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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to be irritated by the cheesy chat up lines of charity collectors?

28 replies

theQuibbler · 31/03/2009 17:36

There seems to be lots of these chuggers (charity muggers), round my way and you have to run the gauntlet just to get to the shops. They come out with the most ridiculous lines to try and get you to stop. This is tonight's example - "Babe, I've been waiting for you all day. Stop, please, come on, don't break my heart."

I mean, seriously, who talks like that? Who?! And,he was about 20 yrs old as well.

I don't mind the concept of trying to get people to sign up for a good cause, but what is with the patter. I notice the girls don't go with this silly approach, even with men. It exasperates me. [Harumphing grumpy emoticon]

OP posts:

VeryAnnieMary · 31/03/2009 17:42

I blimmin' hate chuggers. I am happy to give to charity but they get a right hump on when you try to get past and don't want to give your bank details out on the street. They're all annoying regardless of technique.

mrsmaidamess · 31/03/2009 17:44

I loathe them too. I give them very short shrift, I can tell you.

They try and get the students to sign up who havent got the stroppiness required to tell then to sling their hook.

(And yes, I know they are doing a worthwhile job blah blah blah.....

Higglepig · 31/03/2009 17:46

Masses of them in my area too. Really irritates me. I find earphones quite a good deterrent.

AnarchyAunt · 31/03/2009 17:51

I had one tell me he loved my hair the other day - then when I made my excuses and walked on he ran after me saying "but you've got dreadlocks - you must like animals"

mychildrenarebarmy · 31/03/2009 18:03

Grrr, they bug the living * out of me too. Not quite as much though as the t** who was on one of those stands that all shopping centres seem to have in the middle of the shops now. It was one of those hair curler ones. I was out with DD and he said 'would your daughter like her hair curled?'. I said 'no thank you'. His response to that was to look at DD and say 'aw, tell Mummy you want to be more beautiful'. Cue DD saying to me 'Can't he see my hair is already curly Mummy?'. I was so tempted to go back and have a massive go at him for a) trying to get my daughter to pressure me and b) daring to put the idea in her head that she could be more beautiful. Had DH been there I would have sent him on with her and gone back. Fuming was an understatement!

Higglepig · 31/03/2009 18:10

A while back, I was out getting groceries and suddenly started to feel really flu-ey and grim. Got nobbled by a chugger for GOSH. I said, "I'm really sorry but I'm genuinely not feeling very well so not up for a chat now". "Well, these children aren't feeling very well either," he says. Really, really pissed me off. I think GOSH is a great cause, have given to them before and will again but I don't need some self-righteous chugger to guilt me into it.

Admittedly partly my fault for bothering to explain why I wasn't up for talking

susiey · 31/03/2009 18:31

i hate them too but what i really hate is when they say ( walking alontg the street with friends all with prams and toddlers

'hello mummies ' if they knew anything about being a mum they would not call you mummy! we're harrassed enough thank you

girlafraid · 31/03/2009 18:31

They're not really doing much for a good cause imho - the amount which goes to the charity if you sign up in this way is miniscule - chuggers do get paid (not much though i'm sure)

Far better to give direct to a charity if you want - so you are justified in walking on by!

Pruners · 31/03/2009 18:32

Message withdrawn

differentEggD · 31/03/2009 18:55

I scope out a street and if I see these odious little oiks I will reach into my back and call my dh explaining to him what I'm doing. They generally avoid going towards a person on the phoen.

mumof2222222222222222boys · 31/03/2009 19:08

I hate it. I get stopped everyday usually a couple of times an the way to tube / lunch. I say, "Sorry I am busy" and walk on. I can't believe it is a cost effective use of a charity's money.

stinkymonkey · 31/03/2009 19:11

Oh I can't bear the ones who say "Hello Mum". I usually bellow at them I'M NOT YOUR MUM. DON'T BE SO PATRONISING. And they keep smiling, which makes me want to punch them even more.

Gentle · 31/03/2009 19:16

I was stopped by a chugger on the day I started working in a new town for a national charity (been with them for 9 years now). He was wearing this charity's logo on his bib and came swaggering up with this saintly expression on his face.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt in case he was making it his life's work too, and said "Oh I've just come from there, do you know it?" He looked nonplussed and said "Oh I didn't know there was an office round here!"

Bye then.

Gentle · 31/03/2009 19:20

girlafraid that's a good point - you could always listen to their plight and say "Thank you, I had no idea. I'm going to see if there's a local project and make a donation directly to them. Where is the closest one?"

Stand back and watch sails deflate!

scrooged · 31/03/2009 19:25

You could always try the " sorry, I don't have a bank account" excuse.

They do my nut! Every time I go shopping I get harassed by either these, then someone who wants to sell me expensive cream. I hate shopping I need a "fuck off! I don't want to buy face cream/give you my bank account details" t-shirt and just flash my norks every time I get harassed. This will stop the bastards!

chegirl · 31/03/2009 20:09

I hate them too.

I had enough one day. My DD was in the kids oncology unit at the middlesex in central london. There were several of these chuggers around the locality. Everytime I went out I was acosted by some 12 year old shouting at me 'have you ever thought about children with cancer?!' or 'what would YOU do if one of your children got cancer?' or the most insensitive best 'Do you know that 600 children DIE from cancer every year'

FFS JUST what I wanted to be confronted with everytime I went out for fresh air. Ignoring them didnt work and I ended up screaming at one of them that YES I DID BLOODY think about these things every minute of every day. I felt really bad afterwards but you'd of thought they would have thought about their location FGS.

chegirl · 31/03/2009 20:11

As IF I would give my bank details out to someone on the street anyway!

scrooged · 31/03/2009 20:12

FfreckleFface · 31/03/2009 20:25

at AnarchyAunt.

sarah76 · 31/03/2009 20:33

I remember seeing an ad for 'charity fundraisers', think the pay was something like £8/hr. So if I did what they wanted and signed up for a £2 monthly direct debit, I'd have paid for 3 hours of harassment per year, and nothing for the actual charity....no thanks!

If any of them were ever successful in stopping me, I'd explain the above to them. But I find a scowl and a curt 'NO' (repeated as necessary) works well. Occasionally I use my American accent and pretend I don't live here!

scrooged · 31/03/2009 20:54

Try 'Je nais pas' (or something like this)

poorbuthappy · 31/03/2009 22:10

My neice actually did this for a day - and was told that she would get £25 for every person who signed up - she was doing it door to door mind so might be different...

My sister was stopped yesterday and when she replied that she was in a rush - the response was:
"too busy to help children dying of cancer madam?"

I'm glad I wasn't there - cos I would have struggled to hold my temper with that one...

chegirl · 31/03/2009 22:33

poorbuthappy Did you see my post? Fecking idiots. Do they not THINK?

If the childrens cancer charity I raise funds for, employed someone who said that, I would never raise them another penny.

Pruners · 01/04/2009 07:46

Message withdrawn

shell96 · 01/04/2009 08:29

I used to donate money every month through GAYE directly from my wages to a well known national cancer charity who had helped my family when my gran was dying of cancer. A couple of months ago i got a phone call from them. It started with "we see you donate £x every month and i'm just phoning to thank you for that. We really couldn't manage to fund the work we do without people like you..." and continued like this for at least 10 minutes before she said to me that "in this time of recession we need even more money to help people so wondering if you would like to double the amount you donate each month". to which i replied that "in this time of recession when my OH has been made unemployed due to lack of work and we are due a baby soon, no i would not like to donate any more money and i think you have a bloody cheek asking me to". She was very apologetic but i was so annoyed that the next day at work i contacted the personnel dept to cancel the GAYE donation. I feel that if they need to raise more money they sould target new donors rather than picking on people who already give.

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