AIBU to feel harassed by charity chuggers targeting women in public?

[Bertiebiscuit]

I'm so sick of male charity chuggers, i watch them always bear down on older lone women - the "Dorothy Donor" stereotype is still operating i guess- i am on a fixed income, cannot afford to give money to charities, although I'm a regular buyer in charity shops and always donate goods when i have a clear out. As if i would give out my card details in public anyway, they must think we're stupid! And all that fake "charming" act they put on - hello 'young' lady, i like your hat/coat/haircut blah blah 🤮. Long story short i ignore them and march past,but lately several have felt they can shout snarky comments as i walk away, basically is amounting to street harassment,bog standard male bullsh*t and entitlement. I confess that the most recent one i gave him the finger. I feel as though I'm just prey, as women and girls always seem to be, and it makes me furious.

It always works for me!

Make a note of who they are collecting for, and report them to the Fundraising Regulator. They aren't allowed to harass people, and ths sort of behaviour should be stopped.
https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/service/complaints-about-fundraising

But many of us are saying it doesnt. If its worked for you then great but look at some of the rude responses people have been given in this thread simply for saying no thank you.

Thats not ok.

They do piss me off.

I’ve been approached at the entrance twice now at an m1 service station. Either i have been driving a while and need a wee, or i want to get going again as I still have a long drive ahead.

I did have one call a bitch when I was 16 after i asked him to leave me alone. None of them will ever get a penny out of me. I donate items to baby banks instead.

Perhaps it depends on how you say it.

I have been targeted by both male and female chuggers. The only thing in common was the most annoying and patronising were young.

It's not 'just doing their job' a lot of the time though

They are legally not allowed to harass and they are not allowed to target certain vulnerable groups. There are lots of things they are not allowed as part of this to do but persist in doing.

Thats the problem.

What an actual cunt! Hope you reported him!

I sat outside Kings Cross for about twenty minutes once waiting for a train, and watched a bunch of them work the area: in every single instance, they targeted young women on their own. That might have just been one particular charity, but it was actually remarkable how exclusively they did go for the women.

I think they shouldn't be allowed to approach people, if you want to approach them, then fine. I think there are more pleasant ways to get people donating to charity. Once I went to a local store and the local hospice had cookies to hand out to every customer regardless of whether they donated or not, I was happy to chuck £10 in the charity box, I imagine some didn't donate, but others like myself felt like it was a nice way of encouraging, not harassing people to donate. If I was harassed by a chugger for the same charity I'd make sure I wouldn't be donating to them then or in future

Or perhaps chuggers just have no manners

Well, I'm sure that some of them don't, but I still find it very easy to shut the conversation down.

I absolutely hate them. There are loads at my local commuter station and down the high street. A new tactic seems to be setting up a stand right outside the supermarket so you have to walk past them as you enter the shop. The whole faux friendly stand in your way emotional blackmail bullshit. You can stick your orphaned donkey up your arse.

This is not about chuggers but I used to donate to the RSPCA by DD every month. One month they rang up and asked if I'd increase my donation - I said politely that I cant, I am in between jobs right now and dont have the funds. The person said to me and I quote "Do you have pets?" and I said "yes" and they said "well I presume if you wont increase your donation then you dont care or love your pets at all really do you?".

I was absolutely livid. I put the phone down, immediately cancelled my direct debit and emailed RSPCA to tell them why. They wrote me back a grovelling apology and said they were going to re-train their telephone workers and would I consider reinstating my donation.

I didnt and I will never donate to them ever again in the future. I wont be emotionally blackmailed by anyone. Stupid twat lost them a donation.

I am glad you haven't encountered any who have called you a bitch or been rude to you as others have experienced then because that is not a pleasant experience

Back in the day, before "chugging" took its form of clipboards, lanyards, plastic smiles and impossibility to take cash donations (I might have dropped a coin in their bucket to silence them), my DH recalls that it would take the form of a chugger handing someone a tiny model flower, to get their attention. He said that as a teenager, he once tried to ignore an older woman who did this, who then grabbed his wrist.

Perhaps those of us who were taught "never talk to strangers" had it right. Compare "would you like to see some puppies" with "would you like to save some puppies"?

Of course that's totally unacceptable and you should report such behaviour to the relevant charity.

However, if this is happening to you often, then perhaps it reflects more about the way in which you are saying no. I find that most people are perfectly pleasant when you are pleasant towards them.

But if they are rude, so what? It's no reflection on me, I just keep walking.

I've had them shout back at them when I've said no thanks "Don't you care about children/animals?"

Chuggers are awful humans.

Well yes I do and that's precisely why I won't donate to your charity because a huge percentage of the money doesn't go to the cause if they employ large numbers of chuggers...

Yes! This also happens at City Thameslink. One chugger actually stepped in front of me as I hurried to the station, clearly looking flustered.

"Excuse me please, I have a train to catch in minutes," I said.

"There will be another one along soon."

"No, half an hour actually. I need to be on that train."

I should have just told him to fuck off, bearing in mind he'd tried to stop me by commenting on my smile (absence thereof).

Fucking outrageous now I think back!

Tbf if I was a young chugger, as a woman, I'd target the men, especially the good looking ones because why wouldn't you?

Depends on the situation I think.

The time one called me a bitch when i was 16 years old stayed with me. And certainly didn’t make me feel great when i was already having an awful day.

If you were working for a charity you'd target people based solely on their sex and looks, thereby reducing potential reach and income? Why? You sound a bit.... desperate.

Chuggers with a collection tin? I don't think so, they want monthly sign ups. If you gave them cash they probably just pocketed it.

Chuggers operate under different laws to tin rattlers who aren't allowed to accost people.

@ColdAsAWitches

Having someone be rude to you can be hurtful and distressing.

Not everyone is able to brush off rudeness and verbal abuse. For some people it can cause emotional distress.

That's why it can matter if chuggers are rude - it might do emotional harm.