Dilemma

[Obo]

On Monday morning at 5:34am my girlfriend and I were woken by a knocking on the door, my girlfriend answered the door (it is her flat) to a woman claiming that she was from a house 6 doors down the road and had just returned to her flat with her 7 month old baby (no sign of baby) to find she had run out of electricity, that she couldn't get any money until 11am in the morning and would it be possible we could lend her some money until then... after a brief consultation (with eachother) we decided not to give any money. Are we wise to the blags people pull or have we become hardened, unsympathetic city dwellers?

[jasper99]

I had that too at about 4am and slammed the door in her face. I think the point is that in the middle of the night people are too shocked/tired to work out that its a con and just pay up.

[andy hughes]

It does sound like a scam - who would leave a baby unattended? If in doubt, offer to invite her in with the baby and you will boil a kettle for her to heat the baby's bottle - you'll probably find her reluctant to take up your offer - unless she really is genuine, it's a sure way to find out.

[mikewith]

I've had pretty much the same story, althouygh in my case it was a man claiming to live next door. "Oh, you must be the new neighbour, Kiki". "Err... yes", says he, thinking how lucky it is that I've heard of a new neighbour but haven't met them. "Be gone, you scoundrel", says I, "because I know Kiki and SHE doesn't look anything like you..."

Though I must admit it wasn't 5:34am so I was wide awake and alert when it happened... By the by, doesn't anyone know their neighbours anymore?

[evolution]

'Hardened, unsympatheitc city dwellers'. I often think that I'm becoming one of those. In the dog eat dog world we're living in it has become so difficult to distinguish between the scammers and the genuine.

[rogersaurus]

Love the way you send your girlfriend to the door to face a total stranger in the middle of the night. Top bloke.