Bah- fooled again
Occasionally it would be nice to feel that one isn't a gullible fool.
Young woman, sitting on the pavement outside Waterloo with a rucksack & crying. What happened? Well, according to her, she paid money to an agency who promised her a job & accommodation, but was left with nothing & the agency disappeared. Apparently she had a bus ticket back to her country for Friday, but no place to stay in the meantime; claimed that she had contacted charities, but they couldn't help her because she had no NI number (slightly odd, perhaps- but of course she might have misunderstood).
Does something strike me as odd about this? Well, yes- not all of it adds up, and there are enough people around who scam money this way (& yes, I've been down the route of "give me your address & I'll send you the money when I get home" scam too...). On the other hand, she seems fairly genuine, and it REALLY isn't the weather to be sleeping outside in.
So, reluctant to give her money, I go to Booking.com & book her into a cheap hotel near King's Cross for two nights- even phoning the hotel to check that it's fine for her to stay, although her name is different to the name on the credit card.
This was about 4 hours ago. Just now, I get a phone call from the hotel asking when she would arrive, as they're closing up for the night. So- evidently not a genuine case. Fine, so the hotel wasn't too expensive, and I've been able to cancel the second night, so won't be charged for that, but still. Occasionally it would be nice to think that people whom one tries to help are genuine.
Young woman, sitting on the pavement outside Waterloo with a rucksack & crying. What happened? Well, according to her, she paid money to an agency who promised her a job & accommodation, but was left with nothing & the agency disappeared. Apparently she had a bus ticket back to her country for Friday, but no place to stay in the meantime; claimed that she had contacted charities, but they couldn't help her because she had no NI number (slightly odd, perhaps- but of course she might have misunderstood).
Does something strike me as odd about this? Well, yes- not all of it adds up, and there are enough people around who scam money this way (& yes, I've been down the route of "give me your address & I'll send you the money when I get home" scam too...). On the other hand, she seems fairly genuine, and it REALLY isn't the weather to be sleeping outside in.
So, reluctant to give her money, I go to Booking.com & book her into a cheap hotel near King's Cross for two nights- even phoning the hotel to check that it's fine for her to stay, although her name is different to the name on the credit card.
This was about 4 hours ago. Just now, I get a phone call from the hotel asking when she would arrive, as they're closing up for the night. So- evidently not a genuine case. Fine, so the hotel wasn't too expensive, and I've been able to cancel the second night, so won't be charged for that, but still. Occasionally it would be nice to think that people whom one tries to help are genuine.