Big Issue seller asked for more

In some cases here in UK the beggars are not what they seem- there are gangs who have trafficked people and force them to beg. They pick them up at the end of the day and force them to hand over most of the money.

These are the beggars who hold signs saying "Im hungry, God bless you" but if you give them food they do not want it. They all have the same sign, written by the gang leader in the neatest handwriting. They are not from UK.

I don't know why the police are not catching the gang leaders and helping these guys home. It's modern slavery just as much as the ones forced into prostitution or farming drugs.

I understand why people have some resentment of people who might be taking advantage of the situation. When we visited Galway, Ireland, we were besieged by people from Poland or other parts of Eastern Europe selling all kinds of insurance schemes or just plain begging. One woman had a baby carriage stuffed with blankets, but I never saw a baby really. She actually had a laminated card stating in English that she was Polish, had three children and no money, but I saw her earlier sitting on the sidewalk smoking. I think it's okay to feel some sense of wanting your own countrymen to benefit from whatever positives there are. I also think it's only right to welcome people to your country from other places who come legally, and want to be productive citizens and not merely hangers-on for the benefits. It's a complicated issue, not just black and white.

fluttERBY123 No you don't have to be homeless. This lady has two young children but no husband. At least, not one that lives with her. Someone told me her husband was left behind in Syria for some reason but I don't know for sure and to be honest I don't know her well enough to ask questions. I'm guessing that this is her main income. She told me once when her English is better she would like to work in a shop but the way shops are shutting round here I don't fancy her chances.

Most Big Issue sellers stick firmly to the rules which are printed in every issue. Our local seller has been outside the Co Op for about four years, during which time she had a baby. Yesterday she was outside all day in freezing conditions, then later stood at the bus stop waiting to get home, as she does every day. She's a lovely girl trying to earn a living. There are some disgusting comments on here.

They could simply be giving you a piece of innocent , conversational information - as ever, it depends on your outlook, mindset, and your attitude to others as to how you choose to interpret what is said directly to you, or written.

MerylStreep

Volver
Both you and I know that that is not what I meant so stop with snide remarks.
If I said I employed Roma people what would you accuse me of, I dread to think.

It wasn't snide. It was direct.

If someone said they employed Roma people à propos of nothing, I'd wonder if they were telling me so that I would think they were a good person.

Volver
Both you and I know that that is not what I meant so stop with snide remarks.
If I said I employed Roma people what would you accuse me of, I dread to think.

I'd rather give to charity (and I do) but I don't want to buy something that I have no intention of reading- just because I feel sorry for the BI seller. My husband does this, but I don't agree. He never reads it and has no intention of doing so, making it charity. But I prefer to donate to homeless or animal charities that I know are helping people. Everyone can do what they feel comfortable with, that helps others.

Theexwife

The sellers have to pay £1.50 for each copy so they are not making very much, I give the amount asked but do not take the magazine.

I've often offered to just give the money as I don't read them, but I'm always told they can't accept it unless I take a mag!
The mags are wasted on me!

volver

What do people think they are achieving by telling us that they think Big Issue is a scam or that they take issue with charity collectors? That they know something about the world that we don't? That they are standing up for their rights?

Ignore them. Give to whoever you like; nobody if you want. But don't show us all how uncharitable you are or how you are keen to believe that a successful charity is just a "scam". Or that one person behaving badly means that you ignore all the ones who don't. Says more about you than it does about the charities and the people collecting for them.

Agree. And I'd rather give someone who may or may not be scamming a quid, than be the person that walks past, assuming it's a scam. I'm not a Christian, but 'Be kind to one another'.

Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that they are "used to it" so don't really mind?

It gets worse.

Deedaa
I know Romania very well. I had a rental property there for some years.
They have brutal winters there. The Roma still spend most of their lives outside.

What do people think they are achieving by telling us that they think Big Issue is a scam or that they take issue with charity collectors? That they know something about the world that we don't? That they are standing up for their rights?

Ignore them. Give to whoever you like; nobody if you want. But don't show us all how uncharitable you are or how you are keen to believe that a successful charity is just a "scam". Or that one person behaving badly means that you ignore all the ones who don't. Says more about you than it does about the charities and the people collecting for them.

This reminds me of an incident many years ago when a woman was standing outside Sainsburys with a collection pot for children with kidney disease (I think it was). When I walked past her without contributing - I prefer to give to charities of my choice at the time I choose - she shouted to me "So you don't want to help children who are dying then"? I was absolutely furious so turned around and told her that I am entitled to choose who I give my hard earned money to and she had no place trying to make me feel guilty. I asked for her name so that I could report her to the relevant charity but she refused so in the end I just carried on walking into the shop and totally ignored her and her "colleagues" when I came out.

I have never forgotten this exchange and whilst I hope it was a one-off unfortunate incident, I now refuse to even acknowledge anyone who is shaking a collection box or asking for donations anywhere in public. As I say, I prefer to donate to charities/causes that mean something to me, when I am able to and just because I am going into a shop to buy food or drink for my family, that doesn't mean I have any money to spare.

I suppose we don’t, but unless you are giving them your last pound, does it really matter? Even if half of them are scammers (unlikely), the other half won’t be, and you could be making a big difference.

Years ago when my children were at Uni in big cities, we were out shopping in the city and Big Issue was sold everywhere. My children always told me not to buy it as it was a scam. I have never given any money to street sellers or people purporting to be homeless, how do we really know!

Years ago a woman in her fifties and a retired man used to do all of the paper rounds locally. They both had homes, but I suspect they loved the outdoors, earning cash in hand or perhaps had mental health or learning problems which prevented them from being able to work a traditional job?

Not every one is the same. Maybe some have a criminal past or things that would make an employer refuse to employ them? Even mental health difficulties have to be declared for many jobs.

I do not buy the BI now because I prefer to donate directly to charities and do not want to buy something I don't have the time or inclination to read. The only time I have bought one Ive flicked through it and then binned it. My husband buys it as an act of charity, but I prefer to actually give to a charity.

fluttERBY123 You don't have to be homeless to sell The Big Issue. If you read Bob The Street Cat James Bowen was living in a flat while he was selling it. He also explains a lot of the rules they are bound by.

I have a little Romanian girl who sells it outside our shops. She takes turns with her sister. They seem to be living very hand to mouth and I can't imagine that they would be out in all weathers if they didn't have to be.

GrammyGrammy

I am more interested in helping our own homeless , particularly women and ex servicemen rather than all the thousands of economic migrants from Asia and the middle east here. Christian England is mostly for the English...

Jesus, the son of God, was from the middle east.

'English' is a west-Germanic language. The ethnonym is from the 'Angles' - one of the Germanic peoples who migrated to Great Britain around the 5th century AD. They may or may not have been economic migrants.

An economic migrant is not, by default, a criminal. He is that person who under economic distress, seeks a better and more stable life for himself and his family. Probably out of one of the most basic natural instincts - survival.

As large parts of the world suffer the inevitable consequences of global warming - not to mention the instability often caused through western intervention, "Christian England" will have to wake up to the fact that it cannot live in privileged isolation. I think God and his son would've understood that.

The people who sell BI in my area live in a hostel.

Arewethereyet. You say the seller lives near and takes stuff "home" for family. I thought The Big Issue was that people were homeless. Has that changed? I thought they were all rough sleepers.

Happened to me at car wash asked more than the price displayed Lost a customer

It seems that any overtly racist comments on GN are dealt with at once, discussed, and usually some pointed advice given to the poster. Therefore, I don't accept that there is anything 'up' with Gransnet; there is a cross section of people on this site and some are racist. Of course they are - it's a microcosm of society. I understand that Jesus was a Syrian Jew; presumably then his (possibly) swarthy appearance would have precluded him from areas of society in this country where 'foreigners' are not welcome?

Just to add, I buy and read The Big Issue every week, from an official, registered seller (and avoid the three unofficial ones I pass regularly)

I would have taken the £10 back and returned the Big Issue then reported the seller on line. It is possible they were not an official seller - they must wear the official jacket or gillet (check non of the lettering has been altered - the official office uses sharpies on old ones to try to stamp out their use by unofficial sellers whilst acknowledging they are warm and may still be usable) and they must display their official licence. If they don't, don't buy from them.
The official Big Issue sellers are told very clearly that asking for more than the cover price is begging and as such unacceptable and against their licence conditions.
The Big Issue management need to know. They will take action, usually to help and support the seller, but also to protect the brand and the public from scams.