Chuggers/fundraisers should take your first "no" for an answer

[Parkingmoan1]

I've just been walking through the town centre on my way to catch a bus and was caught by one of those fundraising groups who accost you in the street.

As soon as she started talking to me I politely said no thank you, I don't have the time to talk and carried on walking. Instead of taking that as my final answer she chose to walk alongside me saying "I'm a fast talker" and continued her speech.

I felt a bit intimidated to be honest, she was quite loud and bolshie whereas I don't like confrontation and hate things like this.

I said I don't have any spare money, she said if I didn't want to make the one off payment to the cause (£25 bloody quid) the magazine they're selling is "only" £5.

I ended up buying the magazine just so that she'd leave me alone.

AIBU to think they should have to take your first "no" as an answer and leave you be?

The fundraising regulator says no cold calling signs do include charities so they should take note of them. I have a sign saying we do not buy or sell at this door, this includes charities and religion. Miserable yes, but I don’t care. Some still ignore it and get directed to the sign as I close the door.

I seek out charities I want to support, they are mainly local and do great work. That’s what is needed to win me over, not a 20 something with a clipboard who probably has no idea about the work of the charity they are collecting for.

Chuggers will get a mandatory life sentence when I come to power.

Methods I have used to make an aggressive chugger back off (all tried, tested and effective):

• Get close up into their personal space and pull the weiredest / funniest face you can
• Wheel round, clasp your hands over your head and hiss in a stage whisper: "DO YOU HEAR THEM"
• Smile nicely and say "I'm sorry, I'm having the worst ever day, I really need to sort this out" and continue running past
• Trot past and conspiratorially say "I'm in a rush, I really need a wee!"

These all work without having to be rude or snotty to the chugger.

No thank you is my first answer. Fuck off is my second. Unless there are kids around, in which case it's a firm No.

It'll be hanging, drawing, quartering and an extra hanging to make sure they've learned their lesson when I'm running things!

In the meantime, a brisk "Fuck OFF" works wonders. Sometimes I've had them get shirty and say something like "Oh, don't you care about SICK CHILDREN then?" to which I have replied that no, actually, I don't, in the same way that I don't appreciate being harassed in the street by a cagoule full of idiot.

We got a new front door and didn't get the no cold callers sign. Strangely, we've have less (or none that I know - my intercom is switched off unless I know someone will be calling) or no charity callers.

I’ve also had horrendous problems with Inside Success. As a pp said, my heart sinks when I see them in their blue jackets. Every tube station I ever go to be it Brixton, Oxford Circus, Goodge Street, Waterloo etc, I get harassed by them.

One time I really shouted at them because they wouldn’t leave me alone and they were being so intimidating (and it was the third separate time that day they’d spoken to me). I’m in my early 20s but I look very young so they see me as an ‘easy target’. I’m also a slow walker which means the always ‘get me’. Funnily enough I never get harassed when I’m with my male partner / father. And they don’t really get it on their own either. I wonder why that might be….

I would NEVER EVER donate to them. I only really tend to donate to homeless charities, women and children’s charities and food banks. You should definitely complain though if you feel like it because hopefully if more people complain they’ll actually do something about it.

I liked the one water aid did in pubs where they had something set up on the bar to balance a pound on a lemon or some such fun, loads of people after a beer got all competitive so imagine many pounds were donated for the fun of it.

I often have to walk along high Holborn in London and there are always some on there during rush hour, so high foot traffic. I get it, but there are a few who will wave and stand in front of you to try and block your path. By all means fundraise, but don't try to physically stop people in the street.

"It'll be hanging, drawing, quartering and an extra hanging to make sure they've learned their lesson when I'm running things!

In the meantime, a brisk "Fuck OFF" works wonders. Sometimes I've had them get shirty and say something like "Oh, don't you care about SICK CHILDREN then?" to which I have replied that no, actually, I don't, in the same way that I don't appreciate being harassed in the street by a cagoule full of idiot."

I have had the same said to me in front of my children. And also "how would you feel if one of them got sick and no one would help them?"

Just scum that use tactics like that. They don't deserve polite responses after these type of comments.

They don't get as much as a 'no' from me. I walk straight past them staring ahead of me and behave as though they are not there. As for anyone trying the same at the door, they get the stock response of 'I don't sign up to anything over the doorstep' and the door immediately closed in their face.

I don't care if it is rude. It's also rude to intrude into someone's personal space or accost them when they're quietly going about their own business.

I own it: I am becoming increasingly anti-social. But no one asked them to approach me; I resent it and am beyond sick of it. Same goes for 'random man' who by some apparently divine sense of entitlement thinks he can claim a woman's time and attentions by right.

Just. Fuck. Off.

Before covid,my local high street had them every single day

large groups of them-spread up the street

people would avoid that street (I couldn’t-I worked there) as they would get right in your face-you’d get past them,and 30 yards further up,another would spring out on you,you’d tell them to do one and you’d get his mate a bit further down-jumping in your face

if you said that you didn’t have your card on you,you’d get ‘your phone will do’ or ‘no’ you’d get ‘don’t you care?’

rinse and repeat-a road that should have taken 3/4 minutes to get from one end to the other,could take almost 20 minutes with them bouncing round you

everyone complained to the council-shoppers,businesses and people who worked in that street

nothing happened-we where ignored (then covid kicked in which seemed to make them stop for now)

I remember walking down with my son and his new dog who was a nervous rescue (my son had adopted him 3 weeks earlier)

this one bloke just wouldn’t leave us alone-he chased us down the street,yelling at us ‘don’t you care about animals?!’ And ‘what if it was him?’ (Pointing at the dog)

my son (who is a large and tall lad) was getting more and more pissed off and kept telling this fool to fuck off,I was telling him to stop hounding us,when he grabbed the dogs harness (my son had bought one of those harnesses that makes it clear the dog is nervous)

the dog lost it,through sheer fear and snapped at this bloke

well,you’ve had thought this gentle but nervous staffie had mauled him to pieces-he was screaming that he was going to call the police on us and have the dog put down

we reported ourselves to the police-and they didn’t do a thing-just said he shouldn’t have grabbed the dog in the first place

went back2 weeks later and the same bloke was hounding mums with buggies,again they where telling him to go away and he was refusing to

now,thanks to covid,it’s just full of blokes screaming about the bible and energy companies

Can second the I really need the toilet one. It always works, I'm very good at pulling a pained face. This alternates with my resting bitch face that puts most chuggers off immediately without a word being said

I just say I already support said charity/use that gas/electric company/broadband supplier.

Utterly vile!

I'd report them as many times as I could....

Charity harassment and intimidation is a whole lot of bad...

And the whole 3 'no s' is mysogynistic crap designed to initmdate into getting moneu from you!

I NEVER give to chugger /doorsteppers (although we already DD our fave charities)..

All it does by 'giving in' means that they know it works... (ie its a variable reinforcement schedule... They 'know' that sooner or later people will donate...)

We have big issue sellers that hang around in the supermarket entrance....it's supposed it be /was a scheme for people to get themselves back on their feet... Same bloke has been there EIGHT years!

I say 'no, I don't want to' firmly

I don't make any sort of excuse. I've only ever had to reiterate it a couple of times in my life - I just said it louder.

The list of things I do that I don't want to do is very short

I voted YABU not because I disagree with your question (of course they should take no for an answer) but because you totally f*ed it up by buying the magazine!

Now she will continue to do that because clearly, you proved to her that she was right not to take no for an answer.

They are bullies and thugs. I was intimidated and physically blocked by two of them working for a major charity when I was heavily pregnant and trying to get to a work event. I went absolutely ballistic and made a complaint to the organisation employing them.

I usually just say "No, thank you" on repeat. It's hard to argue with that and it becomes obvious to other people around that you are being hassled.

If you say "I'm in a rush" they'll say "Its ok, it'll only take a minute, blah blah". Same for any other reason/excuse you give.

YANBU. I had one guy call to my door a while ago and asked me if I'd like to donate to the charity (no discernable literature visible) so I said no thank you and before I could close the door he put his fist up against it and said "must be really nice to say no when you've got a house and a car". I was that shocked I actually froze, the whole thing was just a bit threatening. I said I'd like you to leave now and he said just listen to what I have to say and again I said, no thank you - then I opened the door wider and showed the two German shepherds behind the hall gate and said "unlike you they're really good at following orders". He left after that but threw a "fuck you!" At me from my driveway. I got the name of the charity again off his badge when I went back and looked at the CCTV. I sent the footage to the charity and said he might have been having a bad day but if he darkens my property again I will call the police. They told me later they let him go.

Chugging is the only industry where threatening and intimidating behaviour is acceptable.

The waterproofs 😂😂

I know someone who would ignore the no cold callers signs at the door sadly they don't apply to charity callers.

Eh? They're not a legally-regulated contract - it's a way of making it crystal clear to people that they are not welcome, as some seem unable to understand this rather obvious point without one.

Do people really think that there's an actual law stating that you have to welcome cold callers, just because they're (supposedly) representing a charity?!

In a perfect world yes. But that's how they get paid.

I agree. It's harassment.

Surely, when the odious ones declare that 'you obviously don't care about sick children' (or whatever cause), the best response is to demand to know how much they regularly give to the cause - and can they confirm that they're working voluntarily because they're so passionate about the cause, rather than being one of these vile people who exploit sick children in order to profit from them?

I'd have thought that would catch them off-guard; but even if they reply that they give £XX a month (most probably a lie, at any rate), you can always respond that they clearly don't care, if that's all they're giving.

My response is just avoid eye contact and pretend I can't hear them and keep on walking