Beggers on stations

[pinguini]

What suggestions do you have for a passenger who is fed up of beggers at a particular station?

Anyone who lives in Coventry will understand you can't even walk to the shop without being asked for money, but at Coventry station it seems you can't go without getting harrased by someone. If you don't have change, they'll offer to break a note (they'll probably start accepting donations by card soon too), last night I was only there a few minutes to meet someone off a train and was greeted by some low-life with "You got 90p?" and when I declared my lack of 90p, he wanted to use my phone to send a text.

All the time there are people harrassing others for money etc at that station but theres never anything that can be done.

 

[christopher]

Report it to the TOC?


Get it quite a bit on the Scumbag Express (Liverpool St - Shenfield Metro) where they usually walk through the whole train asking every single passenger for change :-x

 

[FGW_DID]

If its becoming that much of a problem, please let the station management / staff know or highlight the fact to BTP. Whilst nothing may be done immediately the more reports they receive about it will enable them to build up the "bigger picture" and if seen to be a problem more resources can be directed to that hotspot.

 

[Monty]

There is a chap who begs on the stairs to the entrance of the gents toilet at Waterloo, starting to get a bit tiresome being bothered for change every time I need to shake hands with the vicar. More annoyingly is you have to make a real effort to avoid tripping over him and breaking your neck falling down the stairs...

 

[island]

My personal peeve is the people who want a largish sum such as £21.50 at Paddington (the price of a single to Reading) because they've been mugged/chucked out by their parents/fired/etc. but seem very unenthusiastic about you going to the TVM and buying them a ticket.

 

[Monty]

My personal peeve is the people who want a largish sum such as £21.50 at Paddington (the price of a single to Reading) because they've been mugged/chucked out by their parents/fired/etc. but seem very unenthusiastic about you going to the TVM and buying them a ticket.

It's no different when you offer them a sandwich or a coffee in lieu of cash, who said beggars can't be choosers. :roll:

 

[island]

On that point, I have been meaning to buy a dozen £5 supermarket gift cards around Christmas and offering them to beggars as an experiment. I have yet to get around to doing it however.

 

[pinguini]

They sell alcohol and nicotine at supermarkets.

 

[asylumxl]

It's no different when you offer them a sandwich or a coffee in lieu of cash, who said beggars can't be choosers. :roll:

Quite a difference between con-artists and beggars though :P.

I had one guy ask me for money to get to Reading and I was in fact going that way so I offered to go with him. Needless to say he wasn't enthused by the idea.

There seems to be a lot of Bulgarian Gypsy beggars around at the moment. For some reason though wearing gold jewellery etc doesn't make it very convincing.

 

[chris89]

It's no different when you offer them a sandwich or a coffee in lieu of cash, who said beggars can't be choosers. :roll:

My personal peeve is the people who want a largish sum such as £21.50 at Paddington (the price of a single to Reading) because they've been mugged/chucked out by their parents/fired/etc. but seem very unenthusiastic about you going to the TVM and buying them a ticket.

Sadly those sort of ones put the ones who are in need at a massive disadvantage.

Many times i've gone to the Carling Academy (O2 Academy now?) in Birmingham used to get bugged a lot and i refused to give any money as knew it would be used for drugs. But then friends gave money though.

 

[rebmcr]

On the Jubilee line earlier this month — driver comes over the PA system "Please note there is a beggar on this train, do not encourage him by giving him any money."

 

[howittpie]

While stood outside London Victoria yesterday for about 15 minutes I must have been asked about 6 times if I had spare change, a spare smoke or wanted a one day travelcard it seems to be a problem that is increaseing along with the huge homeless problem in London.

 

[jb]

While stood outside London Victoria yesterday for about 15 minutes I must have been asked about 6 times if I had spare change, a spare smoke or wanted a one day travelcard it seems to be a problem that is increaseing along with the huge homeless problem in London.

Doesn't sound like it's increasing. Victoria has been like that for as long as I can remember.

 

[howittpie]

It has got gradualy worse over the last 6 months.

 

[bluenoxid]

Most cities have agencies that are here to help the genuine homeless. For example, Newcastle has the Cyrenians who are actively seeking out those who are sleeping rough and begging in the city centre.

The BTP are available on 0800405040 and you can contact most TOC's through a whole variety methods, although Tyne and Wear Metro and West Coast Rail appear to have drawn the line at smoke signals, for the current period.

It is not fair to be harassed but if you don't say anything, you don't get it solved.

The thing that gets my goat is kids asking for booze. It is also begging no matter how big and angry your Dad is when he gets told that the nasty neighbour reported little laddie to the police. Diddums.

 

[BestWestern]

There is a chap who begs on the stairs to the entrance of the gents toilet at Waterloo, starting to get a bit tiresome being bothered for change every time I need to shake hands with the vicar. More annoyingly is you have to make a real effort to avoid tripping over him and breaking your neck falling down the stairs...

Surely at Waterloo there is enough of a staff presence to deal with him? Failing that, an accidental 'greeting' with the business end of your shoe might be an effective way of conveying your appreciation of his efforts.

My personal peeve is the people who want a largish sum such as £21.50 at Paddington (the price of a single to Reading) because they've been mugged/chucked out by their parents/fired/etc. but seem very unenthusiastic about you going to the TVM and buying them a ticket.

There is only one appropriate response to that, and it is far to obscene to post on here...

 

[Greenback]

There is only one appropriate response to that, and it is far to obscene to post on here...

Very prevalant in Reading during my time there, despite our best efforts to get rid of them. Of course, in those days it was £4 to get home to Basingstoke or Wokingham...

 

[trentside]

I agree with the approach of those who offer to buy a sandwich/coffee/ticket - it seems to be better for the genuine cases. I tend to just refuse any request - but I might try this approach in future.

At the station I work at, one of the local churches often buys tickets for the homeless or others who don't have sufficient funds. A major problem is that said people will usually return for a cash refund - some of the church folk have caught onto this and are now paying by card, thus any refund goes back to them automatically.

 

[Greenback]

At the station I work at, one of the local churches often buys tickets for the homeless or others who don't have sufficient funds. A major problem is that said people will usually return for a cash refund - some of the church folk have caught onto this and are now paying by card, thus any refund goes back to them automatically.

That's what they used to do at Reading. I used to see the same old faces queuing up for a cash refund using a ticket some kindly soul had purchased for them at the Quickfare machine.

When I used to be out and about the concourse I used to advise the victims NOT to buy a ticket using cash whenever I could.

Oh dear, I seem to be reminiscing a lot tonight!

 

[Clip]

Always report any beggars.

The problem being is that once you boot them out one for they come in another and the btp will only and can only do so much about them.

Saw that bloke at Waterloo the other day and was a bit cheeky so flashed some I'd and asked him to move on, said he hasn't seen me before but he soon left once he weighed up whether to question me any further

 

[mr williams]

The problem being is that once you boot them out one for they come in another and the btp will only and can only do so much about them.

I would have thought that there's surely something in the railway by-laws giving the "authorities" the right to ask somebody to leave the station area and if they return they are liable to arrest?

There was a crackdown on beggars in Bristol some years ago (and rightly so, as the situation was getting ridiculous) and I haven't seen a beggar at Temple Meads for years.

 

[island]

There is, but you're heavily dependent on finding BTP constables who give a toss.

 

[dvboy]

I'm not railway staff but if they're begging in the station I will report them to BTP or if they are on a train or there are no BTP around I politely say to them "I suggest you leave the station before I find someone to help you leave the station" - yes I've had obscenities muttered to me, but it usually works.

It's always "I need £XX to get to YYYY" - if they were that bothered about getting somewhere they'd find a way to get on a train without a ticket anyway?

A cheeky one the other day approached me in the queue at Burger King, and when I refused, queued behind me. If you were that poor that you needed to beg for money for food you wouldn't be eating at Burger King in a train station.

 

[Lewisham2221]

I remember a beggar asking me for a small, but specific amount of money several years ago and thinking "what an odd amount to ask for when begging". Ten minutes or so later, whilst paying for a bag if crisps and a bottle of pop, it dawned on me that the amount I was asked for happened to be the exact price of a packet of cigarettes.

I saw the same beggar a few weeks later, eating in KFC, where she threw half of her food away!

 

[Trog]

I remember hearing of several incidents back in the 1980's where troublesome beggers at Euston accidently locked themselves in the parcels cage of a BG, and had to be rescued and helped off the station by the BTP when the train got to Glasgow.

 

[BestWestern]

I remember hearing of several incidents back in the 1980's where troublesome beggers at Euston accidently locked themselves in the parcels cage of a BG, and had to be rescued and helped off the station by the BTP when the train got to Glasgow.

Brilliant!

'Accidentally' locked themselves in with no help at all from any staff of course!

 

[Jack1989]

On the Jubilee line earlier this month — driver comes over the PA system "Please note there is a beggar on this train, do not encourage him by giving him any money."

Haha, class.

It is awful on the Paris Metro, some tell their life story to gain money. I don't speak French though so I didn't give them anything.

 

[Trog]

The BTP also used to run tours of various nocturnal nature reserves, single tickets only available.

But this service to the public was discontinued after an MP or senior Judge I forget which, was woken up at about 3am by a lot of shouting. Only to find that his garden was full of drunken football fans, who had wandered in off Hampstead Heath, where they had been dumped after wearing out their welcome at Euston. The Met Police were not amused either after being called out in the middle of the night to take them away again .

 

[Beveridges]

Manchester city centre is full of beggers but at least the BTP seem to do a good job at keeping them off the stations

 

[GlosRail]

A few years ago I was at Bristol Temple Meads when one asked for money so he could visit his sick brother in Bath. I said I didn't have any money, but instead offered him some advice saying when you get some catch the bus as it's cheaper.

Then saw him again a couple of hours later still in Bristol drinking cider on the street.