Have you been taken for a fool !

I've been taken for a fool on many occasions and not ashamed to admit it. tbh I don't want to live my life constantly suspicious of people's motives and I'd rather believe the best in people until they show they can't be trusted. I'm actually quite an assertive person and more than happy to call someone out in a direct way if required and although I think my gut instincts are pretty reliable, they certainly aren't infallible so I tend to give people the "benefit of the doubt".

It must be a very rare person who has never been taken for a fool at some time for something.

Hear, hear foxie48. We shouldn't be suspicious of every single person we meet, what a life!

Absolutely BigBertha1

The strange thing being, some of the best advantage takers are people you don't suspect in the first place. You really don't know anyone.

I had a freak situation when my neighbour had recommended a roofer and a cowboy turned up out of the blue on that day and when I asked him if he was ? he confirmed it.
What a mess and the tinker got away with the cash.
The bona fide builder was bemused by my complaints.
One has to laugh sometimes.

I even held the ladder for him and he answered to the name my neighbour had mentioned!!

hollysteers

!#!$!$!$!#!@!!##$.... unbelievable....

Yes, a few years ago by my OH extended family. He didn't realise what was happening right under his nose and now he wants them staying with us again..........not a chance! Soft touch springs to mind.

Yes, often at work. I think because I'm not competitive and really only want to do my work well, to benefit my students, others underestimate me.

I can't be bothered with the 'Look at me!' and self aggrandisement. I'm the first one to moan about my short comings. I think all of that leads to others assuming I'm a bit crap.

The up side is that my students always do really well, which counteracts the otherwise low key effect I have. Unfortunately, in British education, self publication is what is rewarded 99.9% of the time, not great results. But then, that is what we get, from the top (government) down, isn't it?

GagaJo

The proof is in the pudding.

I don’t trust anyone anymore - very sad ?

Yes by my first ex OH. I was young and thought we were in love. Took me a couple of years to realise his romantic interests were not for me or for women. It was a marriage of convenience and 'respectability' as his family wouldn't have tolerated his true sexuality

Not really - trust no-one except yourself.

Yes. It’s going on right now. How did you stop them please

Trust for others has gradually disappeared over the years. I've got one true friend who would do anything for me who I'd trust with my life. The others just come and go and normally get in touch when they need someone to moan to get something. No more.

Serendipity22 so true we once had someone try to fool us just went along with it until the final moment when we pulled the masterstroke. So satisfying. Some people mistake kindness for stupidity.

I think the OP means have you ever played the fool yourself, to make a fool of the person who is trying to fool you.

Yes. Just before Christmas I got a WhatsApp supposedly from DD saying she had a new phone (quite plausible)
Then there was some general how are things etc. again nothing dodgy.
Then a request for me to pay a bill for her (strange & unlikely)
When the sum in question turned out to ve £2K I knew it was a scam.
But I kept pretending I thought it was genuine, asking the messager to call me before I would make the payment.
This went on for a bit & finished up like this

A friend of mine once started chatting to a "painter and decorator" she bumped into in a DIY store and told him she needed some paintwork doing. He said he'd come and paint her living room and kitchen at a reduced price. (She already had the paint.) He said he always tried to help out elderly people if he could, seemed very nice. He arrived as arranged to do the job but said he always took payment in advance. Foolishly, my friend paid up in cash - not a small amount either! He stayed about half an hour, painted a bit of one wall in a very slapdash manner and then said he had to just nip off to his van for a better brush. She never saw him again. She had no phone number for him and only knew that he'd said his name was John and lived in Manchester. Utter ratbag preying on an 82 year old lady who lived alone. My friend said she knew she'd been a fool. In fact, she fell for a few scams like that because she took people at their word.

People underestimate me because I tolerate a lot of poor behaviour - but when people don’t heed the warning signs and a line is crossed, nothing short of anihilation is going their way

Don’t know who said it “Beware the anger of the patient man”

I don’t trust anyone 100%

I live in a leasehold property and a previous managing agent took us all for fools. They stole tens of thousands of pounds from a fund they should not have accessed while we believed the money was still there. It has soured all our trust in anybody. we now deal with. Its very sad that 'one bad apple' can have the effect it has had!

Oh how complex makes a fool of the fool who tried to fool you
No I m me, if someone fools me I take it on board and don’t get caught out twice what’s the point in playing games if a fool makes a fool of the fool then we re all fools or tools

I m reasonably savvy but we all get caught out once or twice if in a lifetime if we re a reasonably nice person

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me - don’t put up with it