F£$^%&g chuggers!

[babyignoramus]

I was in town with a friend today. DS (5 months) is normally v. good natured but was screaming his head off having a bit of a whinge. I am heading to the shop my friend wants to go in, obviously in a hurry to get there so I can hide in a corner and whip him out of the pushchair to see what the matter is. 2 fecking chuggers tried to stop me with a screaming child. Do I look like I am able to stop and talk now you idiot?? Then when I leave the shop, having exhausted all possiblities and decided to take him home another one tries to stop the people in front of me effectively completely blocking the path - again I've got a screaming child and am clearly trying to run for the bus that has just stopped.

I hate them I hate them I HATE THEM!!

I feel better now. As you were.

[chegirl]

There was a big spate of that in the 80's frankie. Unemployed people were sent out selling horrible dusters. It turned out it was all run by scammers using desperate people to sell shoddy crap.

Sounds like we have come full circle sadly.

[frankiecat]

this is not a chugger story (wrong thread i guess??) but i live near a youth rehabilitation centre and we sometimes get them knocking on the door trying to sell you teatowels,etc. they reckon this is where they are from and they tell you it's part of them trying to get another job as it gives them a reference,etc. they look at you in such a way that if you don't buy from them, then they will let themselves into your house later for your wallet anyway. i haven't bought anything, but i feel bad that i haven't too.

it's horrible being under pressure like that

your story made me so angry chegirl. god knows how awful that was for you as it was. they should definetly not canvass in those areas. very insensitive

[AnnVan]

yanbu!! I hate them. I was heavily pregnant, it was pissing it down with rain, I'd worked late asnd this guy would not leave me alone.

[chegirl]

Bloody hell not what a heartless bitch (the chugger obviously, not you).

[NotPlayingAnyMore]

Not the worst of experiences here, but the first time I got "chugged" was by Greenpeace in London.

Despite explaining that my grandmother had died that morning after I'd seen her in hospital only the night before and I was just trying to get home (100 miles away), she kept on so much that I had to sign up to get rid of her

[DidEinsteinsMum]

YANBU i hate them too. Got really peed off one day and told a NSPCC one who had tried to stop be 3 times not to mention the other 30 or so in town exactly what i thought of the charity. He very quietly walked away muttering.

Dont get me wrong they do a lot of great work but i had had a very bad day, was obviously very stressed and was in an evil mood. The views expressed at the time were not true views but that of a deranged mind and it was the chuggers that i had the problem with not the charity. Walk past one and the next bugger had to talk to you. No is no

[Debbs43]

By the way this is an interesting link. Click on listen to hear Radio stream. Its very enlightening!!

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/02/2008_50_thu.shtml

[Debbs43]

Chugging is intrusive and many people don't like it. Chuggers also harrass and guilt trip people as they walk by. They've also been known to lie about their cause. Check on www.intelligentgiving.com to find out more information about them.

This form of fundraising is currently unregulated by local councils because they are exploiting a loophole in the law which controls only cash collections and not direct debits.

You'll be relieved to know that this loophole is about to be closed in 2010 and councils will have the power to stop their dubious practices. I would recommend complaining to your local council licensing debt by sending an email in order the them to tighten up these controls on Chugging in 2010. If you don't complain, they won't solve this issue.

[Wonderstuff]

ex-chugger
I think that the industry needs to be tightened up and that charities need to be more involved. Chuggers don't work for charities, but private companies that charities employ.

I also think that it hasn't been long since giving to charity involved putting a few pence in a collection box and now we have gift aid and direct debits and charities are sometimes multi-million pound organisations. Some people aren't comfortable with this.

Balancing drawing peoples attention (and money) to an issue and not upsetting them or invading their space is always going to be difficult. But we can't go back to rattling tins.

[chegirl]

MissM I am very sorry about your brother, how absolutly devasting for you and your family. Being faced with a young man with cancer must have been extrodinarily difficult for you too

Wonderstuff this must be a hard thread for you to read and you are brave to be so honest and out yourself as a chugger . I dont doubt that most chuggers go into the job with at least a vague sense of doing something worthwhile. I have seen the jobs advertised and they make a big deal of 'making a difference'.

The trouble is that they seem to be disliked and the method tends to at best annoy and at worse distress.

I know charities have to make money, I spent most of my working life with one charity or another. I also understand the need to make emotive adverts (I have a thread going about one that particularly upsets me). There is always going to be a problem balancing the needs of the charity with the needs of the users of the charity.

For eg. I remember a newly diagnosed friend being very upset by the MS soc's advertising campaign. It made her feel her life was not going to be worth living. But if you paint life with MS as wonderful and problem free who is going to give you money?

[Wonderstuff]

chegirl, very cynical tactic on the part of the fundraising company.

I was a chugger for a few months, used to phone people too. We were always trained about the charity, and had to make our own pitch when face to face and had a script on the phone, written in consoltation with the charity. The Cancer Research one asked about peoples experience, it was very sensitive and assumed the donator had a personal experience. It was drummed into us to do our upmost not to piss people off, and to maintain a good reputaion for the charity. Always accept no and be very polite. 'Chuggers' raise lots of money for worthy causes (although our company had most success for dogs trust ) If it didn't work they wouldn't do it.

I actually was proud of my job, I raised lots of money for some great charities. Tin shakers raise very little in comparison.

[MissM]

Oh and the other reason I hate chuggers was that I was approached by one raising money for the very charity that had just made me (and 100s of others) redundant on the day I got my redundancy notice. Poor guy, wasn't his fault, but boy did I let him have it!

[MissM]

I hate chuggers with a vengeance. the other day they accosted me and a friend, both carrying tired and grumpy 3 year-olds so we could get to a train in time and pushing buggies. Hardly the best people to approach surely?

But I dislike them even more after reading Chegirl's experience. I know this is asking a lot, but did you ever consider writing to the charity concerned and telling exactly how insensitively placed their chuggers were? Probably not at the time I realise.

My brother died of cancer recently, and a few weeks before he died I got accosted by a chugger who clearly had cancer, raising money for a cancer charity. He was about the same age as my brother and I was in a terrible state afterwards. I could see his reasons for doing it, but was a bit at the charity's motives.

[Morloth]

I think I have the fuck off look down as well. Usually eye contact along with a firm "No" works well, sometimes though you just have to go for the rolled up newspaper (or whatever you happen to have in your hand).

Anyone knocking on my door without a good reason gets a "Go Away" and the door being closed on them.

You English types are far to polite for your own good. Try being ruder, it is a lot more fun.

[kando]

chegirl and

We have them in my local town too, standing in "line formation" all the way up the high street! If they try to approach me I usually start talking to dd3 which seems to put them off. Otherwise, I just ask them if they have a website and I'll do it that way. They really are a PITA though.

[hoping4thebest]

fil told me to put arm out like a policeman stopping traffic and say loudly and firmly "no thankyou". This works.
Also,
"I am on my lunch break, where do you have your lunch so I can come and talk to you about getting a smear/ bowel movements/ how big my dh penis is etc?"
Lean in close to their ear and whisper
"I know ALL about you and I suggest that you back off right now!"
"My dad warned me to stay well away from guys who don't take no for an answer."
"Sorry, I am not allowed to talk to strangers"

[AvadaKedavra]

bloody hell, that's awful chegirl I do hope they learnt from it. Doubt it somwhow though

[chegirl]

But that you have to go through the stress of being in hosptial with DC.

[Woooozle100]

chegirl that's awful. Seems a bit naive that they stand outside hospital and don't expect to pick on someone living the hell of their cause - their aproach is just especially inappropriate and insensitive

Would react exactly like you - specially from the sleep deprived stress filled bubble that is hospital (I spend a lot of time on them fold up beds)

When collector first came to my door few years ago, I really didn't understand how it all worked and was quite perplexed that she didn't want my one off donation

the theme from chuggington on cbeebies is on my internal jukebox now- chugger chugger chugger chugger chugger chugger chugger

[GentlyDoesIt]

Thanks chegirl

I might as well have said "Many people are currently being supported by the charities that support them" Trust me to churn out the golden nuggets of wisdom!

[chegirl]

Not banal at all gently

I was also hidiously self righteous as a teen

[cheesesarnie]

eurgh i hate the word 'chugger'!

i always tell them im already giving to whatever charity theyre representing.liar,liar pants on fire.

or that i will give to their charity but i wont be able to feed my children. smile nicely and walk away.

[GentlyDoesIt]

sorry Chegirl, the first sentence of my last post was pointlessly banal! I sounded like a newsreader from Brass Eye there

[GentlyDoesIt]

Chegirl, you're right, so many people are currently being affected by the kinds of issues that many charities are dealing with.

I think too often that chuggers are young people who are less likely to have experienced bereavement or serious illness. Sure there will be some that don't fit that description, but I imagine that many people at 19 won't have considered that saying "Do you know what it's like to lose someone you love to X?" is likely to yield a reasonable hit rate of people who can reply "yes, actually, I'm in the middle of it."

There will also be the odd 50+ year old who is happy to use this tactic, but IME the vast majority of that age group prefer to shake a tin modestly because they are more aware that everyone comes with their own story.

I know I was a bit self-righteous at 19 (still am in many ways )

[chegirl]

No,just more vacant head tilting. I was half expecting smoke to start coming out his ears al la Stepford Wives.