Charity phoning and not taking NO for an answer

[Reddisc]

Sorry another rant about a charity

I have helped out with this charity in the past , they send me two booklets of tickets which i usually end up buying most of myself & to immediate family members etc. I have done this for the last 3 years . They rang me in Jan and asked if i could do it again but as i've been ill since before Christmas & have been put on medication now for life & dh's has had to take a substantial pay cut i have explained to them that i cannot not help out this year , but they keep phoning me each week with a different person each time saying they will send me these booklets regardless & they will be happy with me just making a donation after i have explained i cannot do this as money is very tight ATM . Also they got my home number from my hospital records as i am a patient there . Any idea's as to how i can get through to them would be great
Thanks

Your financial situation is none of their business. Just tell them no. Then put the phone down.

when they ring next time ask to speak to a supervisor/manager, or write to the head office

I seriously doubt they got your tel number from the hospital, patient confidentiality and all that

Please remove me from your database and stop harrassing me

put phone down

They answer the phone by stating "this is xxxx hospital & seeing as you are a patient here we are asking if you could help out again this year" etc
I had my name removed from the marketing database last year as we had trouble with annoying calls from a computer repair company which has turned out to be a scam as it was announced on the news .

oh my gawd in that case there is a breach of data protection, surely?

Activate has the right idea.

Bloody hell, is this how hospitals are funded now in dave's big society?
Reddisc, I would ask them politely to stop phoning. If that doesn't stop then a letter of complaint to the head office is needed.

You need to phone the charity head office and ask to speak to Head of Fundraising.

There are certain fundraising standards which must be adhered to by all charities, including appropriate training for staff and ensuring that donors and potential donors are not harassed.

Reputable charities will deal with the problematic staff as a matter of urgency, but only if they know about it.

This kind of behaviour is very damaging to charities and fundraising as a whole - think 'Chuggers'! But with good training it can be unintrusive and polite, whilst raising much-needed cash for good work.

Feel free to name them, and we can find a number for you.

Thats what i was wondering - is it legal for them to contact me through the hospital ?
I understand they need help & up until now i have been happy to help out but i can't do it anymore but i feel a bit awkward refusing .

Ignore any correspondence by mail. If they phone say no politely and ask them to stop phoning you then hang up. If they phone back ask them for details of who to complain to, this might be enough to frighten them into taking notice. If they send you anything just bin it, you are not compelled to buy/sell anything just because it lands on your doormat.

purepurple Can't blame Dave on this one I'm not in the UK .

Thanks . I will phone the hospital & try to get them to stop phoning me as i feel they are putting pressure on me at this stage and if that doesn't work ill try out activates idea .

sorry dave

penguin I don't think i could bin the booklets of tickets as after they send them to me they usually phone me weekly to ask how many i have sold so far etc & then after two weeks i am meant to send them back with any money collected . Last year they phoned me to say that i was a day late sending them back & if they did not receive them back by the following day i would be getting a solicitors letter in the post
This really rattled me & i ended up driving straight over to the hospital & personally handing everything back in .
They are too pushy for my liking TBH

They will try to threaten you but they are actually in no legal position to do so as they have sent you unsolicited mail without your agreement. If they think you are in any way susceptible to their tactics they will push you. If all else fails an you don't want a confrontation just say you have never received them! The Charities Commission can provide further guidance.

oh you are not in the UK

I don't know about forrin data protection stuff

just put the phone down, and toss literature in the bin

Ditto fundraising standards for outwith UK!

Sounds awful - more like extrortion than fundraising!

I'm in Ireland so i would imagine the rules are similar to that in the UK . If they send them to me this time i was planning on sending them straight back unopened and hopefully that will send the message home to them

sounds like a plan, good luck!

Thanks

Do you have PALS, strictly speaking this isn't medical but they may have some ideas on how to deal with it or who you can contact to make a complaint.

Thanks Chaotic , not sure what PALS is tbh but i am going to phone the hospital on Monday morning & ask to be put through to the fundraising department & put in a complaint and ask for them to stop contacting me .

Sorry, PALS = Patient Advice and Liaison Services.

Hi Reddisc

I work in the fundraising department of a hospital and I'm appalled at this. Yes, lots of charities call their supporters as it's very effective but only if the person has no objections. If you say no, they should take that as a final answer.

Threatening you for not selling raffle tickets sounds highly dubious and certainly not legal. Some charities do this for marathon runners who take a charity place as these cost the charity money that they need to recoup. But as you say the tickets are unsolicited.

If I were you, I would put your complaint in writing to the Chief Exec of the hospital or charity. In the UK there is the fundraising standards board who you can also complain to, there maybe something similar in Ireland?

With regard to your phone number, it's unlikely they got it from your patient records as there are many other ways to get phone numbers and doing it that way is certainly a grey area within DP laws.

Tell them to fuck off and if they contact you again they will be getting a solicitors' letter.
They have no legal right to harass you like this. You could write to their head office saying their aggressive tactics mean that you are never going to fundraise for them again and you are going to tell all your family and friends to give their charitable donations elsewhere as well.
Their behaviour is appalling.

Thanks fishmother & SpringchickenGB

I just hate the way they are so pushy on the phone TBH
& it almost feels like bullying the way the are phoning so often trying to persuade me to carry on selling tickets for them . I really do need to get my number off of their lists & complain about their attitude as it has made me very wary of getting involved with other charities .