Charity text donation collectors in town! Argh!!!

[Kayano]

I was stopped today by a collector who launched into their speil. I listened an nodded with the intention of donating a few quid by text... Says she 'isn't one of those who wants your bank details' ok great. I like one off donations because I already donate etc...

She ends with
'so will you help by sending a £3 text?'

Yes certainly... whips out phone and opens messages

Just starting to send and she says 'it's a monthly ongoing donation and you can stop by sending....'

To which point I say
'I thought it was a 'three pound text dOnation?' (echoing her words)

Her 'well... Ongoing'

Me. 'that's not what you initially said and I am happy to make a one off donation but not to subscribe automatically'

'well you can't donate once'

'well I can't donate sorry.' and off I flounced. I really felt like she had tried to deliberately deceive me!

AIBU to be pissed?

Or the widow's mite. The more you think about it the worse this gets.

Not sure the random Christian bashing is really justified! Looks like an easy (if disingenuous) way of scoring points when none of the charities mentioned are Christian.

Anyway, regardless of the basis of the charity, I don't think the charities should get blamed for a lot of this. Yes, they should be blamed for outsourcing to these chugging agencies, but the misbehaviour is the responsibility of the chuggers and the tactics they are taught.

shrodingerscat Of all the charities I've had at the door trying to get people to sign up for a direct debit, not a single one has been religious. The only religious callers I've had all year are the Jehovas Witnesses (I just took the leaflet, said goodbye, recycled leaflet) and Christian Aid which is just local volunteers collecting small cash donations in envelopes to help the world's poorest people.

Do you have an axe to grind about Christianity? Try the religion section if you want to discuss it.

(or large cash donations, or cheques - but the callers are not chuggers and they don't get paid).

I wasn't Christian bashing. The Christian value of charitable giving (the basis of all charitable causes, surely) and every small kindness being as valuable as a £1m donation is a good thing. It's the charities that have forgotten this. I don't buy the "don't blame the charity" line, either, the tactics of chuggers have been well known for years; and the actions of callers from charities once you have signed up to a DD - making out that your monthly donation is never enough - is hardly any better. I used to donate a large monthly sum to about 10 big charities, and was continually harassed for more.

I didn't think this was Christian bashing. In fact I thought the opposite. Merely upholding Christian values. But get the point about if charities don't propose to be Christian then no point in bringing in the issue of Christianity. Sorry I misunderstood. But I don't think in the spirit of charitable giving it is wise or right for charities to refuse one off donations.

But the collectors are not charitable. They are on commission. And if you give to them the charity doesn't receive a penny for months. That's why you should never give to chuggers.

What about the ones who try to sign you up over the phone, usually for a monthly direct debit (e.g. £2)? Are they chuggers or does the money go directly go to the charity?

X-post with VolauVont, no, I don't have any axe to grind about Christianity, I am not a Christian, but I believe in "Christian" values (if that makes sense). I have no problem at all filling the Christian Aid envelope, my lovely neighbour and friend collects ours. I also used to donate by DD to Oxfam, Save the Children and ActionAid amongst others, all charities with, I believe, a foundation in Christian values. I did get tired of being made to feel guilty when my monthly DDs to these charities were never deemed enough by the people who called me. When I was made redundant and had to stop the DDs, I was giving £25 a month to each of these plus 7 others. I'd been guilted up to that sum over the years and felt a bit pissed off by the end of it. I still give to these charities when I can. I grew up dirt poor and benefitted from other peoples' charity, so will always support charities in general. But I will never set up a DD again and I believe chugging should be banned.

I get really fed up with chuggers. A few years ago, I was approached by at least one chugger during my lunch break for 3 weeks running - the record was 5 in 45 minutes.

The worst two I encountered were right PITA:

1. On my way to the pub after work to meet some friends after a really crap day (pre-mum days), I passed one outside a shop while it was chucking it down. He asked if I could spare a moment and I politely declined while rushing to get out of the rain. After getting to the pub, I remembered that I needed to get something from the shop so I ran back out - same coat, same umbrella with a farly distinctive pattern. I angled the umbrella a bit downwards to avoid eye contact but the guy still tried to stop me - I gave the same "No thank you, I'm not interested" but sounding a bit pee'd off.

As I was leaving the shop, the guy had his back turned to me but I still angled right down so the bottom edge was down by my waist.

The guy ducked to look at me under my umbrella. I swore very loudly at him. He jumped away very fast.

1. Some prat with blue hair tried to stop me, usual line. I politely (but hurriedly as I was in a rush) replied, "No sorry, I'm already working 2 jobs to pay the bills I've got". As I passed him, I heard him mutter something along the lines of "What's your f** problem then, f** b**?".

If I hadn't been in a hurry, he would have been seeking charity for a lift to A&E.

Chuggers are legally not allowed to take cash donations, which is why if people ask to give they will refuse.

They are also paid an hourly wage - not commission.

And most of them are not poor and on a minimum wage. But students trying to earn a bit of extra money for luxuries. I'd rather my money went straight to people who needed it. Next time I come across a chugger I am going to write to the charity concerned to say I disapprove. More people should do this. In fact I think quite a few people under under the impression those chuggers are volunteers and not paid anything.

Sunny: a lot of my chugging friends work for wesser, they get wage plus commission, it makes that point very clear on the site. Most other seasonal ones that target travellers/backpackers have similar set ups. I thought that the majority of them worked in that way?

Right. I'm a charity lawyer. Chuggers ought to be more heavily regulated if the recommendations of Lord Hodgson's review of charity law is followed. They should be, some everyone agrees that the current situation is nuts.

Two fascinating facts from the hodgson report. One, high costs - the costs generally equate to the value of the first 10 - 18 months donations. Gasp! (but then its essential to remember that charity fundraising isn't effected exclusively by do good grannies and magical pixies who don't need to make a living). Point two, chuggers are estimated to raise £130 million for charity each year. They aren't all bad...

Chuggers are currently quasi regulated by the pfra. If you are treated badly by a chugger, you should first make a complaint to the charity employing them. The charity trustees have a duty to protect the reputation of their charity, examples such as those above can do nothing but damage charities' reputations. You can also complain to the pfra and your local council.
Lawyerly rant over. I hate chuggers too.

And, if you'd like to save the charity some money, take the spiel, say I'll think about it and phone the charity direct to make a payment/set up DD.

All chuggers should be required to state 'Do you realise that the first year to eighteen months of your donation is going straight into my pocket'. And the same written on the sign up form with a box for the giver to tick saying that they understand and agree to this. This chugger thing has got me going tonight. grrrrrr!!

A lot of these charities are actively taking part in workfare. I will NOT give to any charity that does that.
I do not like direct debit and im even less likely to do that after what happened with RBS/NatWest/Ulster recently.

The charitity trustees have a duty to protect the reputation of their charity.
PMSL. If that were the case they wouldnt be taking part in workfare!
So they are either too thick to realise whats going on or greedy. Wonder which one it is!

HeyNonnyNo if chuggers make £130 million each year is this excluding the costs of paying them?

TheVermiciousKnid - the ones that try to sign you up over the phone are also paid, in my experience (because I asked them). They generally work to a script. I felt sick though when one asked me how I felt about children who go missing (because I know the father of a missing child), and then didn't have the slightest interest in the answer. And then there is the one who wanted £10 per month and then seemed incredulous that I couldn't afford to give that - I complained to the charity about that.

MrsDV - I got the 'can you imagine losing someone to cancer' one as well.

I lost my mum to cancer when I was 12. I explained this to the chugger, and several other things too, at full pitch of my lungs in the middle of Brixton High Street. in my defence it had been a bad day and this was the last straw.

She left at speed.

No apology though.

Tbh hard selling by anyone charities or companies instantly puts me on my guard. It's the little time you have to consider what they are selling (getting you when you are vulnerable) and let's face it many people aren't in a position to sign up willy nilly to all and sundry.

My dsis and I did a well known charity run when my mum was diagnosed with cancer and raised hundreds of pounds but the telephone calls after it requesting more money were really hard to deal with. It was such a bad experience we have never done one of their events again.

It's horrile isnt it? I never get an apology just some glib crap from an over perky 20 year old with a clipboard.
Glazed look, no interest, totally unaware of how many hours it can take to get over that stupid question

If you're getting unwanted calls then ask them to stop, be specific with what you want. Say I want no telephone contact, I want mail only once a year. Or put no further contact against my record.

Fortunately it was some time ago now and I haven't been called recently but its amazing how much a bad experience has influenced my charity donations.

I tend to enter 10k runs independently now and donate direct to some of the smaller charities that support people. I tend to avoid larger charities now.