Chuggers

Anno that same thing happened to me in Rome. Told them no, in no uncertain terms!

Also,where I shop is a narrowish pedestrianised street, and yesterday three young people were pouncing on shoppers so there was no escape!

I'm afraid no I'm not I was quite rude.

A very nice couple called at the house saying they were with the NDCS and asked if we wanted to contribute. OH and I already contribute to this as our youngest DS is hearing impaired. We also used to belong to the local group and were once on the committee. The fact we were already donators did not register and in the end I was incredibly rude and just started rabbiting on about people we used to know in the group, the wonderful work that is done and did they know this and were they aware of that - mad woman at door just scared her away in the end

Jumping back into the subject of 'chugging': this week in Paris we were well and truly 'chugged'! In front of Notre Dame, a group of young deaf people with clipboards surrounded us and we just thought we were being asked to sign a petition. However, we then discovered that we were expected to make a donation. I was taking 5 Euros out of my purse when one of them tried to take a ten out instead, telling us that a minimum of 10 was expected! We very firmly said 'Non' and turned away leaving them to approach other hapless passers by. There did seem to be a deliberate targeting of foreigners!

I hate chuggers and have been driven to have a go back at them challenging them to tell me what they personally know about child poverty/abuse/deprivation to the embarrassment of the people with me. I have also "people watched" on Haverstock Hill in London and seen how the young men go for the girls/women and the girls go for the men. All very sweet and earnest but WHAT DO THEY KNOW and how dare they even try to make the rest of us feel guilty. As an older woman out on her own I could feel quite threatened and intimidated (if I wasn't so anfry) The telephone chuggers are usually politer but I just say that I give what I can give to the charities of my choice and hang up.

I had a visit from someone with a RSPCA yellow vest on last night wanting me to sign up for a monthly contribution .She made a fuss of our dog and said she could see that I was an animal lover. When I told her that I did not sign up to anything on the doorstep she stopped stroking the dog and walked off.

I am always wary of people turning up on the doorstep, usually at dusk, asking to give details for regular contributions. One woman flashed a card at me supposedly her ID, it was actually a card belonging to someone I know who had nothing to do with the charity.
While I have had burly builders here I have not been bothered by doorsteppers

I had a doorstep visit this afternoon from 2 very intimidating looking men in suits and dark overcoats, thought they were Mormons at first, but no, they wanted me to sign up to donate to a childrens charity, to the amount of 36p a day. They weren`t impressed when I refused. I told them that I do support certain charities, and that I always put into collecting boxes in town. One of them said that he was sorry I felt that way, and that collecting boxes in town were dying out these days, not in our town they`re not!

By the time I realised that my Mum wasn't coping too well she had direct debits to 12 charities. I can only assume that she had been stopped in town and just signed up! The funny thing is that 2 were to Help The Aged!!

I've learnt a new word today-chuggers.yes I have had doorsteppers trying to persuade me to sign up for a direct debit -even though I have a a sticker from'Scamwise' saying 'No doorstep traders'
Usually they are fresh-faced earnest students with a very plausible story.I imagine they in turn have been persuaded that a) they are helping a good cause and b) they will earn some money.
I also follow the suggestion of stuffing unsolicited mail in the envelopprovided and posting without stamp.
Another tip passed on to me -In response to requests to take part in a survey say 'yes but I charge £30 an hour'
What a grumpy old woman I am.!!

I urge posters not to feel guilty about not responding to unsolicited postings, calls etc. Charities do this in an extremely competitive market and as long as people feel guilty and respond so that they make more money from it they will continue.

I'm not opposed to charity. Far from it. I subscribe by direct debit to 6 charities, willingly support bucket collectors who don't hassle and give many hours to the one charity I have chosen to be a volunteer for since I retired. But I come from a communications background which included working for one of the country's largest charities, who started this telephone pestering in the 1990s despite my department's warnings that it a) played on people's guilt and exploited vulnerability b) was borderline unethical and c) was potentially damaging to their reputation. It was one of the reasons I chose to leave. They argued that it was worth it because it brought in extra funds. So there you have it. Stop giving into emotional blackmail and they will stop doing it if they cease making money from it.

Thank you grannyactivist. I've helped her to write letters and put them into reply paid envelopes, but to no avail. Regarding the unsolicited books of raffle tickets - imagine how this sort of thing could be abused? Anyone receiving these through the post can sell them round the neighbourhood to unsuspecting, well-meaning people, keeping any money that is paid out for them.

green That is outrageous. I have copied your quote and emailed it to Cancer Research UK and asked if they would like to make a response to the 7000+ Gransnetters who read these comments.

I'm particularly angry because I well remember the distress this same sort of thing caused to my husband's grandmother before she died; like your SIL she was already giving as much as she could afford to a few well chosen charities and became deeply upset by the harassment she experienced.

Unsolicited books of raffle tickets, gift tags, notecards, address labels and, worst of all, Christmas cards painted by foot or mouth, think of the cost to the charity involved! What a waste!
I used to surrender to the emotional blackmail, I now return these items with the instruction 'please recycle' And I use the pre-paid envelope to do this..... I'm turning into a curmudgeon!

Some charities send out books of raffle tickets to sell, one charity sent out one book and I didn't mind buying the £12 worth of tickets. Three months later they sent two books of tickets, I thought about it and,like you do, it is a good cause so I sent the money. Three months later four books of tickets arrived, enough, they were taking me for an easy touch. They seem as if they have to push for that extra which makes people reluctant to donate. When I give to charity I put a cheque in an envelope with no covering letter or anything that gives my address. The charity gets the important donation and I don't get pestered.

It is, you're right, Baggy. Also, probably because she has given to this charity and hasn't been able to be strong with them when they asked for more, it seems to have opened the floodgates for other charities to pester her. We have explained to her that no-one will take any notice of the fact that she says she cannot afford to give any more. We've encouraged her to either throw away any more 'pleadings' for money, or put all of their paperwork into the return envelope and post it without a stamp. (Bless her, the first time she did that, she felt guilty and had it weighed at the Post Office and paid all the postage).

green, that's terrible for your SIL! It is utterly gross behaviour.

My sister-in-law, aged 83, is regularly called on the phone by Cancer Research. They keep asking her if she could possibly give more money each month. She's always paid an amount by direct debit each month, and what makes it even more upsetting for her is that she lost her own son 3 years ago to cancer. He was only 54 and I think she feels that if she gives even more money to the charity, then others may not have to suffer like her son. Obviously, in an ideal world that would be the case, but her 'widow's mite' would be just a drop in the ocean. She worries about the calls, and tries to explain that she cannot afford any more. It falls on deaf ears however, and before long she receives yet another call, which is so upsetting for her. Bullying tactics, indeed.

No, it wasn't email, it was by phone.

We should not forget that the word chugging comes from "charity mugging". People feel mugged. Not nice. Why is it taking charities so long to cotton on to this? When I complained, a year or so ago, about a charity that was pestering me by email, their 'excuse' was that it was "effective", as if that was justification enough. Hah! Slavery was "effective". Effectiveness doesn't make bad behaviour right whatever the ultimate 'justification' for it is.

Agree Baggy I got stopped three times today, they seem to do a mass targeting here, with seven or eight of them interspersed down one street. It is bullying and they are playing to the natural kindness of people who want to help,and are embarrassed to say no. It should be illegal.

gkal, "you still always feel mean-spirited"

Because of that feeling, chugging is bullying in my view and should be outlawed. Charities will lose support if they don't pull out of this disgusting comercialisation. When a charities behave like bullies, I begin to wonder at their motives and I look for other ways to support noble causes. From information I've had from friends who have raised money for charities through sponsorship, I also have reservations about that method now. The people raising the money are sometimes put under a lot of pressure by the charities to reach 'target' amounts, and this in turn leads to the people wanting sponsorship putting pressure on friends, relatives and work-mates. I think that is wrong, in principle.

I do resent being pestered on a daily basis by these chuggers who try to shame me into giving something or signing up to their particular cause. I just say "not today thank you" firmly with a smile. I often see elderly people opening their purses as they are approached as they feel obliged to give something. I do give to charities of my choice but even if I didn't or couldn't, I shouldn't need to explain myself to total strangers in the street. The trouble is, you still always feel mean-spirited.

harrigran I have been stopped in M&S and asked to I want to change my gas / electricty supplier, no not while I am in the middle of buying knickers there is a time and place for everything !

I have lost count of the times I have been asked to sign up for direct debits for charity. Do they really think that I would give my bank details to a stranger in a town centre ? I have stopped shopping for food in M&S on a saturday because of people wanting to pack your bag so you feel obliged to fill their bucket. I know this sounds mean but I am feeling less charitable by the week. I send cheques to charities of my choice several times a year.

It is hard to say no charity but as numberplease said we are on reduced income so it is getting harder to make ends meet