A shopkeeper based in Lingdale has assembled a wall of 'pay later' receipts in his store after struggling customers have been left in fits of tears due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. Small business owner, Abid Hussain kindly created his 'pay later' system after distressed shoppers came into the store crying because they don't have enough money to buy food, Birmingham Mail reports.
The generous shopkeeper who now has thousands of receipts on the wall keeps all of his debt payers anonymous and has received an overwhelmingly positive response for his kindness from strangers up and down the country. He told Teesside Live : "Some customers can't afford it, some are a bit embarrassed, they promise you 'next week'.
"I don't count it. But there must be £2,000 worth of receipts on the wall, it goes right round. We are a small village and people are going through difficult times. We're a local, community-serving business.
"People are already suffering - you can see it already. With fuel bills going up, it's only going to get worse. We've done this for many years, people are already in hardship.
"It's hard for a small business, we have overheads at the end of the day. Our electricity is going up." Abid told TeessideLive : "Strangers I don't even know have been dropping money off, we've had letters in the post, somebody walked in with an envelope and gave me £100, they said 'I don't want my name mentioned'.
"We've had messages from all over the country. We never intended to humiliate anyone or gain sympathy, we would never say who we were helping. Our message was that there are good people out there who need help and have just got into a situation where they can't afford things. Hopefully we've inspired other people to do the same.
"Other companies are starting to help with food parcels. That's what we had hoped would happen. I'm not a major charity, we're a business. The response has been marvellous, I'm grateful."
"Some people come straight in and ask, others are proud and they don't want to. But they can come in and hand the voucher over and take a hot meal. We need to all work together."
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