AIBU to hate these people knocking on my door?

[FeralFruitloopFairy]

In the past week alone we have had THREE people knocking on our door, wanting me to give them my bank details so they can sign me up for £15+ a month for their charities.

One knocked after dark and when I politely made the excuse I couldn’t find my purse he then said “that’s ok, you have your phone just give your bank details from your online banking app”

They start by saying they don’t want money “today”, the one who knocked today I said I don’t want to give my bank details as soon as he spoke but then he said it’s ok you don’t have to you can do it through a text on your phone. He meant there and then before he left.

I’m bloody sick of them, if I didn’t have Christmas presents coming I’d not answer the door! They make me feel so awkward on my own doorstep. I know they have a job to do and it’s a way to gain trade but if I’m going to donate to charity it will be to ones close to my heart not just cos I was pressured on my doorstop.

Agree with the sticker or sign on the door. If I happen to answer the door I firmly but politely say that I don't give out my bank details to people on the doorstep and shut the door. I don't allow them to start or continue a conversation. I always use my ring doorbell so I can usually see if it's a delivery or a chugger.

How do you even let it get to that stage? If I open the door and see a cold caller - whether a chugger or someone selling roofing or whatever - I just say "no thank you" and close the door before they even start talking.

When they start talking I just say "Sorry, not interested" and close the door. Not that I've had anyone round like that for years.

I just say to all cold callers that I don’t engage with them.

I opened the door once and my 3 and 4 year old were running around while I told the sales person that I wasn’t interested and had to go put my children to bed and the cheeky cow said, “what, at 6.30pm?”

I have a Ring doorbell now so they’ll never catch me again!

I remember I had one offer to walk me to the bank to get my account details to sign up to the direct debit, I declined the offer funnily enough!

This.

I would tell them I am cleaning the fridge out and if they help me I will sign up, for one job a week

Why don't you have a no cold callers sign up? I've had one for years and I've never had anyone cold calling since.

It doesn't need to be a drama. £1.50 off Ebay and your sorted.

I have a spy hole and dont open the door to chuggers. I have a couple of times by accident when expecting a parcel and just tell them that I am not interested and close the door.
You need to be more assertive OP. They will be very used to being told no.

Tell them you already donate by direct debit.Yes, (whoever they are representing). Not much they can say to that.

Once one of them from a charity I hadn’t heard of looked me in the eye and seemed a bit angry. I think it was because he knew I was lying and couldn’t be paying by direct debit because the charity didn’t exist and he’d gone to a lot of effort with his lanyard so I was being a cow for thwarting his scam

I hate this. Happy to hear about the charity, take a leaflet and donate some cash, but don't want to set up a direct debit without thinking it through.
The last one I had round was very pushy and quite unpleasant. I immediately refused to set up a direct debit but he kept trying to persuade me and then complained I was wasting HIS time. I reported him to the charity who gave what sounded like a sincere apology and said they had spoken to the man concerned and he apologised as well.

I just tell them I'm already signed up to whatever charity it is. We did actually sign up to one on the doorstep but it's a charity we've given several donations to before and a well recognised and known name.

If it's anything to do with solar panels or any other service that is only if your own your house... I say I don't own it I rent. They don't bother you on their next rounds either then. I tell them the whole street rents. Really if someone wanted solar panels they'd do their research and organise them not wait for some sales guy with no technical knowledge to spout some statistics at them on the doorstep.

Get a ring doorbell so you can see who it is at your door. Or say you’ve just been made redundant and you’re totally skint.

"Obviously there are thousands of charities out there and, like most people, we can only ever focus on a handful of them to support meaningfully. If I gave a couple of quid each month to every charity that approached me, I'd be homeless!
If you leave me some literature now, with detailed information about your organisation's financial accounts, I'll read through it carefully as soon as I have chance (that day will never come) and, if I decide that I wish to add you to my focus list, you have my assurance that I will be in touch with your HQ ASAP to sign up."

1. They won't have any detailed literature on them
2. They know that you're wise and not an impulse sign-up, so they're already backing away
3. They don't care about you giving to the charity; they only want you to sign up WITH THEM, so they get a commission from you - which you've just confirmed that you definitely won't do
4. It's a super polite, friendly way of unequivocally telling them to "Bugger off, matey - you're wasting your time on me!"

You’ve got to shut them down before they start talking. I say “I never buy or donate at the door” and if they ask me why, I just keep shutting the door while saying “bye”. They rely on people being polite and following social conventions, and use tactics to make you feel awkward for refusing to engage with them and try and leverage this so that you donate/hand over your bank details.

As a teenager I did a door to door job. It was awful, didn’t even get paid, total con
I have sympathy for those who do it BUT we had a couple of seemingly lovely young people knocking around our small town last week. I was nice but as usual a firm ‘No’.
10 mins later walking to the shops saw their ‘minder’ leaning againt their car waiting for them. It looked wrong (and intimidating). For the first time I wondered if it was legitimate. In short, don’t sign up!

I open my door see its a chugger say no thank you in a polite manner and shut the door, nothing further.
In the past i would have been more of a pushover but not now.
I despise this type of marketing with a passion, the big charities should hold their heads in shame knowing that a percentage of their income has come from vulnerable people who have been pressured into signing up, totally immoral.
I have never heard a soul say what a good idea this kind of fundraising is ,a stranger knocking your front door to ask for your bank details🙄, charities know how hated this is yet continue to do it, they won't get a penny from me.

OP you’re being way too nice here. Why would you be happy to listen and take a leaflet? The only thing they’re interested in is getting your bank details for a sign up and then they’ll get commission.

You need to be really assertive with these callers, just say you don’t buy or donate anything at the door. And then close the door.

Agree with others, just say pleasantly "No thank you!" and close the door again, no hesitating.

You really don't need excuses or reasons, save their time and yours with a brisk No thanks and door close. And don't give it another thought.

You need to be more direct. “Sorry I’m not interested” straight away. I used to work for a company that had a charities sales team - they are sales people looking to get a commission so if you show the slightest bit of interest they will try to continue and even if they’re for different causes they are possibly from the same office/team.

Also see: Chuggers.

I was followed part of the way down the Royal Mile (Edinburgh) by a chugger for Save the Children after I'd politely declined, explaining that I was already giving as much as I could afford to charity.

"But it's for CHILDREN!" he yelled in a faux outraged voice.

"I don't care - I'm a schoolteacher!" I yelled back.

Really if someone wanted solar panels they'd do their research and organise them not wait for some sales guy with no technical knowledge to spout some statistics at them on the doorstep.

This is it in a nutshell. It's 2025 and you have all of the information that you could possibly need to know about the subject to enable you to make all the decisions right there in your bag or pocket. They are there to sell to you; they couldn't care less about whether or not you want or need to buy it.

Whenever we have broadband marketeers at our door, I always ask them a number of technical questions that they will almost certainly not know the answers to. If they did, they would not be working in the marketing department for the company. All they know about is the stated maximum download speed they've been given and the price.

As soon as they realise that you know a bit about it (more than they do at any rate!) and certainly will never just buy on the strength of some random (who 'coincidentally' is selling it) telling you that it's the best/cheapest/fastest, they invariably see that the game is up and effectively show themselves away from your doorstep!

Got a sticker they ignore it. Have a smart doorbell. I Check the video feed before answering door. If it's a chugger then they get ignored. Local hospice has a lottery chuggers, but it's a national company doing it for many hospices and they keep around 60%-70% iirc. I feel for the people doing it a bit no one picks a job like that because they want to but at the same time I'm not answering the door.

Yes? It's my house, I don't want chuggers on my doorstep. Their entire schtick relies on the politeness and unwillingness to make someone else feel awkward of the British. Shutting the door in their face is remarkably effective.