To think the Co op should not allow this?

[KimberleyClark]

Just been to my small local Co op for a few things and chuggers just inside the door. It was so intimidating. Right there in my face as I walked in. Ignored them as they tried to engage with me as I waked in, they tried again as I walked out and called have a nice day as I left. I do give to various charities but I do hate this.

Good! He's obviously a tosser.

If I have the time, ask them at length all about their charity - in French. I've yet to find one who understands, and I make a point of gesticulating and demanding their attention as many possible targets walk by, usually with a grin and sometimes a thumbs-up.

Nothing unusual is it? I like the ones that sit there with a face of thunder and just say the cause and nothing else, literally heard one say in a monotonous voice "kids with cancer"

I’ve seen it too. And while I just say I’m not interested I feel really bad for the vulnerable older people I see them signing up.

It really is a menace. Some of them can be quite intimidating, and they do seem to target women. DH rarely gets approached, although teenage DD and I are often targets. Not a way to revive footfall in our dying high streets; no wonder so many people prefer to shop online.

Yes, they've been doing it at our local small Co Op too! Very annoying. I tend to hang around and wait for another customer to leave just in front of me so they can accost someone else and leave me alone!

I think it's fair enough at large stores as you can avoid them more easily, but it's very poor form that they do it in smaller stores where it's much harder to avoid them.

Oh, the shopping experience in our shopping centre - first you are accosted by chuggers, then in Tesco there are people with leaflets telling you what to buy for a food bank, and finally at self checkout you are asked if you want to round up 25.99 to 30 pounds for charity or suchlike (idiotic request) and if you proceed to the manned checkout, there are always kiddies with their teachers - can we help you pack? With a begging bowl for the dance class or suchlike. Kiddies I can't say no to, but chuggers - no way. There are some really entitled chuggers too - they are 20 years of age and say - do you know how difficult it is for the young people to get a council flat? (Shelter). I kid you not - not 'how difficult it is for our ex servicemen to sleep rough' but literally 'do you know how difficult it is to get a council flat'? I tell them either to live with their parents or buy one, what is the problem? Or there is another one of my favourite 'adopt an elephant/hippo/donkey. I always say earnestly 'I am sorry I have a very small flat'. They continue, quite seriously, to tell me that you don't get to keep the animal, it is just a direct debit to feed them or whatever, at which point I look at them earnestly and say 'so, you are scamming me, right, saying adopt it and pay for it and don't give it to me?'

"I'm sorry I have a policy not to donate to charities who employ people to do what you're doing, as its morally questionable and preys on the vulnerable." Then walk on. Agree it shouldn't even be a thing though in a grocery shop.

"I don't give to beggars" is my stock response if they don't accept a civil"No, thank you".

I just tell them immediately that I don't do direct debits and they don't say anything else. They're very annoying though.

I saw one last week who stood in my way as i tried to get into a shop and told me how pleasant I looked - I just stonily walked past.

Next he waylaid a couple - lady said they had no cash and he said "It's ok we're not taking any cash today we wanted to talk to you about an exciting new way of raising money for charity" ... bet it involved their bank details!

I do think this is a free market for fraudsters though - pretend to represent a supposed charity and collect direct debit details. it could be sometime before people realised that it wasn't a chairty

Agreed.

Breast Cancer Now are the worst for it round here (Edinburgh)

Cheeky chappy type blokes in their 20s failing to read the room.

Tesco chucked them out so now they're in the Co-op here. I presume the stores are getting backhanders from the agencies who pay these charity muggers.

I smile and tell them that I give to charity through my work payroll as they match donations. (Was true at my former employer). They gape and I walk on by.

I agree it is beyond annoying.

Agree.

They tend to hang around railway stations as well. So irritating. Shelter were at Waterloo today. Fortunately they'd found other victims to hassle.

This! They get paid very well to be a nuisance

I usually just ignore them, don’t say anything to them, just completely ignore them. But I had one chase me up the street once and I said to him are you getting paid for this? When he stuttered yes, I said well that’s not very charitable is it and he didn’t follow me when I walked away

Definitely going to use some of the come backs noted here if any annoy me again

I think I went to far with the chugger who asked me if I am against knife crime. I told him that actually, I'm all for it and there's nothing I like better on a Saturday than going out and shanking a few people.

They're usually outside my station, in their dozens, it's like running a gauntlet.
I've no idea how much engagement they get because people are either a) rushing for their train or b) trying to get to work. I never speak to them.

They often say they just want a moment of my time....except they don't, they want all my details. They don't want a moment of my time to discuss how fabulous Sifan Hassan is or how epic the pole vault final was at the Olympics!

I haven't seen any since before the pandemic. But we used to get a lot in town trying to flog joke books for a charity I haven't heard of.

I was in town once with a friend when one approached us and asked if we have a sense of humour. My friend snapped no at them grabbed me and marched off.

She then told me they stopped someone she worked with. When she said she had no money she said she would go to a cash machine to get some out to get rid of them. They only followed her to make sure she did. She gave them the money to get away from them.

The other annoying one is the card machines (esp service stations) where they round up to the next pound and suggest you donate it to charity. The people behind the counter get really hacked showing people the NO button..

Yes I hate it too. They have them at my local Waitrose and while I always buy fur the food bank there (they are outside and do not talk to you unless giving them something) inside there's a desk you can avoid - last week it was someone dressed up as aTeletubby. I feel weird because there I am shopping at a 'premium' market. But truth is I give by DD to two charities, I give to the food bank, and I rarely have cash on me. Still makes me feel uncomfortable.

Had this at Pets at Home. "Would you like to donate to feed a hungry animal?" No actually I'm alright thanks.

We have it outside the local co op. It really annoys me, it’s not that I don’t care about charitable causes I just can’t afford to give, especially if they want to set up a DD! It’s not just one either, there’s often two or three people together.

I hate above all the ones who reckon they don't understand what you say: 'I'm on a very tight schedule today and I can't stop' gets the reply 'I'll make it very quick', as if 'can't stop' did not mean exactly what it says.

Chuggers of course do not work for the charity whose tabard they wear but for a fundraising firm under contract to the charity - and the fundraising firm will take a cut of anything you give.

I hate this too. It especially bothers me as some vulnerable people may not feel able to say no so end up giving money they can’t afford. But please complain to the store manager - from a previous job we had to say yes to these otherwise it would seem the company were uncaring, however we were able to ask them to leave once we had enough complaints to justify it

Yes Pets at Home are very generous with MY money. They flog off their nearly out of date food in packages their customers can buy and donate to a local pet charity. Rather than just donating it themselves. Sick bastards profiting off generous customers and needy animals.

And it's not as if they are using the money to pay staff either. Always woefully understaffed when I go in.