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.

People who are paid to persuade unsuspecting victims to sign up for a standing order to a charity.

Ugh. They were very prolific in one town I lived in. It was a very ‘naice’ SE town in the Herts commuter belt and they’d have 5/6 on the small high street.

Not quite the same but one company I worked for used to allow the people selling Victoria Jackson make up on the premises and it pissed the customers off no end. It was particularly ridiculous as I worked at a public transport interchange. Who is going there to buy make up?

There are conditions in the licence to collect in public places that collectors should remain in one place (not blocking doorways or access or endangering the public) and not approach people. They must be respectful and tell you at the start of the conversation that they are collecting for the named charity. It's up to the public to approach them. If you feel harassed you should report the incident to the charity and also the fundraising regulator.

What I dont understand is do people actually stop and set up a direct debit with them??

they must be making a lot of money out of it to pay all the chuggers but really?

there must be a lot of direct debits being set up to pay for it

One once shouted after me 'don't you care about disabled children then?' after I politely declined to hand over my bank details. I was working as a school nurse in a special school at the time!

Am I the only person who thought you meant people chugging beer?
I always smile and acknowledge the charity people but say I am subscribed up to the eyeballs and can't manage any more.

@PreciousMahoney

i had that too, I thought it was SO rude, so I just shrugged & said 'well that's unfortunate isn't it' & walked off!

my local supermarket is Waitrose & there's invariably a charity set up in the doorway.

I suppose I'm not helping things as I do usually give them some kind of donation.

it pisses me off though when I say I have a regular payment to their charity & I know they don't believe me. I only say it when it's true, but I suppose they must get lots of people lying about it.

@OnTheBoardwalk

the ones local to me tend to have the option to sign up or just make a donation. I usually make a donation on the card machine they have. I tend to assume as they're in Waitrose foyer they are legit.

I don't think they got the memo!! Or find a work around! But that's interesting to know, I'll keep it in mind for any being obnoxious!!

Exactly. They don’t bother me one bit.

They get my goat (absolutely preying on the vulnerable for donations = their commission/salary) and I don’t even give them the curtesy of eye contact or any interaction usually. But one particularly annoying one bounced over with his ‘aren’t I so charming you can’t resist engaging with me’ air and said how nice and friendly I looked. I replied that “I’m not, I’m a serial killer on the l look out for my next victim, but please don’t tell anyone” (maybe I took it too far! 😬)

It’s terrible, I don’t really understand why charities do it unless it’s massively lucrative which I doubt. I don’t know why shops permit it in their doorway - actually discourages me from going in.

I always make a mental note never to contribute to the charities that do it.

@AugustAlready thats interesting and something I would absolutely do rather than setting up a direct debit

i've had a few doorstep charities that I would give a one off donation to but not an ongoing donation but they’ve said no

think this is the way they should go

The important thing you have to remember is that at least the first year of donations go to pay the chugger.So it’s not a good way of your donation helping charity in the first place.
Most chuggers don’t last long anyway so really you are just aiding and abetting the private company increase their profits.

Just start giving bad google reviews to the charities who use slimy sleazy rude charity muggers. Then the CEO will actually start paying attention. Looking at you, BREAST CANCER NOW! I can assure you that as a woman in my 40s I know more about breast cancer than a 20 year old guy with too much gel in his hair and 2 GCSEs max conducting himself like a used car salesman.

Ditto for shops that allow charity muggers inside their premises. Slam a bad google review on the shop. Then the manager/franchise owner will actually see it. When a business' google star rating goes down, it causes them actual issues. No point sending a strongly worded email that no-one will see. Make your displeasure PUBLIC AS FUCK!

Just say no thanks or tell them you already donate to various charities…it’s hardly a big issue.

Omg I hate this. I was in Tesco recently and there was some woman from the RSPCA shouting out continually "do you care about animals?“ I wanted to shout back" yes, hence why I don't support the RSPCA".

Its harassment. Especially when it's the poxy RSPCA. Not once have they ever helped when I've called them about a suffering animal. My old neighbours used to keep a German shepard and rottweiler locked in a garage all day every day. He'd regularly go out and kick them if they annoyed him. Poor things barked all day. RSPCA told me that "it is mild cruelty, so we can't act". Absolute bunch of cunts.

My local Tesco has started this. They’ve chosen the perfect spot just near the exit so it’s hard to quickly get by them as you’re often slowed down with people pushing trolleys around a corner and out the door. For some reason they think offering stickers is appealing to adults.

"no thank you" is my automatic reply to all chuggers as I keep moving past them

It is though. As a pp pointed out, they target the elderly/women on their own. We ALL need to stand up for saying we've had enough of charity muggers. I thought they died out 10 years ago tbh.

I refuse to sign up with chuggers as so much of what would donate goes to the agency the chugged is with … to,pay them and make a profit.

direct payments to charity only.

same with the “press to donate” at coop til - er, no as not tax efficient and just allows the shop to say how much they give to that charity,

Maybe if the shop staff see the chuggers are putting people off coming in, the shop will reconsider.
@Cluelessaboutbiology you'd be hard pressed to even find someone serving in my local Coop, they seem to prefer congregating at the back of the shop ignoring the full aisle long queue.

I only ever allow them to round up to the next pound to donate to charity if it's McDonalds cos I'm worried they will spit in my food if I don't. <irrational> If it's Tesco, I don't.

You don't owe them any explanation. "No" should be sufficient. I've been known to add a "sod off" to particularly pushy ones. It's downright cynical of them to be targeting people under stress like you were.

This is why I hate high street shopping and the local Co-op. I go out of town to a retail park now. Sadly, my local M&S has also been siezed by chuggers lurking outside.

what i hate more than anything though is a Big Issue seller in one of my local towns. She doesnt just say "Big Issue" or "would you like a copy?" She screams and wails "BIIIIIIG IIISHHHHHOOOOOOOOO! While waving a copy in your face as you scoot past.

i understand that charitable donations are down this year and i can see why.