Forum Topic

Charity muggers

I was shopping in Ealing and waiting at the crossing to cross the road when a Red Cross charity fundraiser came up to me.  I stared at the traffic sign ahead but it did not stop her gabbling away to no end until I passed the road.  I have no problem with them standing in the street but it is a bit much when they deliberately go up to people waiting to cross, as they know they will not walk away.It is worth remembering that most of these fundraisers do not work for the charity but for a fundraising agency.  They earn around £8.50 an hour and are asked to sign up two people a day.  The first £100 or so that you think you are donating to the charity actually goes to these people, as in addition to paying for that fundraiser, you are also paying for the fundraising organisation's overheads and its profit margin!

Alice Jones ● 5945d10 Comments

Plus they target middle-aged women - apparently we are a soft touch.I don't even like them in the street and absolutely will not support a charity that employs them.

Sara Nathan ● 5945d

Had two at the front door recently, British Red Cross with smooth pitches. I am anti and say no explaining I have my own charities but am still a soft touch for my annual Christian aid caller, probably as they are not chuggers.....

Iain Muir ● 5945d

No they are door-to-door - probably unpaid and in my few, not such a problem.Chuggers are the bright young things in bibs who rush up to you in the high street or at the foot of the wobbly bridge and ask you if you have a moment to talk about the starving - or whatever.

Sara Nathan ● 5945d

I always direct them to Number 10 Downing Street = end of hassle

Dee Cook ● 5945d

'The first £100 or so that you think you are donating to the charity actually goes to these people'Hmm, not sure where you're getting your numbers from. Of course, a tiny percentage of what you pay goes to the company that employs these 'chuggers'. Just as I used to work for a marketing company that - shock horror - used to charge charities for designing and writing fundraising packs that pulled in thousands of pounds. But guess what? You have to spend money to make money. Just as we used to raise far more than we charged charities, these fundraisers pull in far more than they cost.  Guess what else? Signing people on the street is still one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways for charities to gain much-needed donors. You think that, even without them, some of your money wouldn't go to admin? Of course it would. Face it - the real reason you're trying to 'expose' these chuggers is because you can't handle the guilt of not helping. As for your revelations, these chuggers make it quite clear themselves how much money they're paid when they talk to you on the street. And I can tell you that they do exactly the same thing on the telephone. Which is a lot more transparent than a whole bunch of the charities, themselves. Perhaps if you actually bothered to give a measly £2-3 a month to people like the Red Cross, you'd actually be able to get rid of these chuggers straight away, if they really bother you so much. Or do you think £2-3 a month is too much to give to a charity like the Red Cross? Or Shelter? Or Mind? Or ActionAid? Or the NSPCC? Or Barnardo's? Pesky charities and their overheads, eh?

Hayes Thompson ● 5944d

Wrong target!I am keen on charitable giving - have a CAF account, do GAYE when I work somewhere that does it...have a justgiving account.But I feel oppressed and threatened by chuggers who work in groups so you have to run a gauntlet of quite a few in not many yards.I don't get the phone ones due to the joy of TPS and don't get many door-to door either ...so it's only the chuggers who make me feel persecuted (oh and the post but that's more arms' length.)

Sara Nathan ● 5944d

For your information Hayes I and others have found far more efficient ways of donating to charity rather than through charity muggers and that is by giving directly to the charity itself.The street charity fundraisers work for profit companies and not not for profit organisations.  In addition to their wages and office costs, we pay for these teams to travel to different cities and for the accommodation costs when they are away from home.As for the guilt business, let me know when you have a more sensible insight.

Alice Jones ● 5944d

"For your information Hayes I and others have found far more efficient ways of donating to charity rather than through charity muggers and that is by giving directly to the charity itself."Yes, but not enough of us have bothered to find that more efficient way of donating, so the charities have to use more proactive methods.Personally I have no objection to people seeking donations on the street, and have very very rarely had a real problem with them obstructing my progress.  The term "charity muggers" is a gross over-reaction in my view, and trivialises the real offence of mugging.I find door-to-door charity reps more of a nuisance.  On the street, at least you can shake your head and carry on walking, but at home I may have to break off what I'm doing and come down two flights of stairs to say "no thank you" to whoever has rung the bell.  For me, that's not a good way to encourage my interest.

Richard Jennings ● 5944d

I have shaken my head to a number of these people on the street and even said no.  They still were unable to hear it.  If they accepted the first no there would not be a problem, but following someone along the street or just as they are about to cross the road is a nuisance.You will see the term charity muggers in papers such as the Evening Standard, where I first read it.  Chuggers is now an abbreviation.Whether they are collecting door to door or on the street, refusing to accept a no is when they are a nuisance.  If they want to find new ways of fundraising, fine, but not at the expense of refusing to respect someone's wish to go about their business without having a chat with them.  I used to work for a large charity myself which suspended its dealings with a fundraising organisation called Dialog Direct (now folded in the UK) precisely for this reason.

Alice Jones ● 5943d

So  you say no thank youIf they persist, Tell them they are bothering you and please stop. If they still persist, take a note, (or pretend to take a note) of whatever ID they carry and complain, if you wish, to the charity.I was approached in Halfords by a girl trying to sell me a credit card. I said no thanks, politely, but she continued the pitch. "I don't mind you asking, that's your job, but I said no and that should be an end of it."She went away, which was just as well, because one more word and I'd have called for the shop manager.

Roy Gillett ● 5943d