Gas stations and people asking for money

[Lionqueen2]

One day early in the evening, DH and I stopped for gas. As DH was pumping the gas, he was approached by this man in his 20s. He was asking for a ride for him and a couple of his friends that supposedly were in a band and were late for an event. This guy claimed their car broke down.

DH paid cash for the gas and went inside the station for his change. He saw this same guy trying to scam money out of someone shopping in the store area.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

So glad I live in NJ. Get to stay in the car and have your gas pumped for you.

 

[HM]

This one happened to my DD and I last year. After leaving the grocery store to put our bags in the car, a lady in medical scrubs started yelling to us across the lot. She comes hustling over to us and starts a story about how she left some coupons for some prescriptions on her desk at the nursing home and how she was going to get fired if she didn't bring the prescriptions back with her and she didn't have the $40ish dollars to do it. We asked why didn't she go back to her office, the pharmacy would be open for awhile. No, her office was in Raleigh (we were in Durham about 30 minutes away) and she didn't have time to do that. We weren't inclined to help her even if we did have some cash but once we heard that, we knew it was a scam. Why would she being getting a prescription at a drug store or grocery 30 minutes from where she worked when there are pharmacies on almost every corner around this area? We were nice to her and polite, but told her we couldn't help. Next thing we know she's yelling to some other woman across the lot and working her way to her.

 

[Mkrop]

Back in the early 90s I drove from NJ to PA home each day over the bridge. There were always guys standing there asking for money for food, on occasion I would give them a dollar. One of my coworkers was behind me and told me not to do that. He said tomorrow follow me home, he says if they are truly hungry they will take my orange and my crackers. So I did and he gave them to them and the guy literally chucked them away after my coworker drove off. I never again gave to them.

In Las Vegas, DH was sick so I took the kids to see the volcano at the Mirage. Got the sob story about not having enough bus money to get home, so since I had the kids and I wanted him to go away, I gave him $2. He then proceeds to keep asking people. He then comes back and asks me again! I told him I just gave him money to please step away. He got mad and swore he had no money. Finally a nice guy who was with his family stepped towards us and the guy ran off. I felt safe the enitre time in Vegas except when this character approached.


Then recently I was at a gas station/convience store, pumping gas. We live near a college. Young guy approaches and asks for some gas, he has a can. He says he got hammered at a party, crashed bc he didnt want to drive drunk, and now cant find his wallet, and he is on E. I dont know his story seemed legit and he was asking for gas, which I just pumped into his can when I was done with my car. I might have been scammed but I guess I remember back to my college days and it seemed plausible

 

[jfranklyn]

Then recently I was at a gas station/convience store, pumping gas. We live near a college. Young guy approaches and asks for some gas, he has a can. He says he got hammered at a party, crashed bc he didnt want to drive drunk, and now cant find his wallet, and he is on E. I dont know his story seemed legit and he was asking for gas, which I just pumped into his can when I was done with my car. I might have been scammed but I guess I remember back to my college days and it seemed plausible

Was this in early November by any chance? It was probably "post Sandy" and he was selling the gas on the black market, lol!!! I think I bought it from him too

 

[Mkrop]

Was this in early November by any chance? It was probably "post Sandy" and he was selling the gas on the black market, lol!!! I think I bought it from him too

Hmmm I think it was preSandy, but even so I am not that close to the Sandy sites. I am about 45 minutes from the bridge into NJ, and that is South Jersey too.

Eh he looked like a hungover college guy, so he played the role well!

 

[owl0306]

Yes it bothers me too. Why do people feel that they need a hand out for everything in life?

lol I know the answer, but politics got me in trouble already on here.

 

[AndreaDM]

Last year I had one of these scammers come to my HOUSE! It was a Sunday, around 10 am, DH had just left and my doorbell rang, I thought it was him and he forgot something. I opened it to some fast talking girl who was obviously on meth. She tried to tell me she had over pumped her gas tank at the station a few blocks from our house and needed $10 to cover it, gave me the story that her parents lived on the next street over but were on vacation, offered to give me her "gold to hold" pointed to her necklace. Told her I had no cash and shut the door and watched her get into a car at the end of my driveway and drive off (a guy was driving the car). After they left I realized you CAN'T overpump at that station, you either prepay with cash or use a credit card. It really angered me that these people thought they could come to my HOME and I would hand over my hard earned cash.

 

[North of Mouse]

I've had people ask me for gas money, at which point I've offered to take them and pay for their gas. Turns out, they wanted the money for something else-imagine that!? Just tell me you need money and don't lie to me; I'm likely to fork over $5 to a non liar.

This is a VERY dangerous practice to offer to let people into your car and take them anywhere. There have been some instances where people have done that, and it was a car jacking and they were killed NEVER let anyone into your vehicle that you do not know.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

It's happened to me 3 times so far. It was the same guy too. The 3rd time I just looked at him, raised an eyebrow and said "again? - No way." and he walked off.

I've seen him there 2 other times too and reported him.

He also goes into the grocery store across the street asking people to buy him groceries - because he has a kid in college and can't afford to eat. Yup - that's what he told me. I told him no and that he's not supposed to be soliciting.

He used to go in that grocery store more but after he pissed me off one too many times I reported him and the store called the police. I haven't seen him since then.

 

[Ephany]

This is a VERY dangerous practice to offer to let people into your car and take them anywhere. There have been some instances where people have done that, and it was a car jacking and they were killed NEVER let anyone into your vehicle that you do not know.

I just remembered a time when someone tried to get into my car! It was 2005-2006ish and I was parked in front of a gas station. This lady came out and walked to my passenger side door and tried to open it. Thankfully I automatically lock my doors, so she came over and tried to get me to roll down my window. I put it down maybe an inch or two and she gave me some sob story. When I refused, she put her hands on my window and kind of pushed. Needless to say, when I rolled that sucker up, she pulled them back real fast. It's the station closest to our house, but now I always avoid it because we've been approached too many times when we've stopped there.

The weirdest one was in Jacksonville. I had DD and we came out of the store and the parking lot which had been practically full when we went it was almost empty. It was really creepy, and we were almost to the car when this woman came up to me and asked for some bus fare to get to a shelter. She showed me the nastiest infection on her leg. I told her I'd help her to the store so they could help her and she wanted none of that. Cash only please! I mentioned it at school a few weeks later and apparently she had a routine all over Jax. There were at least 3 other people who had been approached by her in the last few weeks. That open sore on her leg was quite memorable.

 

[TheAviator]

Well it makes me feel better at least I'm not the only one this happens too This is sooooooo annoying and seems to happen like literally every other time I go get gas these days. (just people asking for money).

I agree they are all scam artists, I seriously doubt if ANY of them are for real. Some of the stories I've read on here are down right scary.

I've had several ways of dealing with them, usually just a flat out no, or flat out ignore, like they aren't even there, they usually go away. I want to try a new one out I thought of where I just say "why" to everything they say and see what they do? "Can I have money for gas, I ran out and blah blah" Me: "Why"? Them: "Well my mom is sick and I'm trying to get to her out of state." Me: "Why?" Them: "Well she's really sick and I need to be with her" Me: "Why?" Them: "Look can I just get like 2 dollars? That would help." Me: "Why"? I think I may try this.

Either that or I may just say why in spanish or german, see how that goes over.

 

[arminnie]

The funniest scam was a guy that came up to me at the back of a very large drug store with toilet paper that was 88cents and told me how much he desperately needed to pay for it.

I hated going to LA on business because there were aggressive beggars at all the gas stations near the airport.

 

[Granny square]

I probably would have bought the tp. I'd have figured that he ran off to the store and legit his wallet, or his party card was in his pants pocket at home.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I used to have people from a local drug rehab (I think that's what it is) coming door-to-door trying to sell boxes of trash bags. The large, black, yard waste trash bags. That was years ago, though, so I was quite surprised to have someone from that same place at my door on Saturday night trying to sell what looked to be store-bought pies. I told him that I had no cash on me at all.

 

[Lionqueen2]

So glad I live in NJ. Get to stay in the car and have your gas pumped for you.

I wish all states had the same rule as NJ without having to pay an extra 20 or 30 cents a gallon for the service. I hate pumping my own gas.

 

[North of Mouse]

I wish all states had the same rule as NJ without having to pay an extra 20 or 30 cents a gallon for the service. I hate pumping my own gas.

I don't mind at all - hate to have anyone messing with my car. They always used to want to wash the windshield when they pumped gas, and I keep my car clean, and don't want them putting dirty squeegees on it.

 

[Kies99]

How do you all have the patience to hear the entire story??

If someone comes up to me at a gas station or store or parking lot or wherever, the second I hear "excuse me, can you help..." I immediately say beat it or get lost or I'm not interested.

I'm being a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but in all honesty I am so fed up with all the **** and bull you get from panhandlers anymore that I make it clear that they need to back off and get lost.

Truthfully?? If they came up to me and asked for $5 for beer, I'd probably give it to them for being honest.

 

[leight]

here in Tampa for several years there were panhandlers on every corner. They would get dropped off by a van in the morning and picked up after the lunch hours ended at the nearby business areas.

I felt bad about not giving sometimes until I saw a Vet who was missing a leg and held a sign begging for a meal. I was coming back from the store and had no cash at all on me- but had a receipt from Burger King and I had done the survey and wrote the code down for a free whopper or chicken sandwich. The Vet was at the turning light across the street from BK, so I gathered up whatever change I had in the ashtray in my car (probably $1.50)and offered it to him along with the receipt and said that he could get himself a free whopper. He threw the receipt in my face and called me a cheap $#%&% ...

Never again will I do that. There have also been people bussed in to street corners to sell bottles of water to raise money for kids with cancer. I gave a few bucks but refused the bottle- thinking that they could use it to get more $ raised. I took the name of the kid down from the sign and googled- but nothing came up anywhere other than someone writing that it was a scam. So afraid of what type of water was actually in that bottle if they were scamming.

Sad that I have to tell my kids that I won't give to people who seem like they need something because we can't trust them or their stories. I explain that I only give to organized charities that I know give the majority of donations to the need (not to advertising or CEOs) and give locally.

On the flip side, we were in a fast food place last month and next to us on line was a young man with down's syndrome. He ordered a big meal deal but had less than $2. I paid for his meal and it was nice to see that big smile.

 

[Elmo9607]

Yesterday I was driving home and was coming into the next town over from me. I was driving along and came across one of the first intersections into town and there was a guy trying to hitchhike.

He didn't have a sign or anything with him, just his thumb. Well he stepped out with his arm out INTO the lane I was driving in! I had to swerve to miss him, and this was an intersection that had s slight curve in it.

I thought, really? You're going to make me drive into the other lane of traffic (thankfully this stretch of road is not very busy) just so I can avoid hitting you? Geez. I thought about calling the police, but about a half mile later, I saw a car driving in that direction towards him so I hope somebody else had called it in.


On the gas station part...I think I've only ever been asked once. A quick 'no' got them to go away. The joys of not living in the city, I guess!!