Who robbed Maryhill Foodbank?

[Deleted]

Over the weekend, there was a break-in via the roof to the Foodbank's unit in Maryhill.
Everyone who works at the Foodbank is a volunteer and they work in an unheated, insecure industrial unit.

The thieves took new clothes and food vouchers donated by the local supermarket and even robbed the cash tin that people'd donated to for a holiday for a wee 10 year old girl who was knocked down in that incident in Sandbank St (on another thread)...

The wee lass was injured, as was her uncle, and her pal was killed.

Loads of offers of help: one tradesman's offered to fit a burglar alarm free of charge. Many have offered donations, and we're waiting for the Just Giving page being set up today. Frankie Boyle was fast off the mark and has donated £5000.

All good. But how much better would it be if so many didn't have to rely on foodbanks in the first place.

[Deleted]

Latest:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-31105300

You wonder what's going on in the heads of people that do this.
Drug addicts desperate for money or stuff they can sell on?
Or just cynical bstrds that know people will rally round and MORE than replace what they've stolen?

Then again, while not excusing this theft in any way, isn't it true that we're all routinely robbed on a daily basis by people who're not living hand to mouth with a lifelong history of poverty and deprivation?

We should NOT NEED foodbanks in 21st century Scotland.
Who's robbing who, when it comes down to it?

[ozneil]

We shouldnt need food banks either but we have them.

Welfare does provide enough here for people to exist on.

Trouble is some people cannot look after money cant budget and spend it on silly things. Not just booze & gambling but conned into spending money on things they dont need ("just a couple of quid a week") and they run out of money borrow from loan sharks and get into real trouble.

I was on a building site in Castlemilk where builder had gone bust so I was only person on it. I could see someone watching me from a flat but carried on note taking, was expecting the cops to arrive as is not unusual in cases like that, someone gets suspicious and phones them. Eventually a lady appeared and offered me sexual favours for a quid, she said she had no money to feed the kids as her hubby had drunk it all.

[Deleted]

Feb 4, 2015 20:35:47 GMT -1 ozneil said:

We shouldnt need food banks either but we have them.

Welfare does provide enough here for people to exist on.

Trouble is some people cannot look after money cant budget and spend it on silly things. Not just booze & gambling but conned into spending money on things they dont need ("just a couple of quid a week") and they run out of money borrow from loan sharks and get into real trouble.

I was on a building site in Castlemilk where builder had gone bust so I was only person on it. I could see someone watching me from a flat but carried on note taking, was expecting the cops to arrive as is not unusual in cases like that, someone gets suspicious and phones them. Eventually a lady appeared and offered me sexual favours for a quid, she said she had no money to feed the kids as her hubby had drunk it all.

We're ALL conned into spending money on things we don't need, Oz. That's rampant, unfettered capitalism.

Tell me, ss there any more 'dignity' in borrowing from sharks with a bank logo on their letterhead? Really? What separates so-called bona fide lenders from doorstep loan sharks is only a matter of degree, shirley? They'll all be after you if you default, some in suits, some in shellsuits

You're absolutely right though about white goods on credit, we have chainstores here who offer goodies with RIDICULOUS interest in exchange for weekly payment.
Those of us who don't have monthly salaries, those tens of thousands on zero hours contracts who can't predict their income tomorrow, never mind next week, where do they go for credit?

I know people on above-average wage in secure jobs that do their grocery shop on credit card because they're SO over-indebted they can't withdraw cash from an ATM from one month to the next.

That is what extreme capitalism is about, and always has been.. enticing folks to a lifestyle while demonising those who're living hand to mouth as if the odd guilty pleasure is a stick to beat them over the head with.

And... breathe.... ..

Wondering what you did re the lady offering favours for a quid?

[ozneil]

I buy everything I can on credit card I can get up to 55 days credit which means money is in my pocket for another 55 days much better than in being in theirs .

There are few morals in most banks and other lenders Used to be it was the hell of a job getting a loan from a bank now its dead easy, give it to anyone and you cant stop people being fools.

Wondering what you did re the lady offering favours for a quid?

Remember this was 50 years ago and average wage was about £5 or £6 a week

I felt so sorry for her and gave her 10 bob. She had obviously been plucking up courage for some time to come and ask me,she had been watching for me for a while. I didnt want or get any sexual favours. I reckon she must have been really desperate. Even now thinking back I really do think she was desperate. I told her she could pay me back the next time I was there. I knew I would never be there again

[Deleted]

Feb 4, 2015 22:12:52 GMT -1 ozneil said:

I buy everything I can on credit card I can get up to 55 days credit which means money is in my pocket for another 55 days much better than in being in theirs .

That's smart use of credit. But you're somehow missing the point I was making I think?
You can 'use' it to your advantage because you have the security of knowing you have the means to pay it off in full and not accrue punitive interest.

So you're actually NOT the type of customer credit card firms want

I don't know about Australia but here if you routinely pay back less than the amount owed every month, your credit limit amazingly increases exponentially, even if you've not asked for it.

We need to get back to basics and teach schoolchildren BASIC MATHS and compound interest.
<oh I feel so old for saying that...>

[ozneil]

Feb 4, 2015 23:02:37 GMT -1 @rolo said:

Feb 4, 2015 22:12:52 GMT -1 ozneil said:

I buy everything I can on credit card I can get up to 55 days credit which means money is in my pocket for another 55 days much better than in being in theirs .

That's smart use of credit. But you're somehow missing the point I was making I think?
You can 'use' it to your advantage because you have the security of knowing you have the means to pay it off in full and not accrue punitive interest.

So you're actually NOT the type of customer credit card firms want

I don't know about Australia but here if you routinely pay back less than the amount owed every month, your credit limit amazingly increases exponentially, even if you've not asked for it

We need to get back to basics and teach schoolchildren BASIC MATHS and compound interest.
<oh I feel so old for saying that...>

That was the case here till recently now they cannot increase limit. The lendee must apply for an increase in the limit. The reputable banks have pretty strict guidelines now . As a result all sorts of Quasi credit cards have sprung up with horrendous interest rates ...Bastards!!!

I had an argument with a bank about an increase in my credit limit on my low limit credit card which I used for On-Line purchases (to limit damage by fraud) I decided to put up limit. They said I couldnt as I was retired and why should they invest cash with me. I snarled!!!! I said boot was on other foot I was permitting them to make money on my purchases and if that was their attitude the account is now closed and asked for a pair of scissors to chop up the card in front of them. Sort of astounded silence then they complied.... I moved to another bank and got it immediately. The original bank phoned me offering me all sorts of goodies and perks if I re-opened my account. I told them they should have offered me that before and it was too late now I had moved elsewhere.

No I didnt miss the point was pointing out that if used properly a credit card is a great tool. But as you say kids should be taught maths and simple economics... if the teachers know how.

The thing is make the banks work for you not vice versa.

[Deleted]

Nope, you're still missing the point, Oz

Credit is only given on reasonably un-favourable terms to those with the means to repay or who own significant assets that can be seized if the lendee defaults.

Folks on zero hours, the self-employed or those on other part-time insecure contracts are not given any leeway....so any working person in that position who's having a bad month or three, or (IMPORTANTLY) who is waiting months on end to be paid for work they've already carried out, is at the mercy of shark lenders at ridiculous interest rates.

People have to live. First outlay is food. Second is rent or mortgage, third is utilities.If your cashflow is poor, for whatever reason, you have to prioritise.

Miss a payment on rent or mortgage and serious penalties ensue. Massive interest on the non payment plus obscene charges on top. Plus the hit to your credit rating and ultimately, the inherent threat of homelessness.

Heat or eat is the situation for tens of thousands of people in this country. And the majority of them are either working or are pensioners.


Extreme capitalism is like building a house on sand. Big Bad Wolf's gonna come get you and blow your house down--- if for any reason you fall off the treadmill.

Time for a major rethink. I'm in.

[ozneil]

Rolo Rote

Nope, you're still missing the point, Oz

Credit is only given on reasonably un-favourable terms to those with the means to repay or who own significant assets that can be seized if the lendee defaults.

No I think same ideals different perspective

In the bad old days a local surf club got a credit card for their mascot, a stray mutt, in the name of Black Doggie.

Thats credit cards that I have been talking about not loans or items on tick

They say banks will only lend to those that dont NEED it.

The poor have to go elsewhere to get cash to survive on.

I am of course talking OZ I cant comment on UK but seems basically same except for 0 hours contracts & administration of welfare and that here you would have to miss more than one payment b4 assets are seized even the penalties for missed or late payments are now regulated by law.

But thats the banks other nearly legal lenders get round these regs.

Do you have "Pay day lenders" in UK ? Borrow $100 on Wednesday without security and pay back on Fridat for "only" a fee of $10, you work out interest rate its frightening

They say most people are 2 or 3 paydays away from bankruptcy

I was with a company that went bust owing me a lot of money, we survived ------ just but it wasnt fun.






PS if you want a house on sand I will build you one that wont fall down, unless its in NZ of course

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2015 2:57:36 GMT -1 ozneil said:

Rolo Rote

Nope, you're still missing the point, Oz

Credit is only given on reasonably un-favourable terms to those with the means to repay or who own significant assets that can be seized if the lendee defaults.

No I think same ideals different perspective

In the bad old days a local surf club got a credit card for their mascot, a stray mutt, in the name of Black Doggie.

Thats credit cards that I have been talking about not loans or items on tick

They say banks will only lend to those that dont NEED it.

The poor have to go elsewhere to get cash to survive on.

I am of course talking OZ I cant comment on UK but seems basically same except for 0 hours contracts & administration of welfare and that here you would have to miss more than one payment b4 assets are seized even the penalties for missed or late payments are now regulated by law.

But thats the banks other nearly legal lenders get round these regs.

Do you have "Pay day lenders" in UK ? Borrow $100 on Wednesday without security and pay back on Fridat for "only" a fee of $10, you work out interest rate its frightening

They say most people are 2 or 3 paydays away from bankruptcy

I was with a company that went bust owing me a lot of money, we survived ------ just but it wasnt fun.






PS if you want a house on sand I will build you one that wont fall down, unless its in NZ of course

Penalites for missed or late payments via banks are regulated in that there's a maximum charge, I believe, Oz.

But the point I was making is that zero-hours and self-employed workers can't realistically forecast their actual income from one week to the next while their outgoings on essentials will remain fairly static--and so to my mind are unfairly charged for missed payments.

Yes we do have payday lenders, scourge of every High St-- with interest rates approaching 2000% pa in some cases. They should be completely OUTLAWED, they're nothing but government approved loan-sharks.

And the same saying here re 2 or 3 paycheques away from bankruptcy. Now is that because people are reckless in living way beyond their means---or the fact that wages have been static or going backwards for 7/8 years while food, utilities and housing costs have risen by far more than inflation?

[ozneil]

rolo rote

But the point I was making is that zero-hours and self-employed workers can't realistically forecast their actual income from one week to the next while their outgoings on essentials will remain fairly static--and so to my mind are unfairly charged for missed payments.

As self employed I never knew how much I would earn in a year, could be much less than my staff or hopefully much more. The banks would only give me a housing loan on production of my tax returns for last couple of years

[Deleted]

A really salient point, that, Oz.

Throughout the 90s here, lending went crazy as you know--and people could borrow loads on self certificating mortgages---or as much as 10x proven salary.

(When me and Mr R bought 25 years ago, the max was 3x the higher salary plus 1x the lower)...

This of course led to house price inflation the likes of which we've never seen. And the cost of servicing loans taking up too high a percentage of monthly income...one reason why people are struggling with static wages plus rising costs.

It will only take a small interest rate rise before repossessions literally go through the roof.

Our young people will definitely not have the same opportunities we had in our 20s and 30s.
This I find so sad.

All we've managed to do is ensure the rich get richer...

[notanimby]

Feb 4, 2015 20:35:47 GMT -1 ozneil said:

We shouldnt need food banks either but we have them.

Welfare does provide enough here for people to exist on.

Trouble is some people cannot look after money cant budget and spend it on silly things. Not just booze & gambling but conned into spending money on things they dont need ("just a couple of quid a week") and they run out of money borrow from loan sharks and get into real trouble.

I was on a building site in Castlemilk where builder had gone bust so I was only person on it. I could see someone watching me from a flat but carried on note taking, was expecting the cops to arrive as is not unusual in cases like that, someone gets suspicious and phones them. Eventually a lady appeared and offered me sexual favours for a quid, she said she had no money to feed the kids as her hubby had drunk it all.

People need more than just to exist though

We are lucky enough to now be in the position we are debt free, well, apart from the mortgage that is - it's taken a considerable effort to be like that.

We don't intend to be in debt again - but who knows what's round the corner

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2015 19:56:14 GMT -1 notanimby said:

People need more than just to exist though

We are lucky enough to now be in the position we are debt free, well, apart from the mortgage that is - it's taken a considerable effort to be like that.

We don't intend to be in debt again - but who knows what's round the corner

Exactly, Nota. People DO need more than just scratching an existence and keeping the wolf from the door. That way lies misery, deprivation and all manner of consequences that lead to the breakdown of societies, IMO.

Much is made in the right wing media about welfare scroungers living off the back of working people. Make no mistake, such press outlets have an agenda.

We are in a place where * a very few* are better off not working than working.
But this is NOT because benefits are too high, it's because wages are too low.

Me and Mr R are in a similar place to you and Mrs Nota, Nota. But only too aware of how fragile life can get.

It's the younger generation I really worry for. They're subject to undue pressures and ridiculous unattainable 'mores' that we never were.

Meanwhile, the rich get richer.

[ozneil]

You paint a gloomy picture of life in UK

I'm not surprised so many choose to emigrate, we have had 1.25 million UK migrants in the last 70 years

Unfortunately with the UK joining the EU and their migration policies UK migrants no longer get preference here. Up until then you didnt need a visa and had same rights & obligations as OZ citizens and vice versa. In Uk I had same rights and obligations as the natives

I Think our "exist" and your "exist" expectations are miles apart.

Some migrant families here look on Welfare as a life style option.