To not sign up to charity donations at the door.

[iMum]

A very nice, gift of the gab man just rang my (door)bell to ask me to sign up to weekly donations to the NCDS (national deaf childs association) he had an ID of sorts and with him 1 direct debit form and 1 leaflet/pack of stickers that he would only leave with me if I signed up.

I would love to support a charity like this one but I dont feel comfortable giving out my bank account details alongside address date of birth etc. So I declined.

I mentioned that I would go online and check out the charity and perhaps donate that way but he said the charity then loose 30% of it to admin costs?

Am I wrong to not want to give this info out at the door to by all intents and purposes a genuine charity caller, is this info already readily available to anyone who looks anyway?

I felt very mean but am so cautious-maybe too much?

just a quick comment to back up icedgem - I do wish people would separate the entirely legitimate practice of paying fundraisers from the sometimes ill-conceived methods they use.

The people on the street as well get on my nerves when they step into your path and then follow you down the road.

i just think it's not on.

YANBU. If you don't want to do something, don't do it!

I'm a soft touch: I've been chugged 4 times in the past few months and given in each time.

Vis-a-vis the pushiness: I used to work for a charity, and also in fundraising (for an organisation with charitable status). We had to be pushy, though in a polite and empathetic a way as possible. People will automatically say "no" when asked for money on a regular basis. It's just human. So the charities have to respond by pushing their efforts strongly. If they didn't, then they wouldn't succeed.

it's the direct debits thing that gets me though. Asking for the odd quid isn't quite as intrusive as asking for bank account details.

I know it feels uncomfortable.

But charities, like any organisation, need predictable income. And direct debits are more predictable.

It's funny that 'shaking' a bucket or tin has been stopped now, but it's OK to get accosted in the street (sometimes hard to avoid).

It must be successful otherwise they wouldn't continue to send people out there.

I don't do it anymore! And I was never a chugger!

lol - but you're the person - the only person that gave them money and kept them out there!

But should the predictable income be generated from more or less forcing people into doing something they don't want to do?

This is the UK, a lot of people find it very hard to say no, and a lot of people are easily persuaded/intimidated.

the last one who came to my door, I said can you leave a leaflet and I'll think about it. he got really shirty with me, presumably because he saw his commission vanishing. I don't need big men getting stroppy with me when I'm at home by myself, for eg. I really think it's out of order.

Most reputable charities don't pay chuggers on commission. That's generally a myth put about. Chuggers are paid an hourly salary.

If you felt threatened by a chugger, you should contact the charity and complain. That's bad practice. for you, BBBB.

I do understand about the issue of feeling forced. As I said, I'm a soft touch myself, and am signed up to nearly a dozen charities as a result. A good chugger strikes a balance between trying to get beyond your automatic "no", and becoming offensively pushy.

Do they hire 3rd party companies to do the door to door stuff penthesileia? Or have I been misled about that?

the ones we have had have been quite major charities (although I can't actually remember who now!)

It's interesting that this is the way the UK seems to be going - less polite and more aggresive.

I had someone call me today then ask for my address and postcode to confirm my identity - I said no as she'd called me, and I didn't know who she was. She said it was to discuss my account - I asked what account... she couldn't say....

So I said we're at a stalemate.

She got REALLY shirty and terminated the call. She said she hope I'd respond to their letter.

As she used my maiden name I'll never get it because we've just moved and the redirection is in my name. Bovvered???

Anyway - my point was people DO tend to get arsey these days if they don't get what they want.

And frankly I don't care for it!

I haven't worked in the sector for a few years, so can't be sure, but I would seriously doubt that charities would employ a 3rd party company to do door-to-door stuff. For several reasons:

• it eats into their fundraising (the 3rd party company would require payment which would otherwise go directly to the charity)

• it undermines the reputation of the charity (people are suspicious of this kind of indirect approach)

• the people working for the 3rd party company are unlikely to be trained appropriately, or have the best wishes of their charity at heart. Even the stoniest hearted student, doing chugging for summer work, comes to feel strongly about their charity by the end. If you're just a door-to-door botherer for a 3rd party, you don't care.

I would not be surprised if the people who came to your door were charlatans.

There has been quite a lot of that around smackapacka. What kind of sensible organisation would ring you up and expect you to dish out personal details without telling you what for? Yet it seems to happen all the time.

I wonder who it was...

smackapacka - that person probably wasn't pushy because they are a rude employee of a company; they sound like they were probably a criminal, phishing for details from your account.

Seriously, BBBB - contact the charity you think it was: if it was them, they need to know their people are acting inappropriately; or they need to know that people are impersonating them.

I'd never heard of the organisation. At a wild stab in the dark I'd say it was someone trying to sell me a sky warranty or a kitchen.

Neither of which I need!

penthe if it happens again i will

Mind you if I complain about everything that MNers advise me to complain about, i will have little time for anything else

Anne Robinson's watchdog legacy is alive and kicking!

regarding the use of 3rd party fundraisers ive just found this

panthesilia i'm a fundraiser. would never employ these tactics because i think it is unpleasant.

but it very much does make money for lots of charities, particularly the big ones (who usually don't need it but that is another subject...)

I had someone knock for a charity that we already support - where you sponsor. I said "we already give to you" and he started asking me loads of questions in a way that suggested he completely didn't believe what I was saying. Like he was trying to catch me out. Like, if he did, I would then donate. Yeah, nice tactic. Nobboid.

I understand why they are pushy, but when I say "I don't give my details at the door/We already give to several charities/I'll research it online" I expect less of a push than the standard "no thanks".

sorry. penthesiliea.

Interesting, iMum. I stand corrected about 3rd party fundraising. The organisations I worked for didn't use it at the time for the reasons I gave. I'm surprised that such a business could exist. IMO, it undermines charities, because people become suspicious.

penthesileia. finally i get it right.

what is a sileia anyway?

Indeed, fishie. And I hear you about big charities. But they're stuck too, in a way. Reduce their profile and their donations would go down, so they keep it up, and disproportionately absorb public donations...

Pfft: infuriating. But again, to defend the indefensible , they are trained to try to come back at people's excuses (although, I hasten to add, not to be rude, as this person sounded; nor do I think yours was an excuse!). People just always say "no" to regular charitable giving. That's just a fact. What should charities do? Stop trying to raise money? A few pence chucked in a tin is no longer enough, I'm afraid.

LOL fishie. I've never read it that way. Penthesileia is the mythical Queen of the Amazons.