Waiter wishing loan from me

[kalos]

We had a drinks waiter who did the same thing to Mrs Kalos.

I can assure you it was no hacked account .

 

The waiter (no names) M got friendly with us over a couple of cruises and

my Mrs and him became Face book friends sending her photos of his new born child at the time .

 

Then one day out of the blue she got a message ...

"could we lend him a couple of thousand as he was out of contract and was a bit short " ,,,blaa , blah etc .

 

I told her to ignore the message . Also at that time Mrs Kalos had her phone number in her account that only friends could see (Not now )

 

A few days passed and he phoned her to ask how he was fixed for the money ?

 

He was told in no uncertain terms to never phone again and he was getting blocked .

 

Daft thing about it we had other friends aboard M's ship and they told us he had not been out of contract and he still works on-board a Thomson ship.

He used to boast about the properties he owned back home and how one day how we should holiday in his home land and he would show us around ,

which we never had any intention of doing .

 

So as for a scam , some need no help or hacked accounts :mad:.

 

That's what happened to us ,in your case I would just block him just as we did with M, .

Edited November 27, 2015 by kalos

[Langtoncouple]

Kalos thank you for that. The message to us, prior to the one for assistance also mentioned the name of our other waiter who served us at the table telling us that he also is going to be employed at the new company.. I knew this already because he is a fb friend, (he has never asked for anything).

[skioncruises]

You keep coming back trying to justify his request and telling us it is not a scam.

 

If he hasn't been hacked he is begging. He has been in the trade long enough to know how to manage his wages and tips when he is at home for a few short months before going back to sea.

 

Ignore him and close FB.

 

'tis the Season to be Jolly but if you keep commuinicating with him it may not be.

[Huddersfieldtourist]

Thank you all. I am sorry to go on and on about this but its definitley NOT a scam. As I said I had been having a little fb message with him last year on general things and he casually stated that he was running out of money. I ignored this then he wondered how he was going to get money for his medical certificate. He never actually asked but hinted. Again I didnt answer him but did not mention this to my husband.

 

Last week he did message me saying that his contract at Thomsons had ended and he as others have left and are applying for a new contract. His is for NCL or Princess Lines.

 

Then this week its my husband who gets the pleas. The reason I put this on here was to find out if anyone else has experienced this before.

 

I do not want to mention this on the Thomsons FB page because I know Thomsons may read these comments.

 

 

I was quite alarmed to read this thread and strongly feel and suggest that you should report fuller details of this correspondence to Thomson cruises at Luton. As you are probably already aware you can do so via email or via message on their official FB page. Unless you plan to go with NCL or Princess the chances of you meeting up again are remote and if he does not get on board with NCL and Princes and if he does gain a new contract on Thomson (even though he may prefer to move on) then you face the risk of meeting him again on the Thomson ship causing perhaps an uncomfortable cruise for you.The same would happen if you chose to go on NCL or Princess and bumped in to him.

 

He will be aware from his contract that sending begging letters to the customers of his principal via agency is not allowed.

 

As regards your final paragraph I can also advise you that Thomsons 100% certainly monitor this forum and will have read this whole thread and it certainly will have been referred to someone more senior than those who respond to chat and general postings on fb etc

[WeeCountyMan]

I was quite alarmed to read this thread and strongly feel and suggest that you should report fuller details of this correspondence to Thomson cruises at Luton.

 

With respect - I would not recommend that course of action.

 

Just finish it and move on.

[Ska man]

I was quite alarmed to read this thread and strongly feel and suggest that you should report fuller details of this correspondence to Thomson cruises at Luton. As you are probably already aware you can do so via email or via message on their official FB page. Unless you plan to go with NCL or Princess the chances of you meeting up again are remote and if he does not get on board with NCL and Princes and if he does gain a new contract on Thomson (even though he may prefer to move on) then you face the risk of meeting him again on the Thomson ship causing perhaps an uncomfortable cruise for you.The same would happen if you chose to go on NCL or Princess and bumped in to him.

 

He will be aware from his contract that sending begging letters to the customers of his principal via agency is not allowed.

 

As regards your final paragraph I can also advise you that Thomsons 100% certainly monitor this forum and will have read this whole thread and it certainly will have been referred to someone more senior than those who respond to chat and general postings on fb etc

 

If they do monitor it they would have to get in touch with you for his full name as they would not have been able to know him just by your postings Like I said he might have been in genuine need and thought a lot about you to ask; another poster said they say I own several houses back home my friend has bought property out there and for what he paid I would not swap one of my static. Caravans for them , a lot is just bragging by them. I would just let it drop and I would certainly not worry about meeting him again because as always when on board they all seem to do a professional job and I bet he would be the same and would not mention it if you didn't. For his sake I hope he gets another contract and for your sake just think about where you would like to go next good luck and put it to the back of your minds

[Julessmiles]

They mostly work through an agency.

And although work on Thomson is ok and income is fine, for them, there is always the "Better prospect" of working on the major cruise lines, with better working conditions, better tips and shorter working hours per day.

 

I know of a waiter who worked on the Thomson ships who was very well known & well liked & had to leave. I'm not going into reasons but it was all kept fairly quiet from his 'admirers'. It was his fault he was asked to leave but not his choice.

 

Just wondering if a similar situation has happened here rather than his choice to leave.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Julessmiles

[JuliaNicker]

and suggest that you should report fuller details of this correspondence to Thomson cruises at Luton.

 

As the waiter concerned, is out of contract, he is no longer an employee of Louis , which is chartered to Thomson.

 

Reporting his actions, however awful they are, are sadly a waste of time

 

As suggested, maybe a lesson for the future.

[Huddersfieldtourist]

As the waiter concerned, is out of contract, he is no longer an employee of Louis , which is chartered to Thomson.

 

Reporting his actions, however awful they are, are sadly a waste of time

 

As suggested, maybe a lesson for the future.

 

The waiting staff take short term contracts and apply again via the agency for their continued work - the main reason I felt this should be reported is that this may not be an isolated incident and furthermore the waiter may wish to renew with Thomson in future if he has not already asked. Just because one person on this forum has been asked for money that does not necessarily mean that this is only a one off incident.

[Ska man]

The waiting staff take short term contracts and apply again via the agency for their continued work - the main reason I felt this should be reported is that this may not be an isolated incident and furthermore the waiter may wish to renew with Thomson in future if he has not already asked. Just because one person on this forum has been asked for money that does not necessarily mean that this is only a one off incident.

 

No one else on the forum have posted they have been asked so that might be the case I think we all should stop posting on this now and let them put it to the back of their minds

[geomagot]

kalos has posted that they have received a similar request

 

this thread has had over 1000 hits

 

i have heard stories onboard of crew asking guests if they would like to invest in 'businesses'? .... etc

 

i guess it does/can happen everywhere/anywhere tbf

 

the rise of f/b twitter etc is relatively recent & has made it easy to ‘make’ friends all over the place...... i suspect that this could be becoming more widespread than we would like to think?

 

As long as names are not named this is possibly a worthwhile/important discussion/exchange of info

 

others reading/lurking may have experienced similar and be gratefull for others thoughts on this

Edited December 1, 2015 by geomagot

[campolady]

I actuall think this is a very valid thread - information that could be useful for people who get particularly close to crew members and, as no names mentioned, no personal harm done.

Edited December 1, 2015 by campolady

[JuliaNicker]

I actuall think this is a very valid thread - information that could be useful for people who get particularly close to crew members and, as no names mentioned, no personal harm done.

 

It is a very useful thread.

as long as no names are mentioned, and one post about one waiter is very borderline and the poster should "Tone it down" sightly.

 

Yes its an important thread.

[WeeCountyMan]

No one else on the forum have posted they have been asked so that might be the case I think we all should stop posting on this now and let them put it to the back of their minds

 

Agreed, we've had the "heads up" warning - noted, time to move on.

[geezer466]

My business emails probably get a dozen 419 scam emails every week.

 

Same on Skype but that is usually lonely heart type scams. Facebook is very much a platform where you get 'to choose' who you allow to converse with you. Yes there is a possibility the account was hacked and it if was the hacker would be able to read back through previous messages to get a 'taste' of how people refer to each other and other pertinent facts.

 

I find one policy fits all when it comes to internet platforms. Treat all requests for money as scams and ignore them. If it is a person you know far away such as in this instance then you can either block or simply explain you are sympathetic to their predicament but you have a blanket policy or never sending money overseas as you don't know exactly who you are speaking with. You could bolster that with the never ending news story's of people being turned over maybe even send them a BBC link to such a story.

 

If they are a true friend then they will understand and never mention it again. If they cut all contact then you can assume they were trying to milk you (and it does go on).

 

I imagine some crew member on some line somewhere has scammed someone for a few thousand and word has gone round the crew decks like wildfire. Someone might try thinking they will try their hand particularly if they have moved on and never intend working again for the line where you originally met.

 

I was an active member of the 419 scammers forum for a couple of years a while back and used to fill my spare time by 'baiting them' essentially leading them on and wasting their time, keeping them on the hook and one step away from the money which obviously never appeared.

 

When they thought they had you on the hook, a dozen similar emails would be in your box within days where they liked to brag to their 'co-workers' of their exploits who also think they will try their hand.

 

The OP has done the correct thing and said no money will be forthcoming, if the chap asks again you should block them. If not enjoy the friendship.

 

Above all try not to take any of this seriously or indeed personally.

 

Scamming people from thousands of miles away is a way of life for many in impoverished Countries, it's what they think the internet was invented for.

[stevedeccaman]

well said Geezer !:)

Stevie

[3globetrotter3]

Thank you all. I am sorry to go on and on about this but its definitley NOT a scam. As I said I had been having a little fb message with him last year on general things and he casually stated that he was running out of money. I ignored this then he wondered how he was going to get money for his medical certificate. He never actually asked but hinted. Again I didnt answer him but did not mention this to my husband.

 

Last week he did message me saying that his contract at Thomsons had ended and he as others have left and are applying for a new contract. His is for NCL or Princess Lines.

 

Then this week its my husband who gets the pleas. The reason I put this on here was to find out if anyone else has experienced this before.

 

I do not want to mention this on the Thomsons FB page because I know Thomsons may read these comments.[/quote

 

 

I don't believe this is a scam as I have known this to happen to a few other people on Thomson's ships who have kept in touch with waiters and indeed even entertainers on FB and and who at some point have been asked for money. Each time it has been Filipinos who have made the plea.

 

We have also over the years kept in touch with many of the crew and the majority of them are lovely people. It's such a shame that a few spoil it for others who are genuinely friendly. I can understand you must feel upset about this. Explain to the person that you value their friendship but you are unable to help financially. The problem is that they seem to think we are all really well off because we can afford what they see as luxury holidays and don't realise most of us have worked hard for our one or two week break.

 

Don't feel bad about not giving any money. Most of them have quite nice life styles back home with lots of close family support.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

 

I can never understand why people think the crew are their "best friends" when they are making new "friends" every week.

 

They are employed to do a job and, yes, they're friendly but what goes on on holiday should stay on holiday.

I agree Jan. We often have a chat and a joke with bar staff and waiters, but have never thought of keeping in contact with them.

 

We never see the same waiters anyway as we don't go at the same time each night and more often than not we use the buffet. I thought that was the idea of freedom dining. We had waiters on the Spirit and Majesty trying to persuade us to go to their table every night, but we declined.

 

If Langtoncouple is sure this is actually from the person she has befriended, then he should be reported in case he tried it with someone else!

[OTrail]

Whether it's a scam or not has no relevance to the fact that you should not be lending a relative stranger money. No matter how many times he's been your waiter on a cruise, you don't know him. You especially shouldn't be lending money to anyone using Western Union as that's the service most often used by people to fraud those who sell goods via eBay and Amazon.

 

Let him know you're uncomfortable with him requesting money from you and remove him from your Facebook friends list.

 

I would also let any of your friends who may have him on their Facebook know that he's been asking too.