What do you do when people ask for gas money?

[jeffrey]

I stopped in a gas station and as I was heading toward the cashier to pay for my gas, a guy came up to me and asked if I could spare a few dollars because he had run out of gas. What would you do in that situation?

[dmontngrey]

Personally, I would tell them I have no cash. We encountered a situation similar to this on our last road trip to visit my inlaws. We weren't that far into the trip - somewhere in CT - when we stopped at a rest area. Some lady knocked on the window (it was night) and scared us! Gave us this huge sob story about her car broke down, daughter had her wallet, blah, blah, blah. I'm all for helping people, but something felt really wrong about the situation. DH said we didn't have any cash and she was gone before he could finish his sentence. Trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. Quite often something fishy is going on.

In your situation, you could simply ask the cashier to put $10 on pump #X for the guy. You'd find out quickly if he really did need gas!

[MonkeyMama]

Agreed. Just trust your gut. Which may be naive and easy to fool if you aren't used to this.

Living in a big city, people ask me for money every single day. I go with my gut - which means I rarely give anyone a handout. But sometimes people stand out and pull on your heart strings a bit (they seem out of place with the scammers).

When gas prices spike, people tend to ask for gas money a lot more. I figure it pays off for them. & I just mean walking down the street - everyone has some gas sob story. Usually these are the same ones asking for change the rest of the time.

[disneysteve]

Why is this even a question?

I don't give money to panhandlers. I'd say, "Sorry" and keep on walking.

[bjl584]

This particular scam is huge around here. People claim to be out of gas. There car is up the road a few blocks away (out of sight of course.) They just need a few dollars to put gas in it once they push it to the gas pump. If you give them a few dollars they will either run to the liquor store with it or buy drugs with it once you drive away.

[cypher1]

"Sorry, no cash on me." That simple. When I used to work at garage, in the winter there was always panhandlers/guys trying to wash windows at gas stations. Call me insensitive but you learn to just avoid them and their stories. I don't know what they'd really do with my money, and if they really got to me, I'd actually buy the food, not give cash.

[BuckyBadger]

Why is this even a question?

I don't give money to panhandlers. I'd say, "Sorry" and keep on walking.

Yeah, I thought this was going to be about when you are carpooling, or something, and someone asks you for gas money.

As a woman alone I say "Sorry" and keep walking. When I'm with my husband, I let him say "Sorry" and then we keep on walking.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I have not been asked terribly often, but I suppose I've given a fiver here and there.

Nowadays, though, I would not necessarily have cash. I might swipe a CC for a gallon. I'd talk to them first though. I'm not afraid of people, generally. I'd ask where home is or where they needed to get to and what their resources there would be. Sometimes people will indicate that their need for help is smaller than I would have guessed. Like-- all they need is half a gallon to get to their own house on the other side of town where they actually have some money.

I do not believe in Karma, but I try to act as though it were real.

I was helped at a gas station once when I had not even intended to ask for help. I had just given my sister a ride to her first job after a long, difficult period in her life. I realized my tank was dangerously low. Drove into a nearby gas station with less than two dollars and no credit card. I felt I had to spend every cent on gasoline so went to inside to ask the cashier to set the pump for exactly the amount I had. Meanwhile my son who was about four y/o asked me for a bottled drink from the cooler. Believe it or not, my son never, ever begged to be bought a treat, so I knew that if he was asking he was truly thirsty. I felt awful, apologized and explained to him that it would have to wait until we got home as I did not have enough money. He did not whine or protest.

Well, there was an ambulance EMT inside the gas station. She gave me a little money ($3? $5?...don't recall) and told me to buy my son something to drink and put the rest into the tank. I was really touched at her generosity to us, strangers. I accepted it and felt blessed. I'm sure in her work she could easily have learned to ignore people's small problems even if the job is all about helping people.

[Mjenn]

I guess it would depend on the situation - but I would probably give them a few bucks to fill up - esp. if they were standing right next to their car or in a situation that felt legit.

I have never found myself in that particular situation - but at least twice I found that while fishing for money for a subway ticket/local train ticket I had no cash on me - and I was stuck. So without thinking I turned around to the person behind me and went ' Oh crap, you don't happen to have an extra 1 pound (happened in London) or 10 crowns (in Copenhagen) or basically the equivalent of one dollar.

I was a college student - and had no way to get home other than walking 5 miles or taking the train/subway.

The person, in both cases, gave me the money. And I got home safely.

So yes, I would pass it forward, as long as it looked like they weren't drunk and driving.

I wasn't broke - and I could have solved it in a more responsible manner - waiting until the bank opened, changing money, going back and purchasing a ticket - but I am forever grateful to those kind people who gave me the dollar.

[dczech09]

I'm reminded of when I was on vacation in Las Vegas a couple of months ago. When walking down the strip, or on the skylines, you see quite a few people throughout the day who are sitting with signs asking for cash and/or change. You get quite a few sob stories at times too.

I also remember seeing someone with a sign saying "Why lie? I need a drink!"

That made me laugh. This whole gas money thing reminds me of that situation because while the products may be different, the principles are exactly the same. People are not asking money for gas; they're asking for money for some other reason. I think the whole gas thing is just a circumstance.

What would happen if cell phone bills go sky high? Will people be asking for cell phone money? I mean c'mon, the government is already considering cell phones as a necessity.... Er scratch...they're considering smart phones as a necessity

It comes down to priorities. I probably drive more than anyone on the forum. I put more miles on my car than some traveling sales people so my gas budget is pretty high. However if I run low on gas money, I dont ask others for money; instead I take money from my food budget and say "no Subway until my next payday."

[kork13]

Generally, the guys looking for booze/cig money are pretty obvious, and I don't give them anything.

However, I have no problem helping someone if necessary. If for some reason I believe they're actually in need, I'll give the cashier a few bucks for them. I've learned to tell them to pull up their car to the pump and let me know which one, because some guys will say "oh yea, *that one* over there is mine" (pointing at some random car that isn't theirs, hoping to get the money back from the cashier).

Same thing with people asking for money for food (again, for someone who seems to actually be in need). If they're at a road/intersection, I'll tell them to meet me over at some nearby restaurant. Then give some money to the waitress and tell them to get a meal. Likewise for people on the street asking.

I'm totally okay with helping people out. But you know, doing what I said above, people only actually accept (pull up "their" car or meet me at the restaurant) about half the time. I wonder why.........

[maat55]

I have folded twice, but have vowed to never do so again.

[Pansori]

I may give people who are panhandling left over food, but not money. My SO gives them money, though. Some guy actually approached my SO in BORDERS and gave him a sob story, and he was handed a fiver. Call me heartless but I went straight to the manager and reported the guy for panhandling in the store.

[jeffrey]

I try not to be a sucker, but also give all people the benefit of the doubt. I used to not give any money and dismiss people that asked for money, but learned from a friend that a few simple questions can usually tell you if the person is being honest or not -- there are times when things happen and people do need help. This happened to be one of those times.

Instead of saying no or handing over cash, I asked him where his car was. He pointed over to the side of the gas station. I said for him to pull it up to the pump and I would let him pump some gas. He looked at me and said, "Thank you so much. I have been asking for about an hour," and then sheepishly continued, "the car really is out of gas. Would you mind helping me push it to the pump?" After a bit of pushing we got it to the pump and put $20 in -- I was thankful that I decided to ask rather than assume that it was a scam in this situation.

[jpg7n16]

If you'd like to help them, and not be a sucker for beer money at the same time - tell him, 'sure, which pump are you at?'

And go pay the attendant inside.


I usually just say, 'sorry, no'