Beggars outside supermarkets

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,404
Location
Finchley, London
I go to either of my two local Tesco stores usually a couple of times a week for shopping and there's always a beggar camping at every entrance and exit. This problem has got worse and worse and is really irritating me. Without fail I get asked for money every single time going into a store and again coming out. It's been relentless for months and has gotten out of hand. Never used to be like this.

I don't want to be mean to these people because obviously things are tough for them, and no-one minds getting asked occasionally. But not all the time. Security people in the stores do nothing and customer services say it's down to the council and the police. Apparently the police have moved some away but of course they return. Any money given would no doubt go on drugs and booze anyway and there's no guarantee they're even genuinely homeless people. I've read stories of beggars demanding money from customers at cash machines.

I've started shopping more at Aldi because they're generally better value plus I've never seen beggars there.
Does anyone else encounter this regularly?
 
No, usually here they sit in shop doorways looking sad.
It's probably quite a lucrative hustle for some of them in London.
 
Gave up going to shops well before the lockdown (apart from small local store and tend to go early), do not miss dealing with members of public esp todays society.

Get nearly all my stuff online to my door.
 
JohnG7 said:
Gave up going to shops well before the lockdown (apart from small local store and tend to go early), do not miss dealing with members of public esp todays society.

Get nearly all my stuff online to my door.
Click to expand...
Same. Dealing with the general public these days is just painful. You can get everything online so what's the need to go out and shop
 
azazl187 said:
Same. Dealing with the general public these days is just painful. You can get everything online so what's the need to go out and shop
Click to expand...

Fresher longer lasting produce for a start.

Here's your bread type goods all of them dated for a day.

Same goes for veg and fridge stuff.

I actively walk around checking dates and moving stuff and getting the stuff with the longest on it to prevent waste.
 
JohnG7 said:
Gave up going to shops well before the lockdown (apart from small local store and tend to go early), do not miss dealing with members of public esp todays society.

Get nearly all my stuff online to my door.
Click to expand...

What if you need something immediately, like a pint of milk, packet of biscuits, fresh fish or a bag of Haribo? Isn't there a delivery charge for online groceries?
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Fresher longer lasting produce for a start.

Here's your bread type goods all of them dated for a day.

Same goes for veg and fridge stuff.

I actively walk around checking dates and moving stuff and getting the stuff with the longest on it to prevent waste.
Click to expand...

Ahh but then you get a refund and I don't mind slightly stale bread if its free :D
 
Puzzled said:
Ahh but then you get a refund and I don't mind slightly stale bread if its free :D
Click to expand...

Throws our meal planning out the window if dates are all short. I'd rather not waste food and rather not eat crap for the sake of it like stale bread. For example the rolls I got yesterday we had three yesterday and the fourth I threw out this morning even though it was fresh inside the outside had gone pretty hard they were hard rolls because I prefer them and they never last longer than the day you buy them but sometimes they do. I could have eaten it but I've got bagels, croissants and a full load of bread so I just had the bread instead it was nice and soft and toasted up nicely.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Fresher longer lasting produce for a start.

Here's your bread type goods all of them dated for a day.

Same goes for veg and fridge stuff.

I actively walk around checking dates and moving stuff and getting the stuff with the longest on it to prevent waste.
Click to expand...
When was the last time you used Ocado? They tell you the date as you're adding to basket.
 
Merlin5 said:
I go to either of my two local Tesco stores usually a couple of times a week for shopping and there's always a beggar camping at every entrance and exit. This problem has got worse and worse and is really irritating me. Without fail I get asked for money every single time going into a store and again coming out. It's been relentless for months and has gotten out of hand. Never used to be like this.

I don't want to be mean to these people because obviously things are tough for them, and no-one minds getting asked occasionally. But not all the time. Security people in the stores do nothing and customer services say it's down to the council and the police. Apparently the police have moved some away but of course they return. Any money given would no doubt go on drugs and booze anyway and there's no guarantee they're even genuinely homeless people. I've read stories of beggars demanding money from customers at cash machines.

I've started shopping more at Aldi because they're generally better value plus I've never seen beggars there.
Does anyone else encounter this regularly?
Click to expand...
We had a spate of Romanian aunts and uncles being bussed into town, given a cup and a handwritten message to elicit sympathy. Coincidentally all in the same handwriting. The police moved them on and probably had a hard word with the nephews. Not seen them for a while it would be nice to believe they have been deported back home.

OK we have some Brits reduced to begging for some reason but why we have EU citizens doing it on our streets fails me.
 
Fake homless people in London is one of the big scams being run.

It's not like everyone even carries physical money now.

We had a couple in town who used to hang out right near the local cash machines and bank. The bank closed, as did the cash machines and now the homeless people have vanished too.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Never I'm not sure we have them in Scotland we do have a Waitrose and a marks and Spencer but never used either for delivery only in store
Click to expand...
I use Ocado for M&S delivery. It’s pretty good. Good slot availability and not as expensive as it used to be. They do a 3 for £10 deal which includes some lovely stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom