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Dealing with chuggers at the front door

129 replies

Trianglesquarerectangle · 02/11/2022 13:51

I know the cost of living crisis is beginning to bite but it is annoying that charities are now sending people door to door to try and pressure people into direct debits so I have come up with a solution, tell them you already have one. They have no where to go and you aren’t being rude. How do you deal with them?

OP posts:
Luckycatt · 02/11/2022 15:03

I recently got free tickets to an event where I was approached by a chugger (learned a new word today!). When I told him I couldn't afford a monthly donation he rolled his eyes and said "and yet you can afford to come here". Cheeky fucker.

MarshaBradyo · 02/11/2022 15:03

I’d never be rude. I just say no thanks

Shellingbynight · 02/11/2022 15:03

We rarely get any doorsteppers as we're in a rural area which isn't densely populated enough to make it worth their while, so I was surprised last week when 2 chuggers wearing Great Ormond Street t-shirts rang the doorbell asking for donations. I was irritated but they were really nice young lads, I spoke to them from the front window and said it's not one of the charities I give to.

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orangeisthenewpuce · 02/11/2022 15:06

I tell them I'm about to be made redundant.

user1471538283 · 02/11/2022 15:09

I feel for them because they are paid a pittance but I do not give at all at the door. I just say "no thank you" as soon as they start.

BabyShaark · 02/11/2022 15:09

Not many here, but maybe I have a reputation 😂

Doorbell rings. I open.

Guy/girls: Hi how are you today?
Me, sees clipboard/ badge, shuts door without a word.

Rude, yes. But so is bothering me in the privacy of my home.

BobbyBobbyBobby · 02/11/2022 15:12

A sign on your door.

FUCK OFF.

Or a more polite notice -

NO SALESPEOPLE, CHARITIES, RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS.

Medoca · 02/11/2022 15:15

I just tell them I can’t stop as I’m in the middle of a meeting. They’ve never questioned it.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 02/11/2022 15:15

I ask them to leave a leaflet so that I can read it through and make a considered decision to donate or not. They reply that they don’t have leaflets because it doesn’t work like that. I shrug regretfully and sympathetically as if to say - ah, your loss then - and close the door.

SicParvisMagna · 02/11/2022 15:21

I've even had them by phone recently. In about August I think it was I got a call from a local number (which I tend to answer in case it's doctors/dentists etc) and it was a local hospice ringing to try to get me to commit to a regular direct debit. I was firm but told them I couldn't afford it with the cost of living crisis and would donate to charity when I could but they still were a bit pushy. I understand that they still need money but really, when some people will choose between heat and eat it's a bit, tone deaf to say the least.

Haven't had one on the doorstep in ages (thank you covid!) but we now have a ring doorbell anyway so no more opening the door and instantly thinking shiiitttt.

Astrabees · 02/11/2022 15:30

I was out shopping with my mother a few years back when we came across the Dogs Trust trying to sign up people. My mother asked if she could make a one off donation of £20 and they refused it. That was quite ridiculous.

TheOrigRights · 02/11/2022 15:34

I thought chuggers were people who approached you on the street, not came to your door.
Regardless, I know what you mean.
I am always polite and tell them I already give to my chosen charities.

The ones who annoy me more are the calls I get from the charities I already donate to. I will interject after they've finished the thank you speech and tell them I am not in a position to increase my donation.

Runnerduck34 · 02/11/2022 15:37

Had to click on post to know what a chugger was- Never heard of a chugger, learnt something today!! Assume its someone who "mugs" you for charity ? !

reigatecastle · 02/11/2022 15:38

If you live in a house, open an upstairs window and ask what they want. Then it's easy to say "not today thank you" and close the door.

If you live in a bungalow, just don't answer the door at all.

If you have lots of visitors you DO want to see, ask them to call you before they come to the door, so you know it's them. Or get a Ring doorbell.

reigatecastle · 02/11/2022 15:38

close the window not the door!

reigatecastle · 02/11/2022 15:39

BobbyBobbyBobby · 02/11/2022 15:12

A sign on your door.

FUCK OFF.

Or a more polite notice -

NO SALESPEOPLE, CHARITIES, RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS.

Grin

I did have a sign somewhere that said I AM WORKING. GO AWAY. Don't know what happened to it, DH probably thought it was too rude.

FartOutLoudDay · 02/11/2022 15:40

Runnerduck34 · 02/11/2022 15:37

Had to click on post to know what a chugger was- Never heard of a chugger, learnt something today!! Assume its someone who "mugs" you for charity ? !

Yes - charity mugger!

DH has a “no free papers, no junk mail, no salespeople, no chuggers” sign on the door and it works a treat!

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 02/11/2022 15:43

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 02/11/2022 15:15

I ask them to leave a leaflet so that I can read it through and make a considered decision to donate or not. They reply that they don’t have leaflets because it doesn’t work like that. I shrug regretfully and sympathetically as if to say - ah, your loss then - and close the door.

I pointed out to one lot that they could be anybody, and the ID was pointless because I had no idea what that particular charity's ID looked like. They could have faked it up, and in return they expect my bank details. Nope nope nope.

BMW6 · 02/11/2022 15:45

I am pinching the asking for a leaflet idea. 😏

ReedOfFate · 02/11/2022 15:45

user1471538283 · 02/11/2022 15:09

I feel for them because they are paid a pittance but I do not give at all at the door. I just say "no thank you" as soon as they start.

I don’t even say “thank you” any more, tbh. They are not doing me a favour and I didn’t invite them to my house.

I do give to charities via DDs but I like to take the small amount I have available each year and do some research about where it’s going. I’d never make a split-second decision on the doorstep!

RedRiverShore2 · 02/11/2022 15:53

Just say no thanks, shut door

2bazookas · 02/11/2022 15:56

Your local police or Neighbourhood Watch can supply a "No cold callers" sticker.

No reputable charity should expect donors to give their ID and bank details to a cold caller on the doorstep.

mumda · 02/11/2022 16:00

I point at the "no cold calling" sign and depending on how much they've interrupted me I am vaguely rude or very rude.
I was perhaps more rude of the ones from the charity for the blind as I asked if they could see the sign.

2bazookas · 02/11/2022 16:00

Borgonzola · 02/11/2022 14:46

'Sorry, I don't do charity at the door. And please don't disturb the neighbours, they're elderly and ill'

PLEASE don't give out such information about your neighbours; far from protecting them it's just as likely to get them targeted by conmen.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 02/11/2022 16:02

"It may be a criminal offence for traders (not charities or religious groups) to ignore cold calling signs under the regulations on our sign."
So that bit doesn't actually apply to chuggers, but does still keep them away.

See, I would wonder if that could be challenged in law, because, to me, 'a charity' at the door would mean somebody from that charity and not a third party who is a trader hoping to broker a deal between you and the charity in exchange for commission/a kickback for themselves.

If an insurance broker is a trader - which I don't think many people would deny - why isn't a third party chugger? They are not 'a charity' but indeed a trader. They aren't trading in windows or dishcloths but in charity.

So many folk on this thread just seem to delight at an opportunity to be rude to someone, usually a young person, doing a thankless hard job.

Somebody has taken it on themselves to disturb you, asking for money, which is quite rude, really. And it isn't thankless: their 'thanks' is in their wages. I hate it when people come to the door selling anything, but when it's a tangible product and an unmistakeable business, it's much easier to say no thanks and send them away - and nobody is going to try to emotionally blackmail me by asking if I don't care about the poor, unsold windows being left in the cold warehouse.

Had to click on post to know what a chugger was- Never heard of a chugger, learnt something today!! Assume its someone who "mugs" you for charity ? !

Correct - unless you're in Scotland, where it can mean something quite, quite different Grin

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