Beggars at petrol stations

[nooie]

I have given food to folk I didn't know. They are not always looking for drugs. I ask them if they are really wanting food or is it for drugs or booze and if the answer is no I buy the food and give them that. It's not against junkies or boozers, but I don't want to fund them killing themselves. I don't give the cash.

[Tinker]

I have given food to folk I didn't know. They are not always looking for drugs. I ask them if they are really wanting food or is it for drugs or booze and if the answer is no I buy the food and give them that. It's not against junkies or boozers, but I don't want to fund them killing themselves. I don't give the cash.

 

I did'nt think drugs etc. would be such a problem on the last stepping stone before Iceland, except for snorting ash of course:biggrin:

[easy-lift guy]

Nope, in order for it to be theft you have to intend never to pay

Not so here in the States. Drive off's as they are known are a common occurrence with some stations willing to be more trusting than others. :sneaky2:Prepayment at the pump or inside the store helps prevent this theft from taking place usually, and when caught by the Police charges are always filed.

easy-lift guy

[Moonie]

To be honest, if he's in the situation where he's begging £3 at petrol stations, self-inflicted or not, I'd probably just give him the £3, he needs it more than I do.

[Dom]

I got caught out at a petrol station without my wallet once. I did find a chequebook though, so I went in, to find out that petrol stations don't accept cheques any more (what's the world coming to, i love cheques).

 

So for the next half hour or so, I had to ask every Tom Dick and Harry if I could borrow a tenner and I'd write them out a cheque there and then. I must have asked about 20 people before someone agreed. Most people I asked were just plain rude, which was disappointing - gave me little faith in humanity.

 

 

A few weeks later I was at a service station and a group of middle aged women asked me to borrow a fiver to pay for fuel, they said they'd do a bank transfer or post a cheque or pay the balance somehow, so we exchanged phone numbers and cash, didn't hear anything the next day, and when I called the number I found out it wasn't real. Crafty beggars.

[Deni]

Yes this happened to me I filled up at an independent garage then realised my wallet was at home . They would not take my address and told me I had to pay I told them I could not as wallet at home ,they said they would call the police if I did not cough up by this time the 2 of them were getting cross .

They said they would call the police if I drove off to report theft.

 

So in the end I rang the local police as did not want them coming for me with blues and 2s and explained my situation and that I would rather they came to the filling station then me leaving and them arresting me as I still having not left the forecourt had not committed a crime .

 

They came and were really nice and took all my details and persuaded the owners to let me drive home and get it it took the police some time as the owners wanted them to arrest me to insure they got there money

 

I went home and got payment and all was well but thats my exp of filling up with no wallet .

 

Littletree:thumbup:

 

 

Yip thats how its done, my family have owned a petrol station for 40+ years. People come in all the time claiming they have forgot there wallet, thing is if you doint get the police involved straight away they aint interested when you phone saying someone hasnt come back to pay there fuel, they say its a civil matter and to take them to court, which isnt even worth it in the end, the money made on fuel independently is shocking and with everyone driving off or not coming back to pay really effects the business, if we could still get the same amount of business in the shop and scrap the fuel we would in a second, but thats what brings the customers into the shop.

[Jesse]

Whilst parked at a petrol station this evening I was approached by a fairly well dressed white chap who claimed that his card was not working and he needed £3 to buy fuel to get home. Naturally I told him that I had no change and drove off.

Did I do the right thing?

crist you were polite, i would not of used so many words, unless he had an id card, or i knew him, or he was a relative, or he was a she , who was very pretty or pretty or just ok:thumbup:

[Jesse]

crist you were polite, i would not of used so many words, unless he had an id card, or i knew him, or he was a relative, or he was a she , who was very pretty or pretty or just ok:thumbup:

 

just to add a bit more, i work very hard for my money and as a resullt i end up wearing my work clothes all the time, and i shop in oxfam for those special occasions, wife loves going out with me, so as a result i normally find that beggers look away from me and dont ask, and if you dont ask you dont get, get a job.

[DN22 Gardening]

had it a few times now.

 

even once had one of our travelling friends come with a five gallon drum asking if i could spare 5 gal. out of my truck..

 

 

a polite no, followed by laughter

[timberbear]

My mum said you should never be disrespectful to a begger or tramp incase it's Jesus who's come back down from heaven! When and if I get to heaven I'll tell him I've been fleeced for about forty quid over the last few years. Only last week I gave some poor down trodden chap four quid to get a train ticket, fair do's he bought a ticket for £1.90 and stuffed the change in his pocket!

 

"Spare me a quid towards my new land rover, gov'ner"

Edited January 2, 2012 by timberbear