Fake barbers

[vladi]

For many years I went to Ken's on NXR.  He was pretty much the only barber  in ED 

Now we have more barbers than you could shake a stick at - all the way down from the Plough through to DKH and some are empty of customers - even on the evenings and weekends. 

I never ceased to be amazed that they continued to operate despite not having clients and realised that they were probably into money-laundering - just like the sweet shops along Oxford street. I went once to one on LL and certainly wasn't impressed with their. My dear wife has cut my hair ever since. I don't believe in supporting criminals.

The recent BBC expose confirms this  barbers and vape shops suspected of being fronts for crime gangs - BBC News

 

Edited April 13 by vladi

[NewWave]

My husband goes to the newish one near the Watchpolisher on Lordship Lane.(sorry cant remember name-)

I can assure you they're not 'fake'  He started going there because his excellent long-term barber had to rent a chair there when the shop he used to work from in Forest Hill closed.

I think one needs to be careful when making statements like that above as it can damage reputable buisnesses.

Also I should add the Barbers I mention always seems to be busy

[vladi]

I could hazard a guess as to why the "excellent long-term barber" in Forest Hill closed down.

[nivag]

15 minutes ago, vladi said:

I could hazard a guess as to why the "excellent long-term barber" in Forest Hill closed down.

Rising rents and business rates. That's what you're thinking of isn't it?..

[Angelina]

It’s not just barbers. Think laundrettes, car washes etc.

there is a lot more crime in Dulwich than you can see

 

[Eats Dulwich]

22 minutes ago, Angelina said:

It’s not just barbers. Think laundrettes, car washes etc.

there is a lot more crime in Dulwich than you can see

 

 

Edited April 14 by Eats Dulwich
deleted post

[Alec1]

I highly recommend Refined Male Grooming in Camberwell, next to Love Walk Cafe.  Have been going there for nearly 10 years, not fake, just excellent at what they do. 

[Sue]

17 hours ago, vladi said:

For many years I went to Ken's on NXR.  He was pretty much the only barber  in ED 

Now we have more barbers than you could shake a stick at - all the way down from the Plough through to DKH and some are empty of customers - even on the evenings and weekends. 

I never ceased to be amazed that they continued to operate despite not having clients and realised that they were probably into money-laundering - just like the sweet shops along Oxford street. I went once to one on LL and certainly wasn't impressed with their. My dear wife has cut my hair ever since. I don't believe in supporting criminals.

The recent BBC expose confirms this  barbers and vape shops suspected of being fronts for crime gangs - BBC News

 

So this BBC  article begins with two Kurdish asylum seekers who are "later released".

It doesn't say why they were "later released "

But presumably because the police could find no evidence that they had done anything criminal?

But never mind, the seed has been planted in readers' minds.

FFS.

 

[vladi]

4 hours ago, nivag said:

Rising rents and business rates. That's what you're thinking of isn't it?..

No it wasn't. I was thinking about the proliferation of money-laundering operations masquerading as barbers. Investigations have revealed that these M-L operations are reporting revenues of £1000,000 per month every month.  And that is all supposedly paid in cash. So they can afford to give cut-price barbering to draw in a few punters.  No genuine barber can compete that cross-subsidisation.

One  exception however is Porters Barber&Barista in Dulwich Village. Very pricey, but one has the confidence that they are barbers.

Porters Barbers

[teddyboy23]

I love a dodgy haircut 

[CPR Dave]

They all charge the same though. None of them are "cut" price.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

23 hours ago, vladi said:

I never ceased to be amazed that they continued to operate despite not having clients and realised that they were probably into money-laundering -

...
The recent BBC expose confirms this  barbers and vape shops suspected of being fronts for crime gangs - BBC News

The barbers do have clients - I'm one of them!

The BBC article is bobbins giving coverage to the failing NCA. The only specific example of an actual barber shop owner convicted of an offence is Hewa Rahimpur...who, err, didnt actually own a barber at the time. He owned and ran a sweet shop: https://news.sky.com/story/hewa-rahimpur-gang-leader-who-smuggled-up-to-10-000-migrants-across-channel-jailed-12986202

This is the second time recently when a local small business has been accused on here of money laundering on zero evidence. And yet half of East Bloody Dulwich spends their lives working for the biggest money launderers in the world - the law firms, accountancies, wealth managers, property developers and estate agents of London...

[NewWave]

8 hours ago, vladi said:

No it wasn't. I was thinking about the proliferation of money-laundering operations masquerading as barbers. Investigations have revealed that these M-L operations are reporting revenues of £1000,000 per month every month.  And that is all supposedly paid in cash. So they can afford to give cut-price barbering to draw in a few punters.  No genuine barber can compete that cross-subsidisation.

One  exception however is Porters Barber&Barista in Dulwich Village. Very pricey, but one has the confidence that they are barbers.

Porters Barbers

Are you a Barber there by any chance?

[nivag]

That's what I was thinking 😂

[Sue]

On 14/04/2025 at 09:20, Angelina said:

It’s not just barbers. Think laundrettes, car washes etc.

there is a lot more crime in Dulwich than you can see

 

What is the evidence for this?

[Angelina]

with the right people Sue

[malumbu]

On 14/04/2025 at 08:45, vladi said:

I could hazard a guess as to why the "excellent long-term barber" in Forest Hill closed down.

He was sadly  attacked a few years ago and this may have contributed to moving on.  He had a fairly long commute too,

[Sue]

3 hours ago, Angelina said:

with the right people Sue

Sorry to be dim but I have no idea what you mean.

What   I    mean is, what is the evidence in the public domain that leads you to post on here that there is "a lot more crime in Dulwich than you can see", and to specifically mention launderettes and car washes?

[teetomthomas]

On 14/04/2025 at 13:26, vladi said:

No it wasn't. I was thinking about the proliferation of money-laundering operations masquerading as barbers. Investigations have revealed that these M-L operations are reporting revenues of £1000,000 per month every month.  And that is all supposedly paid in cash. So they can afford to give cut-price barbering to draw in a few punters.  No genuine barber can compete that cross-subsidisation.

One  exception however is Porters Barber&Barista in Dulwich Village. Very pricey, but one has the confidence that they are barbers.

Porters Barbers

How can one have the confidence that it is not the barista cutting your hair and the barber making your coffee? 

[Cancerian]

I watched this BBC expose on the news a week or so ago and wasn’t surprised at what they found although ii’s shocking when you see what the Police uncover. The amount of nail bars in London appearing almost daily is also cause for concern. What I can’t understand is the places that were raided had thousands and thousands of pounds of unpaid gas, electric etc bills. 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

If the implication of the police and NCA is that these are do-nothing, cash-rich sham businesses whose purpose is to launder money, then why do they consume so much energy and can't pay the bills? 🤔 And if this crime is so prevalent and obvious, why aren't there any actual prosecutions to point to?

There's heavy reliance on "supposed", "suspected" and "may be" in that BBC article that's entirely unquestioning of the police and NCA information fed to them. Makes you wonder if the police and NCA are over-egging the pudding a little bit. Makes you wonder if some vague stuff you read online last week is a really good basis to go around claiming that our neighbours in East Dulwich are criminals. 

[Dr De Soto]

What an unpleasant thread this is.  I have no reason to think any of the barbers in the area are in any way dodgy, and I can vouch for Dulwich Barbers (134 Lordship Lane) as being both excellent and frequently busy.

[alice]

For those who back up their opinions with facts go to HMRC and find the filing history of any particular shop.