petew

Has anyone else who frequents Altea noticed that the disreputable (and I don't use that word lightly!) looking individuals who hang around this free car park, "directing" cars into spaces they would have found anyway and trying to con money out of visitors, have reappeared after an absence of a year or more. If you don't pay, I don't think anything untoward would happen, but it doesn't help the town's image. They had disappeared for a year or more - I assumed because the police or Ayuntament had shoo'ed them away.

busters mum

Yep, saw them last week when i was parking,
told them to bugger off. !!

petew

Good for you! - what's spanish for bugger off??

CBANDY

No need to know that mate. Just use the right tone in your voice and they will get the message.

merlino

try 'vete a la mierda' , that should get their attention.

jdr

They may give you a bit of attention too. lol

jdr

Give em a €, then everyone is happy.

Lionda

Why give then anything when it's supposed to be a free car park It will only encourage them. Haven't been to Altea for a while so not seen them.

littlelambfound

Agree with JDR.
Having lived for some time in both Central and Eastern Europe, poverty is something that encourages people to look for any means to feed themselves and their families. That the car park is free is a moot point....people are just trying to offer a service for a little money. That the peeps look less than without a suit and tie is also irrelevant.
Also how can giving 1 Euro to someone in a car park "encourage" them? if you would rather not see them, then be sure to drive them "underground" from where they can break into property and rob. The real evil here is poverty, not the beggar.
When the paro runs out (one can only claim for 2 years) and with most of those claiming having only worked on short term contract (ie paro already run out), then expect to see a lot more of this type of creative begging.

Sharon B

Slightly off topic here but we have these "gorillas" here in Ayamonte as well. Fair enough, I used to pay them a € even when the car park was empty and I didn't need assistance parking. However, to the dismay of the locals, car parking around the town centre is now pay and display. But the gorillas still insist on pestering you even when you have paid for the parking time. I am sorry but I am not paying double.

petew

While I have some sympathy with your viewpoint, I disagree with 2 of your comments. Firstly, they are not offering any service - secondly , their appearance is relevant - to some visitors it makes them appear intimidating. Really, it's a mild form of demanding money with menaces, and their appearance adds to that impression.

jdr

Come on, you only have to pay or say no, how hard is that.
Round here once we had kids asking if they could take the shopping cart back and keep the 50 cents, could you honestly say bugger off to them ?

Rosemary

This happens in Gandia too. Must admit that the man who helped us to a parking space one day also helped us to find somewhere on the map and was very courteous.

Rosemary

Sharon B

I can only comment on the ones around here. And I personally wouldn't want to meet one after dark in the car park. They usually stink of booze or look drugged up and you just don't know how desperate they are for money.

jdr

We must have a better class of poor people here then. ;-)