[Cherie]

Originally Posted by DemolitionRed

It does if they are asking me for money for food which they usually do, at least in my neck of London. They don't just put their hand out and say nothing; they usually have a bit of cardboard with a message on it.

Obviously if they are asking for food, but some ask for change so they can get some cans

[Ammi]

Are you not outraged at someone defrauding the public while impersonating an ex officer..? would you be upset if your grandma gave him a fiver from her pension? Would you rather it wasn't reported but swept under the carpet and we went aw bless he has twins and is on bennies leave him alone, I don't really get your point, he should be absolved because he is poor?


...this seems a bit of an odd one, I mean who gave the story to the DM with this.../someone surely must have contacted them because it would seem pretty much like a local story to me/a local 'scam', specific to this person...I'm not saying it's a 'one off' because there may be similar but this isn't reporting 'in the interests of/public information'/type thing of a huge con going around nationally of homeless people saying they are ex-military when they're not....in the courts it was said that this man did such extensive research that he convinced a former sergeant of the Grenadier Guards so obviously quite thorough in his intentions and yes, as well as his conviction probably should be named and shamed but surely a naming and shaming in the local media to his area would be the thing....'be careful of this man if he asks you for money'...so was it the former sergeant that contacted the DM because he had invested so much into him on a personal level....hmmmm, I'm not quite sure about this if I'm honest, if that were the case..if it was him, is he saying that he only helped a homeless person because they were ex military, well I guess that's his choice and what he did was very honourable in a way by setting up a facebook thing and giving this man's story to the local press etc but was it all done with the full consent of and together with 'the scammer', I'll call him for want of another word or did he just do it on his own, without any knowledge from that person because I don't think that's right either and he would then have to take a large responsibility himself of how much he was taken in/believed in etc...of all people, he's fully aware of charities and ways to help ex military....so is he just saying now, uggghh I resent him/that's so wrong because ex military is really something that is a real low...well I would agree with that, the same as I would agree that conning and falsely garnering sympathies for anything is a real low but I also think that most people are fully aware that when they give anything to anyone, there is an element of trust and belief that is their choice...giving money/giving clothing etc or anything you give is obviously a gift...a gift once given to someone else is then a loss of control or having any say in how it's spent, whether it bee food on the table/a warm coat or a luxury item..it's just not for him to say because that money no longer belonged to him once given and it was given in a belief of, so the lesson there for me would be to go through the charities that you fully know are ok and not invest too much in one person because even if it had been a genuine ex military, then his personal story would have been one of many similar personal and equally deserving stories, so it's just the better way....hmmmmm, if it was me and my grandma..(I don't have a grandma but I'll equate it to some of the older ladies I know who are on state pensions...)...I guess I would just say, well if you felt that you could get by without that £5 or whatever that week, that you would stretch and manage because of this one person you felt needed more..and you survived it etc, then a lesson learned and your heart was well intentioned so no lasting harm done...and if you do have that odd £5 every week or every two or three weeks etc and you really want to think about how it could help someone else, then let's do a bit of research together here and see the best way to go.....maybe I'm being a bit harsh here, but time is short so it's an initial thought/type thing..../one of the main things being that it would be interesting as to how the DM got this story....

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Ammi

Are you not outraged at someone defrauding the public while impersonating an ex officer..? would you be upset if your grandma gave him a fiver from her pension? Would you rather it wasn't reported but swept under the carpet and we went aw bless he has twins and is on bennies leave him alone, I don't really get your point, he should be absolved because he is poor?


...this seems a bit of an odd one, I mean who gave the story to the DM with this.../someone surely must have contacted them because it would seem pretty much like a local story to me/a local 'scam', specific to this person...I'm not saying it's a 'one off' because there may be similar but this isn't reporting 'in the interests of/public information'/type thing of a huge con going around nationally of homeless people saying they are ex-military when they're not....in the courts it was said that this man did such extensive research that he convinced a former sergeant of the Grenadier Guards so obviously quite thorough in his intentions and yes, as well as his conviction probably should be named and shamed but surely a naming and shaming in the local media to his area would be the thing....'be careful of this man if he asks you for money'...so was it the former sergeant that contacted the DM because he had invested so much into him on a personal level....hmmmm, I'm not quite sure about this if I'm honest, if that were the case..if it was him, is he saying that he only helped a homeless person because they were ex military, well I guess that's his choice and what he did was very honourable in a way by setting up a facebook thing and giving this man's story to the local press etc but was it all done with the full consent of and together with 'the scammer', I'll call him for want of another word or did he just do it on his own, without any knowledge from that person because I don't think that's right either and he would then have to take a large responsibility himself of how much he was taken in/believed in etc...of all people, he's fully aware of charities and ways to help ex military....so is he just saying now, uggghh I resent him/that's so wrong because ex military is really something that is a real low...well I would agree with that, the same as I would agree that conning and falsely garnering sympathies for anything is a real low but I also think that most people are fully aware that when they give anything to anyone, there is an element of trust and belief that is their choice...giving money/giving clothing etc or anything you give is obviously a gift...a gift once given to someone else is then a loss of control or having any say in how it's spent, whether it bee food on the table/a warm coat or a luxury item..it's just not for him to say because that money no longer belonged to him once given and it was given in a belief of, so the lesson there for me would be to go through the charities that you fully know are ok and not invest too much in one person because even if it had been a genuine ex military, then his personal story would have been one of many similar personal and equally deserving stories, so it's just the better way....hmmmmm, if it was me and my grandma..(I don't have a grandma but I'll equate it to some of the older ladies I know who are on state pensions...)...I guess I would just say, well if you felt that you could get by without that £5 or whatever that week, that you would stretch and manage because of this one person you felt needed more..and you survived it etc, then a lesson learned and your heart was well intentioned so no lasting harm done...and if you do have that odd £5 every week or every two or three weeks etc and you really want to think about how it could help someone else, then let's do a bit of research together here and see the best way to go.....maybe I'm being a bit harsh here, but time is short so it's an initial thought/type thing..../one of the main things being that it would be interesting as to how the DM got this story....

The nationals regularly pick up stories from local media, local journalists contact the nationals if they feel a story will have national appeal, are you saying they shouldn't report any stories (or just report on the heart warming ones,) and just report those of national interest? or it may have been the guy who helped him which in fairness is a pretty human response to out someone who has conned you, maybe he should have dealt with it differently but we are not privy to the conversations between the two so it is harsh to judge him on his actions.

[smudgie]

Originally Posted by Cherie

The nationals regularly pick up stories from local media, local journalists contact the nationals if they feel a story will have national appeal, are you saying they shouldn't report any stories (or just report on the heart warming ones, and stories appealing for bone marrow or similar) and just report those of national interest? or it may have been the guy who helped him which in fairness is a pretty human response to out someone who has conned you, maybe he should have dealt with it differently but we are not privy to the conversations between the two so it is harsh to judge him on his actions.

Yes, and as well as this, there seems to be a bit more interest in these stories by the media.
It was on Loose women yesterday, a different case, a man making an average of £500 a week, claiming he was homeless.
Homeless charities suggest we don't dip our hands in our pickets for them on the street, most homeless people don't beg..and most beggars aren't homeless. As was quoted on the show, not my opinion at all as I don't know.
I prefer to give to the charities direct, they will try and help people long term rather than a couple of quid, for beers, drugs or whatever it is they are begging for.
Less chance of being scammed and more chance of helping the genuine people that need it.