Charity collectors hovering in shop doorways

[Jenjenyeahyeah]

I need to start by saying I’m not a terrible person, I do give to charity (and used to work for a charity!) and that in certain places I don’t mind charity collectors.
However, AIBU to think that they should not be allowed to hover inside shop doorways with their eagle eyes and big buckets because it makes people uncomfortable. Or is it just me? I went for a little look around the retail park this afternoon and actually didn’t go into Matalan, even though I was planning to, because of a woman pacing back and forth the entry doors inside with a charity bucket stopping people as they went in. It made me so uncomfortable the thought of having to either avoid her and rudely hurry past or to say no, explain I don’t have any cash and that I already have a DD to chosen charity that I just walked past to avoid it and went onto the next shop. Do the shops that give them permission to do this worry about people being put off from coming in? I don’t like talking to people/stranger/small talk at the best of times (hello self check-out I’m checking you out!) and this just stresses me out more. Am I being silly?

The USA has a very different approach to philanthropy, which is probably why they need to do less public fundraising. They have many more big gift donors than the UK.

And yes, UK charities would have to close down without public support. And it's not just providing extras for underprivileged people. or a trip to Disneyland for a child or the goat rescue centre (although those could all be close to anyone's heart), it's medical research (want to find the answer to Alzheimer's disease anyone?) and specialist equipment for hospitals. Charity world is a very broad church and I am certain we have all benefitted from it in the past, or will in the future.

I have a personal "boycott list" of every charity which has either 1)harassed me with chuggers 2) sent me personalised tat with my name misspelled (so I can work out which credit card list they got hold of) 3) rot up my Sundays with roadblocks for which there has been inadequate warning - and I have told chuggers so.
I'm not a Grinch (well not completely) and I give regularly to charities I have chosen to support. I have yet to ask a chugger for their banking details, but give me time.....

It is all very aggressive nowadays, agreed. Also, I think it just being out of place and jumping out at me at inappropriate places/times. The charity I worked for, we used to now and again ask volunteers to go and stand with buckets, but it was an animal charity and they were doing it inside a pet store - so not completely random placement as they were obviously targeting animal lovers (and they never chased anyone around the store and ALL the money got given to us and ALL of it spent on the animals). It’s the randomness of being jumped at and bombarded with it at surprising moments (like when I’m trying to nip into Matalan to find a plastic plant and some new teatowels)

I was chugged by our local air ambulance which I was happy to pay for until they kept phoning, as did other charities. Cancelled. Taking advantage as my mother would have said.

Buckets are a right dodgy way to collect 'charity' money. Im going to pop down the high st tomorrow and see if i can raise some holiday money. Having such open collections is beset with problems and Im astonished the charity commission accepts this. So OP walk past without shame.

Where I live there is a person who sells the big issue outside a shop. At Christmas I gave them €20 and got my mag. A week later when going past they held out thier hand which held a £2 coin and said they had not enough money for lunch. Feeling pressured I gave them £5. I now avoid them if I can. Not sure if they are allowed to beg though I probably have only myself to blame.

You are quite correct. Bucket collectors are not allowed to shake their buckets, call out to the general public or try and engage passers by in conversation about giving to the charity. They are allowed to display information for potential givers about the charity, but that is all.

They sometimes sit inside the shop doorway when the weather is bad

I'm not a fan either. One was in my local co op today and to get my attention she started talking to my sleeping toddler in the buggy and acting as though she was responding to my toddler waving at her whilst I was paying for my essentials strawberry laces

Being a terrible person or not doesn't come into it. I'd hand on heart love to be able to give £1,000 per year to every charity. unfortunately, however. In the words of our wonderful PM. I don't have a magic money tree..

YANBU but you don’t need to explain yourself to them or have excuses, if they actually ask you for money just smile sweetly and say “no thank you” and if they don’t speak but just shake their bucket then there’s no need to speak to them at all. For all they know you donate to their chosen charity by direct debit anyway.

I had to squeeze past two chuggers outside WH Smith today. They were asking people to sign up to a direct debit for Battersea Dogs home. I didn't give them my details. It puts me off donating. The chuggers asked me if I liked cats or dogs. I ignored them.

Last time I was in the UK I was stopped in the street by one of the many people harassing the general public outside the shops. She wasn't a chugger - she was trying to sell an electricity service. But of course she insisted that she wasn't selling anything, so I smiled politely and said I wasn't in any hurry.

She said: "Great! Let's get started! Who do you get your electricity from?"
I replied: "CMP."
She faltered a bit. "CMP... I... er... I don't seem to have them on my list..."
"Central Maine Power. In Maine. In the USA. Where I live."
"Ah..."
Me: "So what did you want to chat about then? I've got all day."
Oddly after that she didn't seem to want to chat any more.

I will not give to bucket shakers or chuggers. I have no qualms in saying 'not today thank you' and walking on.

The only charities I give to are Marie Curie Daffodil Day and the British Legion for a poppy.

My son was collecting for the RAF 100 appeal with the air cadets last weekend in M&S, and will be again this weekend. They also collect at the local football team's home matches for the Friends of the local hospital. Obviously they don't get to keep a cut of donations.
He says they really don't notice or care if people ignore them, but most people are happy to see them and chat about what they're collecting for (and usually ask for tips on getting their shoes so shiny). They don't shake the bucket or approach people.

My high street is full of chuggers its like running the gaunlet and then you have the big issue seller and in the supermarkets there are the bucket collectors

Don't give to chuggers - all your money will not got to the charity.

"No speak English. I tourist." in whatever accent you like usually gets you past chuggers.

I speak English to chuggers here (Spain) and claim i'm a tourist, even though i have passed the same ones for months they're mostly Red Cross or Oxfam.

dont mind an honest bucket shaker. i fix chuggers with a steely glare after one ran after me in MK shopping centre shouting "dont you care about children with cancer then?" they were even more unhappy when i sent their photo to the shopping centre management and the charity. its piss poor.
if someone is standing there doing a collection for say, cancer research (often there is a quartet that play to raise money for charity) happy days. they can have my spare change. coppers always go in the charity box at the nearesr till.
no one gets my bank details in the street.

Anybody doing a bucket collection should not be shaking their bucket or engaging first with anybody. If you see somebody doing either of those then you could report them to the charities commission.

Personally I don't mind bucket collectors. It's easy to walk past. It's chuggers and bag packers I have a problem with.

I don't mind a bucket collector as much, especially if it's for a local charity. They are a lot more regulated as they take cash not direct debit.

It is the chuggers that I really dislike. They are very pushy and usually they are employed by a company to get people to sign up and then sell the leads to the charities, so if you sign up and then cancel after a month it costs the charity more than if you didn't sign up at all.

They are so pushy but my standard response after 'no' or 'I'm in a rush' is 'I don't give my bank details to strangers I meet in the street'.

YANBU.
Years ago there was one in the entrance door of an M&S I liked to frequent. He was making quite lewd comments towards women walking into the store. He commented on how pretty I was and then made a comment about my body shape and I ended up complaining to M&S and he was removed. That sort of thing is totally uncalled for.

I also don't like the fake cheeriness they have. I know it's part of their job and I understand that but I just want to walk down the high street without being jumped on by them!

I posted on here a few weeks back now that Sainsbury's often have chuggers inside their stores right by the doors who pounce on you as you leave. I really object to that.

I have no issue with people standing with buckets collecting for charities.

After the semi finals when England won, I got a knock on the door. 2 random little girls (6/7ish) with a seaside bucket.
Girl 1 "Err She wants to ask you some thing" (pointing at other girl)
Girl 2 "err err, have you got any money for football people?" (Shakes bucket)
Me: "err not really I don't like football"
Chuggers in the making.

Unfortunately I spend a lot of time in hospitals for appointments, surgery etc. They've started stationing people at all the entrances trying to get people to sign up for a lottery thing to donate to the hospital. Sometimes I've had bad news but regardless being confronted with a smiley person trying to engage me in conversation when I'm just trying to leave is an additional stress I could do without. I'm hugely grateful for the care I receive, I'd be dead several times over without it but apart from anything else I don't have the spare cash.
They also often have charity related to a specific branch of medicine selling things at the main entrance to one of the hospitals. They don't try and stop people or engage you in conversation and that's fine. I don't know why they can't set up something for the lottery.