AIBU to give money to the ladies who literally lie flat on their faces in the street?

[pa1oma]

I was wondering if I could ask people’s opinions on something please? ... In recent weeks / months when I’m out and about shopping, I’m seeing noticeably more of the (mainly Iranian, I think) ladies who lie on their face in the street, wailing and begging for money. For instance, in Kensington there was another one today and several down Champs Elysees as well as Hammersmith last week and it’s very distressing, but DH says not to give them anything because neither them or their children will see any of it. He says they are being put out their by a gang leader who uses these women and sends them out to beg because they are more likely to get money than a man who is begging. What do people think and do you give money to these women? I’m never sure what to do.

Don't give them anything. This is their job. You will see them there day in / day out. It will change nothing / potentially encourage them to persist.

@bookmum08 obviously my sarcasm failed there

It's not true, I just wailed for an hour outside Tesco. Got 68p and a whoopsied scotch egg.....luckily no gang master for me so I get to keep it!

nc600 apologies for not getting your sarcasm. Sadly though so many people do believe the whole "they aren't homeless/have a council house/get benefits" type opinions.

Do not give them money. Happened to catch them during ‘handover’ one day. One woman finished her ‘shift’ and another woman took her place.

Sadly they’re probably giving their takings to another person who they’re being forced to ‘work’ for but you’re only feeding the ‘business’

I would however report to Police 1.it’s a offence to beg in a public place 2.The woman could be in some sort of trouble that your money won’t help.

I always work on the assumption that whether it’s a scam of some kind or not, it’s not costing me anything to chuck a bit of change their direction and that if they’re genuine I’m doing a good thing. Regardless of the circumstances I don’t think that anyone would beg by choice, they’re unlikely to be rich bankers moonlighting as beggars for the banter and coppers.

@AllTheWhoresOfMalta except you are mistakenly feeding a criminal gangs top dog, not the person begging. They won’t be able to keep that money. And by willingly give it you are helping to keep them in a ‘gang’ in the first place.

Better give it to a charity. Those gangs can’t operate if no one gives money.

I give to a homeless charity rather than to people on the streets. Obviously my heart goes out to anyone in enough poverty to beg, but outside where l work there’s a “pitch” which has a rotate of women / men who tuck away their coats, bags and phones under a manky blanket and beg. Put me off really. I occasionally give if l feel the urge , but generally I’d say don’t .

If you really want to cease/reduce begging and OCG do not give any money
Simple as that

Could be either, researched charities say
70-80% are feeding addictions.....that said if I particularly felt they were real I would.....
Also you don't need money to get into a hostel as far as I can gather.

I asked one of these ladies if I could buy her some food and she said no, could I get her an iced coffee instead. I was a bit shocked to be honest and said no, if you need food, I will get you food but I am not going to bring you a Starbucks!

Donate to a reputable charity instead.

bananabread8
These people are part of large mostly Romanian families who are getting state benefits and have council accommodation, they drive 4x4’s and BMW’s and have a lot more than you think..... I have seen them walking perfectly normally then suddenly hunch over with a stick so they can pickpocket or beg.... they quite often work together so if you do give money to a beggar the pick pocket knows where you keep your purse

they quite often work together so if you do give money to a beggar the pick pocket knows where you keep your purse YES

They arent iranian!!!

They are romainians, read up on Romanian begging and don't give them a bloody penny...

Give them nothing... Your DH is right... Parasites, nothing more nothing less! They earn a fortune off of people, why do you think why they do it!

No I'd not give. I do give direct to Crisis and buy The Big Issue as I feel that is legitimately controlled. I'm always suspicious of the wailing/ heather selling/etc brigade as too many are controlled by gang master types.

@LisaD76

bananabread8 These people are part of large mostly Romanian families who are getting state benefits and have council accommodation, they drive 4x4’s and BMW’s and have a lot more than you think..... I have seen them walking perfectly normally then suddenly hunch over with a stick so they can pickpocket or beg.... they quite often work together so if you do give money to a beggar the pick pocket knows where you keep your purse

I don’t dispute that a lot of people are doing what your saying. I remember watching a show on TV a little guy with no legs... & he got around on a mini skateboard and he had a home and lived with his family and claimed several different benefits. I saw him in my home town begging I was shocked. To be honest there’s not many Romanian beggars where I live and certainly not wailing on the floor. I see mainly British beggars and I said I usually would buy them food. I just feel sorry for them... & I would want someone to be kind if I stubbled on hard times.

@SillyUnMurphy

I’ve seen them down an alley off High Holborn at about 7.30am being given instructions for the day from their gang master. They then disperse and spend the day begging outside Sainsburys and the Rosewood.

Must be the same team as the one I commented on up-thread as that junction is within eyesight. They also sit down beside the cashpoints at the bank next to the pub (Princess Louise?). Right on the floor as you are drawing cash out. Natwest I recall.

The one that’s shocked me the most is a very frail elderly woman -I think Roma - I always used to see on my daily commute on a street corner near Tavistock Sq in London. More than once she’d wet herself and there was an obvious trail of urine from where she was sitting. She was often wailing, but not loudly. I presume that she was deposited and picked up by whoever controlled her as she seemed to have regular hours she was there. I can’t imagine how awful her life must be, must at the same time I suspected that any money I gave to her wouldn’t be kept by her.

Interesting that someone above mentioned that near to universities is a prime spot as this is just a few minutes from UCL.

I would also be tempted to report it to the police. Whether the police would do anything about it is another matter.

@Starisnotanumber

Wonder if the German speaking student type who has just missed her plane and needs a few pounds to get next plane back home outside the airport has managed it yet. Been there for around 5 years.

We had a bloke like that in Manchester when I was a student, he used to do the buses and ask people for money for his air fare home to Canada. I mean, wtf. How do you pay for a plane with coppers? I've had other people pull that one on me. One was a guy who asked me for a train fare, and then I saw him again a few weeks later and he asked me the same thing and freaked out when I told him I recognised him. Another was a young woman who asked me for money to 'get home'. She's still begging - she hangs around with an older bloke.

There's always people hanging around Victoria station asking for train fare money too.

If you want to help the homeless buy them a sandwich. Better still, give your money to a charity that helps the homeless eg Shelter, Crisis

Organised teams of Romanians round our way too. They get dropped off and picked up in a VW Sharan, and they all have identical cardboard signs with the same handwriting. Our local councillors and police say there’s nothing that can be done about deporting them or their organisers.

I haven't seen any women wailing with their faces on the floor but I personally do not believe these beggars are genuine.

I have been harassed whilst walking on Kings Road by a woman asking for money then continuing to follow me with my three children, asking me for their names and saying they're lovely creepy. She wouldn't stop walking with me for a good 4 minutes until I told her to go away firmly.

My husband also gives food and drinks to a supposedly homeless man who is always sitting outside m&s on Kings Road. Then he didn't see him for over a week, once my husband saw him again he asked him out of genuine concern, where he disappeared to, the man's response was "oh i went to spain for a week with the Mrs, yeah it was lovely, nice pool, good weather etc"....no words.

Theres two incidents that also spring to mind when being aware of begging. One is my friend who was in liverpool the main indoor shopping place when she saw two women asking people for money. She walked past with her young baby in the pushchair and one started fussing over her baby making her uncomfortable then suddenly the baby was screaming and as she ran around the pram to see what had happened the other woman grabbed her handbag off the handles and ran the baby had a red dot that looked like a pin mark so she believes the first woman jabbed the baby with a pin to make him scream so the other could grab the bag.

Another incodent wasnt a gang organised begger but it was funny. A man was begging and looking glum and a group of people stopped to give him change and suddenly this woman stormed over as said his name and asked wtf he was playing at. He pretended not to know he and she angrily told the people he was her next door neighbour from a town about an hour away. Fucking rumbled he was never saw him again funny enough.