Ever paid for someone else's shopping?

MovingForwards

Then they buy a cheaper you and the kid starts to learn they don't always get what they want @kayleighali

I've paid for food and drinks before in places where they have a ticket board for people to use when unable to afford to eat / drink. I've also walked into a shop at a silly time, picked up meal deals and left them by people sleeping rough.

kayleighali

MovingForwards said:

Then they buy a cheaper you and the kid starts to learn they don't always get what they want @kayleighali

Yeah, I agree with that to an extent. However, I have been in the situation where my child has wanted something expensive, I couldn't afford it and picked out something cheaper after shopping around for the best deal. I guess I have some sympathy as I have been in that position

ceh209

OH was at a self-service checkout recently when he heard the man next to him on the phone to his partner saying his card had been declined and he didn't know what he was going to do. When OH looked over and saw the only thing the man was trying to buy was nappies, he leaned over and paid for them. The man tried to get his details so he could pay him back later but OH refused.

Made me cry when he told me the story after he got home!

Rosalynda

A woman in front of me in a shop was short of around a pound so i paid it for her but she didn't say thank you or even look at me. She seemed to just take it for granted.  But i would do it again.

Whalie

Not quite done that but in the early days of Aldi I had a £10 off a £30 shop voucher.  Went in, found a few items but not a £30 spend. The family after me had a big shop so I handed them the voucher to use.  They were thrilled and could not stop thanking me. From their accents I could tell they were not originally from the UK so it made me feel in a small way I was making them welcome to our country.

DD265

Thanks all. Some interesting perspectives. I'd like to say I wouldn't judge the person who couldn't pay for all their shopping but then went to get cigarrettes because I probably would, but the devils advocate in my head says maybe they weren't for them.

Will see if the situation arises again and what I do next time!

Savvy_Sue

There was a young lad on the train who didn't have his fare (we pay onboard), and I offered to pay with mine, but the guard wouldn't take it, and told both me off for being soft, and him off for trying it on, again ... I got the impression it wasn't the first time he'd not had any money on him!

Armorica

No - and I don't really do major supermarket trips so unlikely to arise!
I have, however, paid for someone's taxi (~£40) before because I was that worried about their personal safety if they took public transport.

(Long story: trains cancelled very late at night; station staff pretty unhelpful - refusing to get cabs for passengers - but were distracted with a major passenger argument that saw the police called, so they weren't having a good day; he had a learning disability and followed a set route to and from evening college - I spoke to someone at his ?shared home/hostel - something like mencap supported living; and booked him a cab on an app linked to my card to get him home to south london. He'd been keen to take public transport - but for those familiar with London, thought he would go North from Blackfriars to St Pancras, and then get multiple night buses to somewhere in deep south London).

-taff

Not shopping but petrol. I was visiting my mother in hospital and a car had broken down at the top of the hill, guy with three kids in it trying to push it off the dual carriageway. I stopped and helped him, he said he was out of petrol. Being as he had two walking children and one baby, I took them in the van, fetched his wife from work, where he was going before he ran out of petrol. Stopped at the petrol station on the way back, got a can, filled it up, took them all back to their car and left them to it. He wanted my number so he could pay me, I told him to do it for someone else one day.

JIL

Many years ago I was on holiday with some girlfriends in Spain. A man approached us and explained he had lost his wallet and keys and could we lend him some money. He seemed genuine and we clubbed together and gave him some cash and got him a drink with our round. He left a while after.  At the end of the night we asked for our bill, we had also eaten there.  It turned out the man had actually arranged to pay our bill. Not sure to this day if he had genuinely lost his wallet or if that was a test as I knew we werent the first he had approached for help.