Doorstep canvassing

Cold callers etc really annoy me. I have sign on my door (supplied by the local council) saying that we do not accept cold callers etc. No one ever seems to think that it applies to them, every reason under the Sun given when I point out the sign. I now use my door chain at any time of day if I do not recognise the caller, trying to talk through a 1" gap puts them off their patter.

Stay safe - if you wanted them - YOU will have asked them to call. Even then check their credentials.

reported. (not you B)

Charities must know (by now) that people are getting annoyed with their collection techniques, whether the 'techniques' are applied by the charity itself or another comapny that the charity employs to do its dirty work. It follows, therefore, that they don't care if they upset people. They justify bad behaviour because it is "effective" at raising funds.

In other words they are being unethical.

They could just stop and rethink their tactics.

Message deleted by Gransnet.

Vampirequeen I agree its worth signing up to tps but unfortunately they can only stop calls from the UK. I've signed up for several years now but still get calls from abroad a couple of times a week. Latests calls are from Brian 'not selling anything, just wanting to do a survey' At least its a change from microsoft

I don't know how to stop door knockers but you can stop phone calls by registering with the telephone preference service. After 28 days it becomes an offence for a company to cold call you.

www.tpsonline.org.uk/ctps/number_type.html

There is also a mail preference service. It doesn't manage to stop all junk mail but stops quite a lot of it.

www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

It amazes me how affronted people get when you tell them no thank you and close the door.

butter a few years ago we stayed in the Pyrenees over New Year and we had a visit from the local Fireman collecting, it was a lovely surprise.

My block of flats is too isolated even for SAPU- I don't think they realise that anyone lives here permanently, as most of the flats are holiday lets.

We get the Sapu once a year - firemen/ambulance. That's it. We live in a very isolated village, so I am very happy they know where I live in case of emergencies!

Same here! I can only remember one canvasser in six years.

That sounds really scary! Thankfully we have very little of this sort of problem as we live in such an isolated place that you would need to be very determined to come out here to canvass!

thank you, glass. it took a few weeks to get over - we're fine now, but careful about locking doors. when your house is set back from the road you somehow don't expect people to walk straight in.

at my house, i have a secret weapon - an opening window half-way up the stairs. if anyone knocks, i can open the window and ask what they want before i open a door!

We have had a lot of door step canvassers, but when I go to the door I say its not my house I am babysitting sorry, then close the door and dont give them chance to start a conversation.

granbunny that must have been frightening for you both

How scary for you and your family,at my DDs home you can gaurentee that about 6ish most evening during the summer months she is plagued by doorstep canvassers,alot of them are for different charities but they are bused into the area en-mass and dropped off for 4/5 hrs to blitz the area,they already have some of the forms filled out with addresses and postcode and try to obtain bank details,they have even tried to get information from eldest GS when DD and I where at an open evening at school.So stay safe and keep the door firmly locked.

keep your doors locked, please!

on 22 Feb, at daughter's around 6pm when it was completely dark, we heard a noise at the front door, wondered who it was, then daughter said 'someone's come in, a man's come in!' we were in the kitchen at the back of the house and went forward to see - yes, he was in the vestibule. he came into the hall.

daughter told him to go out and he began to talk and try to get further into the hall.

i stepped in front of daughter (who was carrying the baby) and demanded 'what do you think you are doing? you can't just walk into someone's house!' he was still talking and trying to get round the side of me.

i told him 'get out! get out!' and daughter did the same. i told him 'move back'. i put my arm out to indicate he must not go up the stairs. i told him that he must move back, using teaching techniques 'i need you to move back now'.

i got him into the vestibule and insisted he step further back....he went back to the step but did not step down, which he would have had to do to be properly outside the house. i pointed and said 'get down!' and he did back off the step.

he carried on talking and arguing. he was angry and unpleasant. i saw he had an identity card on a lanyard so got hold of it. he moved back so i couldn't see the details. he was still arguing.

i told him 'go away! go away now and never come back!'. he turned and walked away, looking angry. we locked the door.

daughter phoned the police. they found him. he smooth-talked them, saying he was a charity worker (which he may have been) and that all the houses on the street have the same layout with an internal porch so he had to go straight in to make himself heard! blatant lie as they're all edwardian and individual designed! his tabard said 'cancer care'. i contacted them. they said they had several complaints about doorstep collectors but they were not collecting on their behalf.

I had one a couple of weeks ago, for WWF. He as good as invited hinself in, saying, "Can I lean on your hall table to fill this in?" "This" being the form to set up a direct debit for donations! He really seemed to assume that I was going to do it, and was quite affronted when I said no.

dorsetpennt Thats a good idea I may try that we have had a few recently,one was for sponsorship for the local walk but the guy who knocked at 8pm I had never seen him before in my life.

A chap I know has a neat way of getting rid of door step callers. He gets a note book and pen and asks for their home address. When asked why he wants this his reply is : 'so I can come around to your place and disturb you when you are eating/sleeping/watching tv etc.

Have a signal family and friends can use. My kids and grandkids ring twice otherwise the door doesn’t get opened.

Thanks gracesmum.
That made me laugh out loud.

Couple of nights ago I answered a knock at the door to find 2 lads collecting for Battersea Dogs' and Cats' Home. I offered them Grace the greyhound but they declined.
No pleasing some people.

I must say I never purchase anything at the door having made a mistake in doing so many years ago which thankfully worked out OK. Our road seems to be a real target for door knockers as well as those ghastly telephone callers who can really get very cross - as can I
PS: I enjoyed typing 'fangry' for the icon! Yes I like to bare my teeth on occasion

lol lol I will get there eventualy

erm..... "about" "plastic" [type]