retired_sedimohasel

This is homeless people's favorite line in Philly

runronnirun

remember a couple of years back some irish guy stopping me and another couple of OTFers outside Old Trafford, asking for money 'because i've come all the way over from Ireland and lost my ticket, trying to get some money together to buy another'. didn't believe him, said no, walked on, thought no more of it.... until i'm in town maybe a week later in the company of one of the above OTFers and the same guy stops us outside the Arndale Centre with a totally different sob story. walked on of course, quite amused at his audacity. even more amused to turn round and see aforementioned OTFer giving him some change.

let's play 'guess the OTFer i'm talking about'!

retired_jesenia

it was actually on piccadilly approach, you bastard

runronnirun

ruined the game

sure it was the Arndale Centre too

retired_jesenia

I remember it well

retired_srini_aug1

sounds like a conman. wp

retired_el_chanclas

Was with a group of mates coming home on a train. Had a 17ish girl and a 14ish girl come through the train once carrying a sign saying something like "We can't talk, please give money for bus home". Some stupid story, deaf/mute or blind or something.

A week later, same group, just before we "finish" for the night, half walk to their homes in the area the rest get onto the trains etc. The old girl comes up and just ask us for money for the train.

One of the other guys recognises her and tells her off and threatens to call the police, and she runs off crying.



Never saw her again.

buffdaddy110

Morally? I don't believe you'd be morally obliged to give this person any cash - even if his story was true (yeah, right!)

If he wanted the money for a taxi fare, then he should have asked a taxi driver or firm for the fare.

How did he leave his wallet at the hospital and why didn't he fetch it?
And what's the relevance of the phone bill?
What hospital did he confuse with Wythenshawe? - I can't think of any that sound like that although Salford Hope has the same number of syllables!
And why did he need to go to the hospital so urgently anyway? When my mother went into hospital to give birth to my sister, my father took me to a footy match ( )

I would have lent him £3.80 and asked for his watch as collateral.

buffdaddy110

This thread reminds me of one of my first days in Jerusalem.

An English couple were sat at the bus station begging for money for a flight home to England ( ! ). They were huddled in a pile of blankets barely sheltered from the snow and the girl was apparently pregnant.
Naturally I took pity on my compatriots and donated 20 Shekelim or so.

Later that night, I was very surprised to hear the same two Brummie accents behind me in a night club.

I went over to them and congratulated the girl on having given birth and to join them as they whet the babies head!
They bought me drinks for the rest of the night (roughly 20 shekels worth) and told me they had been doing it for months, scrounging enough to live on and more in just a couple of hours a week!

Strangely though, when I genuinely ran out of cash in Tel-Aviv en route from Eilat to Qiryat Shemona, I couldn't bring myself to beg for the bus fare and chose instead to hitch-hike.

retired_Fit

My general rule is i dont give any money to anyone, regardless of their story. Basically, i really dont allow people to start talking.

100 quid phone bill ? Is that a lot ?
I'm not even sure i get the 'wrong hospital' bit, he supposedly got a cab to the wrong hospital, realised his wife wasnt there but still left his wallet there ? What a load of rubbish

What happened to the days of people just asking for a few quid, now they have to come up with stories ? Are people really going to think "if he was begging, why didnt he ask for more, such an odd amount" that one always gets me

How far is a 3.80p cab ride anyway ? If my wife was having a kid and i really needed to get there i reckon i'd take a brisk walk, not more than few miles is it ? People today, no work ethic