see a money advice officer unless you have a housing need but you're at risk of eviction due to universal credits failing, so I would think they would see you. CAB will also have money advice officers so if you have no luck with the council then they should be able to help when you do see them.

I felt sorry for sadwidow

She was woefully taken advantage of

yep special phone for collecting stuff is taking advantage of Mn posters.

I saw it as feeling a sense of purpose and usefulness. It was wrong for the other party to take advantage of that.

@allthesharks Thanks, I'll look into that one tomorrow. I've spoken to someone at housing group today and have managed to get an appointment for this week. I'll ask about discretionary housing payments.

I don't think there was an other party I think they were one and the same and on the take

That’s a new level of fucked up

I once sent somebody on here a cigarette lighter. I can't remember which of us had posted initially or what the original post was even about, but somehow it came up that her husband had lost a lighter he'd got from the big casino in Monaco which had sentimental value (maybe he'd bought it on their honeymoon?).

As it happened, I was just about to go to Monaco, so I offered to buy a replacement and post it to her. I think she offered to pay me back but I refused - it was only a few quid and it was nice to be able to help!

I wouldn't send money to a stranger, though.

There's been a few, there's also been people asking for advice but complaining it wasn't the right advice (if you know already the solution why post!) mostly though people are genuine, they are clueless or need reassurance, I certainly am grateful for advice. I would never send cash but I have directed people to suitable services when they are in my area

I once had a moan on a thread about a hair product not being available where I live anymore, and a kind mumsnetter offered to send me one - I really hadn't been expecting that, but it was very gratefully received.

@FestiveFavourites I am always cynical about people being too poor to afford a tin of beans.

I couldn't afford a tin of beans right now but that doesn't make me a scammer. Or irresponsible. I've just moved house (wasn't a choice) two weeks before Xmas 🤷

What a narrow mind you have

I think SadWidow was a lonely weirdo who genuinely thought she was being kind. Bonkers obviously, but kind.The scamming lowlife who she looked after "where's my parcel that you said you'd sent?" etc deserves to rot.

I never believed the one who reckoned her husband made her eat out of the bin either.

@gingersausage it's ok that was enough to go ion after I cracked out the laptop. Ironically as I'm reading through the early pages, there I am posting on the thread I must have tailed off and not followed the thread to completion back then.

Wish I'd saved my time wrangling the then 2 year old so I could comment now. What a piece of work she turned out to be eh!