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Charity door to door collections

(28 Posts)
Judy54 Mon 29-May-23 14:28:37

Can Charities still legally knock at your door asking for donations or for you to sign up for regular payments? We recently had a very persistent young man from a large well known charity who did not want to take no for an answer. We explained that we supported smaller local charities and were unable to support the charity that he represented. Reluctantly he left the doorstep with a shrug and a sigh! I thought that this type of cold calling had been stopped.

biglouis Mon 29-May-23 14:44:12

I believe this only refers to telephone calls.

Get one of those very aggressive notices stating no charity/political/religious or sales callers. Then if you want to be snippy you can ask them "Do you have a problem reading and understanding English?" and direct them to the notice.

In persistent cases Ive been known to follow it up with

"You are obviously one of those people who never pays attention. Perhaps if you'd paid more attention in school you would have got yourself some qualifications and not ended up in a s**t job like this!"

Now I just dont answer the door if Im not expecting callers or packages.

Sago Mon 29-May-23 14:47:43

biglouis

I believe this only refers to telephone calls.

Get one of those very aggressive notices stating no charity/political/religious or sales callers. Then if you want to be snippy you can ask them "Do you have a problem reading and understanding English?" and direct them to the notice.

In persistent cases Ive been known to follow it up with

"You are obviously one of those people who never pays attention. Perhaps if you'd paid more attention in school you would have got yourself some qualifications and not ended up in a s**t job like this!"

Now I just dont answer the door if Im not expecting callers or packages.

Ouch!

M0nica Mon 29-May-23 15:11:54

Charities can still call door to door. However when it happens remember that the caller is on your propert, at your front door and you are in charge.

When i get callers like this, and I had one recently, I just smile and say, 'we already have a portfolio of charities we donate to and we cannot afford to donate to any more, Goodbye' And then I quietly close the front door.

I haven't had any rude ones, but I really do not care even if they are, that is their problem not mine and I do not need their approval of my actions, to bolster my self esteem.

Do not forget that most of them are paid and get a commission from your donations. This man was probably disruntled because he was having a 'bad' evening and hadn't earned much commission.

Caramme Mon 29-May-23 15:25:05

I have a ring door bell which means I can see and speak to callers at my door through my phone or tablet. It has ended the cold caller problem very efficiently; after all, it is really difficult to do an effective sales pitch when you are addressing a disembodied voice. Can’t recommend these devices enough.

HeavenLeigh Mon 29-May-23 15:35:05

we are in a no cold calling area, we have a sizeable notice in the window already stating no charity collectors etc, and luckily most read it

nipsmum Wed 31-May-23 11:38:23

It's not something I get often. I had a new church person giving me a leaflet but I've never in 18 years had anyone from a charity knocking my door. I live in Scotland.

red1 Wed 31-May-23 11:45:24

i tell them, no thanks ,i give to charities in my own time, bye.....

Sueki44 Wed 31-May-23 12:48:57

We had a ‘chugger’ knock on our door in the dark a couple of months ago. I said that I thought it was awfully late to be cold calling in our village, but he airily said that they were allowed to call until 8.00pm. Although it was a reputable charity ( Red Cross) he wouldn’t take donation but wanted to sign us up for a standing order. We already do 3 and so I refused and he was pretty disgruntled.

Dickens Wed 31-May-23 12:51:37

When they are persistent, do what my OH does... "I've declined your invitation to donate and now I'm going to close the door because this conversation is over".

And do it.

And before anyone tells me - I know charities have to think of ways to get people to donate. But randomly knocking on people's doors is intrusive and, for some, intimidating. So if they don't understand that, then they will have to learn from the experience.

No means No - and reasons don't have to be given for the refusal,

biglouis Wed 31-May-23 13:17:44

Agree 100% about the ring type door bells. Mine has the option of replying in your normal voice, a deep male voice or a robotic voice. Ive had some fun recently with these little apps. I find that people give up pretty quickly with a ronot telling them "we dont buy at the door" repeatedly.

grandtanteJE65 Wed 31-May-23 13:18:56

Yes it is legal. See the following:
www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/guidance/topics/door-to-door

There are presumably similar rules in Scotland. Your town coucil will know.

You are justified in lodging a complaint about the young man's unfortunate manner.

hilz Wed 31-May-23 14:19:16

Just a polite comment of Oh we already donate to your charity thanks, said with a big smile, as we close the door.
The phone ones get told the same but we hang up after several minutes of silence. Block the number. Sadly these large charities do cost a lot to run but are often supported well by other sources. Those knocking doors are not volunteers. But paid workers. Often outsorced. Who themselves are under pressure to reach targets.
We much prefer donating via official websites with secure banking rather than hand our bank details to someone who is after all a complete stranger.

Dickens Wed 31-May-23 14:31:41

Apart from anything else, what I believe puts people off donating to those who knock on your door, regardless of the charitable institution they represent, is that they insist you sign up to regular payments - and give them your bank details.

It should be fairly obvious to anyone with a speck of intelligence that no-one wants to be caught on the hop and asked to agree to donate money they might not in the future be able to afford. As for giving your bank details to complete strangers - for me that's a definite NO.

Scams, bank fraud and identity-theft are rife - why would anyone take such a risk?

nexus63 Wed 31-May-23 19:54:56

i donate by direct debit to two charities, when i am asked in the street or at the door i tell them i am sorry but i am bankrupt and can't sign up for anything, it works everytime.

BlueBelle Wed 31-May-23 20:01:23

Never had any of them knocking for years and years

hugshelp Wed 31-May-23 23:30:01

We seem to get a lot here and they ramble on for ages before getting to their point. I find it hard to stand for any length of time sometimes so I find this really annoying.

M0nica Thu 01-Jun-23 07:25:07

Just cut them short and say you cannot stand for long and then shut the door. Do it pleasantly with a smile, you will still be responding mre politely than naby people.

karmalady Thu 01-Jun-23 08:05:46

I had a chugger for alzheimers here yesterday evening.

Pleasant girl with a tag around her neck and a file in her hand. She only spoke a few words and I was very polite to her, she went away but that evening I started to look up video doorbells and may well get myself one.

In the meantime, I will not be answering the door unless I am expecting someone or a parcel

Aveline Thu 01-Jun-23 08:38:16

I used to collect door to door for a specific charity. I'd been asked to do it by a local lady from the church. There was absolutely no question of 'commission'. I'd hand in my box and any surplus flags at the end of the stated day.

Grantanow Thu 01-Jun-23 09:00:42

I was often approached by chuggers in London when I was fundraising myself for a national museum. I always used to smile and say, 'No thanks. I'm a fundraiser and I'm immune.' That always stopped the spiel.

Keffie12 Thu 01-Jun-23 13:07:36

This reminds me of two cold sellers. One in town when I heading for the hospital where my late husband was in the last few weeks of his life, who was calling after me when I said I wasnt interested.

The other knocking at my door the week my husband passed. I think it should have had a lasting effect what I said politely to both them.

The door knocker when I said no thank you tried to continue to engage me. Needless to say he crept away, shamedfaced when I said "I've told you I'm not interested. My husband just passed away now go"

The man in town who kept calling after me as he had done others, got the shock of his life when I turned round and said "I've already said I'm not interested. My husband is dieing in hospital and I'm off there now" He said "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that," to which I responded "If your sorry think on in future and stop catcalling people in future as you don't know what's going on for them"

I then turned and went on my way leaving him rather embarrassed

MrsThatcher Thu 01-Jun-23 13:17:29

biglouis

I believe this only refers to telephone calls.

Get one of those very aggressive notices stating no charity/political/religious or sales callers. Then if you want to be snippy you can ask them "Do you have a problem reading and understanding English?" and direct them to the notice.

In persistent cases Ive been known to follow it up with

"You are obviously one of those people who never pays attention. Perhaps if you'd paid more attention in school you would have got yourself some qualifications and not ended up in a s**t job like this!"

Now I just dont answer the door if Im not expecting callers or packages.

Good grief what a rant!

I simply but politely say no thank you and close the door.

Allsorts Thu 01-Jun-23 13:18:48

I say no thank you and that usually does it.

biglouis Thu 01-Jun-23 13:28:13

Since I got the ring type door bell I dont even answer if I dont like the look of them. Not expecting any callers or packages this week (not ordered anything) so Ive dis-engaged the ringer and am working with loud background music. Not interested in thes epeople when I have work to do.