To feel a bit harassed by charity worker

[Hardknocks]

Was on my way back from a meeting in London this evening, had to stop at the ticket machine to get my ticket a charity person came over to ask for a donation - I said I couldn’t afford it (I couldn’t), but I usually do give something. However this guy was so pushy, putting leaflets in my face, telling me he lost his brother to knife crime etc etc. He put £25 into his card reader and just kept saying ‘just tap your phone, tap your phone’. I politely asked him to move so that I could get past and through the train barrier but he said not until I tap.. so feeling completely intimidated I did.

I feel stupid, I couldn’t afford £25. I don’t begrudge giving to charity at all and I do where I can. AIBU to feel a bit upset about the whole thing.

What the hell?! You actually paid £25 that you couldn’t even afford?!

These charity people do this all the time especially in Oxford Circus and Brixton right outside of the station. You say ‘I don’t have money,’ ignore them and walk away. There’s one specific charity where there’s about 5 people harassing you at one time and it’s absolutely ridiculous.

How on earth are you going to try and get your money back? I’m more surprised that you actually paid than anything. These people are trash

I would tell your bank that you were coerced and didn't consent to giving the money. You're more likely to get your money back this way than via the charity or whatever it was.

In future never ever say things like ‘I usually donate to you’ it gives them something to argue back to and you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone, ‘no’ is enough, just keep repeating it and don’t get drawn in.

Well done for speaking out about this.
horrendous behaviour to effectively extort money by refusing you freedom to move on with your day. Vile.

He's just a scammer. If you want to donate to charity go through their official channels.
No point in reporting him to anyone really but just be aware this happens a lot around stations in London.

What a scumbag

These aren't charities. They're scams. A cic costs £65 to set up and requires no documentation, it's just a technical status for things like bank account registration.

If it was a real charity OP they'd have a charity number

I live in a big city and the anti knife crime squad do my head in. They are SO rude and pushy. Usually in blue coats.. but more recently have just been wearing normal clothing holding leaflets, so harder to spot from a distance and avoid!
They usually start with a stupid remark like "hey, you look friendly" to which I reply.. I'm not.
Or a "hi super - mom" whilst with my daughter which I cringe at massively every time.
I do not begrudge giving to charity either, and regularly do, and give to the homeless when I can.. but these ones are a different breed & I can't stand it!!
It's even worse now they carry card machines, so when you use the good old "sorry I don't have any cash" they whip out their machine like you can't possibly refuse now !

The situation in London is crazy at the moment with this. Daily I feel harassed outside Farringdon station to give money and it seems to be at every station too. I have to get a certain train to get to my daughter and they try any means necessary to stop you other than physically grabbing! Sorry you experienced this.

Oh my gosh.. I've just commented about these people. I didn't know that's what they were called. Please could you elaborate on how they are a scam? I already do not engage with them, but if I can report their behaviour in my area, I certainly will!

Sorry OP, sounds unpleasant. Definitely report to TFL and police - sometimes it takes weight of complaints for them to do anything!

In future, just ignore them entirely. It’s not rude, they are the ones being rude.

This is worth repeating.

to use an old line
“JUST SAY NO”

keep saying it.
explain nothing.
discuss nothing.

No No No

@barbiegirl881 this was Farringdon too!

Sadly; that's not a charity. A CIC is a community interest company and they have much lighter touch regulation than registered charities. The best place to complain to might be the Fundraising Regulator

@Hardknocks Reddit users say this is a scam.

Not a registered charity at all, just people harassed extremely aggressively .

I hope you get your money back.

Doesn’t surprise me at all. When I first returned from mat leave I was flustered trying to navigate my new nursery commute and said in desperation I would pay so he would leave me alone (it’s intimidating that there is a number of them) when he opened the page to do it, it was already set to £20 and to go back and change it meant going through a load of rigamorole (deliberately) and would have made me late for my train. I said to him I wanted to give less and he said, “how much were you planning on giving, this is a normal amount” in a scornful way. Ugh honestly they make me hate walking around London.

Phone your bank and dispute the charge right now!!

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/a555141/have-you-been-caught-out-by-a-chugger/

Known as a site management agreement, 'charities are tightly controlled and regulated by a number of rules,' explains Tim Brearley from the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA).

'For example they are not allowed to obstruct shoppers or approach more than three steps,' adds Brearley. If fundraisers breach these rules, the allegations are checked by mystery shoppers and the charity picks up penalty points. Once the charity has 1000 points they will be fined by the PFRA who put the money into e-learning training courses to educate charities.

But what can you do if you're caught out?
'Giving is a choice and fundraising should be a positive experience that enables donors to make that decision to give', says Lucinda Frostick from the Fundraising Standards Boards (FRSB).

It's important to remember that if you're not happy with the way a charity is fundraising you don't have to put up with it. The Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Fundraising Practice makes it clear that charities cannot pressurise the public so if you have a problem the fundraiser should give you a number to complain to so you can get in touch with the relevant charity and make your objections known. They must respect your preferences and opinions so contact your local council or the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (020 7401 8452) - who will deal with it within the hour - if you feel your complaint is ignored.

In Bristol, we call people in this profession "Chuggers" ie) Charity Muggers.

This is an extreme example though!

I'm actually in shock that you tapped your card 😲 but just don't try to get your money back from these scammers - report it to your bank and try that way too. If it was late this evening maybe it hasn't gone through yet.

Was this at Farringdon today OP?

I was yelled at by one of them and called a “fucking weirdo” because I asked one of them to please leave me alone after following me into the station and waving his hand in front of my face. But it sounds like I got away lightly - sorry this happened to you.

The whole chugger tactic is so incredibly rude, obnoxious and exploitative. I genuinely think it should be banned.

Report to the charity commission and the charity itself. It’s people like this that give fundraisers a bad name!

This is scary. If they could get the money from you by you touching your card against their machine, then presumably, they could just take it by holding their machine up to your phone - maybe distracting you in some way or working with an accomplice.

If it were legit, it would be an extremely odd MO - as PP pointed our bluntly - to be working and campaigning against aggressive behaviour in the streets by aggressively demanding money from people who very clearly can't/don't want to give it.

Commuted on the tube for 25 years. Anything like that happened to me, I used to shout 'Get away from me, get your hands off me!' really loudly and they left me well alone. I'd rather feel stupid for causing a scene than for giving someone my money out of fear of being seen to be rude.

That's terrible! I just walk off and say no thank you and carry on walking. So frustrating they are rude and very pushy shoving stuff under people's noses. I don't allow it though.