Man knocking on door at 1am asking for money

[JLJ]

We had someone knock on our door at 1am Friday 24th night/ Sat morning on Linden Grove. He was asking for ?15 as his car had been towed and he had locked his wallet inside the car. Apparently he'd just moved 'next door' and was also locked out. Really strange. Didn't know whether he was legit or not, but we didn't have the money anyway, so sent him on his way. Giving him the beenfit of the doubt we offered for him to come back for a cuppa in the morning/daytime (welcoming a new neighbour to the area!?), but he never showed up.....

Anyone else had a similar experience?

[sonla]

I think most people in the local area have had this "experience" we had a lady who also was a new neighbour who needed money for the meters , they always catch you on the hop.

i am afraid you may never see this "new neighbour" again

Sonia

[DuncanW]

Standard scam - knocking on the door late at night is quite a rude variant of it I must say!!

[cle]

May also be to try and see if you're out, or alternatively - to do a recce on what is within grabbing distance from your front door.

So rather than ignoring it, it's best to always open (have a good chain fitted) to get them to bugger off. And don't keep car keys/phones/loose change within eyesight and reach of the front door or letterbox.

[Sue]

Let's face it, if your car had been towed away, you wouldn't wake up your "new neighbour" who you haven't yet met at 1am to borrow money, would you?

Well, hopefully not :)

[JLJ]

Thanks for the advice. Just a strange situation, thought I'd share in case anything happened to anyone else nearby that night....

[grace3]

it's all starting up again for a new generation. how do you get smiley's on this ?

[hat282]

We just had a knock at our door in Crystal Palace. A very well spoken woman professing to be our new neighbour and caught short of ?15 for her meter. Could we possibly give her the cash until her partner returned in the morning? Mr C declined!

[asfeeley]

I live in West Norwood and had a similar experience. A tall black lady, late 30s/early 40s knocked at my door at 12.45am as my house had a light on, she was a local neighbour (she wasn't because I knew the people in the house she said she came from), she wanted ?6 for the meter to boil water to make her 6-year-old son a drink. Either she was casing the joint (as we had had some burglaries a couple of nights before, or she was just trying it on. I said I couldn't help her.

[SBot]

I've been conned out of ?5 like this, a young lady knocks on the door, claims to be a resident of your street, she needs cash for her meter to feed her baby/kids, says she'll pay you back in the morning! Never seen again! Makes you feel stupid but I guess some of us are kind hearted and think we're helping someone out?

[JohnL]

Outside of London you'd do it - but here even if

I feel charitable - I assume the story is a lie and

I won't see anything back.

Would be sad if one day the tale is true,

SBot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I've been conned out of ?5 like this, a young lady

> knocks on the door, claims to be a resident of

> your street, she needs cash for her meter to feed

> her baby/kids, says she'll pay you back in the

> morning! Never seen again! Makes you feel stupid

> but I guess some of us are kind hearted and think

> we're helping someone out?

[MGolden]

Nothing new and not exclusively this area. Zadie Smiths's book 'NW' has this scam as the opening scene! But being North London the scammer asks for ?20!!

[scotboss]

I had this happen to me about 5 times when I lived in Camden in the nineties.

[DirtyBox]

Have had:

"kid in hospital, need ?10 for a taxi"

"need money for meter to cook disabled son his dinner"

"car run out of petrol can I borrow ?5 and write you a cheque"

all by a new neighbour in my street of 10 houses, none of which have changed hands for over 15 years. There's also a guy in West Norwood whose car regularly runs out of petrol in the small hours so will ask anyone around for money to help, asked my 3 nights in a row once..

[James Barber]

We had knocking late at night when in bed. I ignored it. Next thing we hear was the front door being kicked down.

I charged them and not sure who was more scared them or me. I chased them naked to the fornt gate. REalised thier was two of them running away and I was naked and about to leave my family with no working front door.

Police were brilliant.

So I will now always answer under such circumstance. But front behind a chain. HAd manchester and London bars added so hopefully no one will every successfully kick the door in again.

But I still get andgry and anxious about it.

[steveo]

Is this you James?

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac166/Steve_Overbury/michael-caine-get-carter_zps1500bfd2.jpg

[stevie23b]

love it ! not funny what them scumbags were at tho kicking the door in hope there caught and locked up feckin lowlifes

[tompark]

We had a similar thing on Tuesday night in West Norwood/West Dulwich, only it was at 3am. Knock at the door, but because of the time of night, we didn't answer. The person lingered on the doorstep for a while they left.

We had left a light on downstairs so sounds like it could be the same person as you asfeeley.

[Con]

What?

No advice forthcoming from Dulwich Fox on the matter then?

[Zenoria]

This happened to us a few days ago! Was it "Trevor"? We were lucky that he came around 9pm, I'd have probably fallen for it at 1am.

He said he'd locked his house keys and Santander card (suspiciously specific) in his car, which had been towed, and he needed ?15 to get the train to get it back. I got scammed like this in Croydon when I was about 12 (handed over my precious ?10 pocket money!) so I knew the drill. I acted sorry and professed I didn't have any cash.

(First time post, by the way - hello, all!)

[Sue]

Spoke to somebody last night who was approached (not for the first time) by a woman saying she wanted money "to buy milk for her baby."

She then said "I'm not a stripper", pulled down her top and displayed her breast, which she then squeezed so that milk spurted out.

When he said "Well, you can't need to buy milk then, can you?" she went off.

How bizarre is that? Anybody else come across her?

:))

[JoJo25]

Sounds like the same woman who asked me for money the other week in Peckham. She ran up crying asking for money for her electricity card as she had run out and needed to feed her baby. She then went to show me her breast to prove she was breast feeding, I told her I believed her as I didn't really want to be flashed! She then said her card needed ?25 on it, but if I didn't have that a tenner would do...I gave her ?2 and then went on my way. A scam I'm sure but it's pretty hard to walk away from someone who's crying...

[Sue]

JoJo25 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sounds like the same woman who asked me for money

> the other week in Peckham. She ran up crying

> asking for money for her electricity card as she

> had run out and needed to feed her baby. She then

> went to show me her breast to prove she was breast

> feeding, I told her I believed her as I didn't

> really want to be flashed! She then said her card

> needed ?25 on it, but if I didn't have that a

> tenner would do...I gave her ?2 and then went on

> my way. A scam I'm sure but it's pretty hard to

> walk away from someone who's crying...

xxxxxx

These people must be making a bloody fortune :(

[ACBP]

Same thing happened in Camberwell this evening at around 8pm. Tall bloke, car parked on double reds (none in vicinity) and just towed. Had just moved in next door apparently but wife missing as they were decorating...could he have some money please...

No.

[eberg]

Aren't we all lucky that we don't have to resort to such desperate tactics to survive eh?