Topic ID 4587
We had a couple of RSPCA chuggers come to our door yesterday evening. (The inconvenience of Maidenhead Street transferred to your doorstep, wohoo![:(!]) First one came with his laminated RSPCA picture clipboard and started by saying "Your council has licensed us to come door to door" (does anyone know if this is/can be true?) and then when he saw that they had a "victim", his mate came through our gate and joined him. I was quite forceful for me (but still felt I had to justify myself, already give to charity, recession etc. why do I feel I have to...), anyway as I was closing the door, he said to me "Don't you have pets?" For the record I don't mind genuine volunteers coming to my door (like the lady volunteering for Guide Dogs who did a few years ago and found a receptive audience) but these were definitely your standard commercial chugger. (All that avoiding eye contact in the street with them shouting "I know you saw me" after me has been for nought if they can now come round to your home!) This is an annoying new development to be sure.
Reply ID 65786
[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/mar/31/charitablegiving.voluntarysector"]Charity Begins At Home For The Chuggers[/url] (The Guardian) If you thought being hassled by charity fundraisers in the street was bad enough, how would you feel if they started appearing at your front door? Charities that seek to sign up monthly donors are increasingly shifting from pavements to doorsteps - with a big increase in the amount of money being raised from door-to-door approaches. They are NOT licensed by the District Council as they claim. They do however have an exemption from local authority licencing granted by The Home Office. If you are unhappy about the behaviour of the doorstep chuggers you should contact the RSPCA http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/mar/31/charitablegiving.voluntarysector"]Charity
Reply ID 65812
I worry about my elderly parents. Its true as you get older your sense of being able to repel those at the door diminishes. I think this is begging in another way, put in a collection box is one thing, signing up with DD from your bank is another. I am deeply unhappy about all this anyway. I think the whole thing or how charities approach the public for - what is essentially our choice to donate or not - is overstepping the mark. They pray on you feeling bad if you don't give... Horrible I will be ignoring all at the door as well now [}:)]
Reply ID 65816
They knocked on our door at 9pm & it was already turning dark outside. I told them we have no pets & I give through work to the chairties I choose. My wife said they had knocked earlier at the door at tea-time when she was feeding our son but did not answer it. I agree that it can be unnerving for the elderly to have somebody knocking at your door, especially when the daylight is dimming. When people are stood in town with collection boxes I never donate any money if they urge me to or they shake their boxes. I think it is up to the individual if they want to give & should not have people begginh.
Reply ID 65820
Surely there should be some kind of opt out scheme such as that operated by the mailing preference service or the telephone preference service? It's bad enough having to tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that you're off to a coven meeting to get them to leave without having to deal with chuggers on your doorstep as well.
Reply ID 65821
It is bad. I despair, I give to charities I want, I Gift Aid to maximise my donation too... I think they should not be allowed to go to individuals houses and if I find one... !!!!
Reply ID 65839
Harran, the people who stand in town with collection boxes are usually volunteers giving their time freely to help collect for a charity. It's quite disheartening when everyone walks past with gaze averted [:)] All the money collected by the "tin shakers" goes to the charity. They are not the same as chuggers, who are paid a percentage. PS I don't like chuggers, but if charities just relied on getting money when people remembered to give, I guess they would never get enough dosh.
Reply ID 65845
Susan W that is not true. Most collectors for the major charities who use collecting boxes will know that a percentage of the box can be claimed by those holding them. Margaret Thatcher organised that one and so if you really want to make sure all your money goes to the charity work and not on "admin costs" you would be better off bequesting it, Gift Aiding it if you can or in a legacy. Maybe some smaller charities rely on volunteers who take nothing (The RAF boys in Hertford being one lot as my dad was one of them and they are staffed by their own ex-servicemen) but for all of the others the tin collector is legally able to claim from that tin.. sorry but thats a fact
Reply ID 65852
st. johns ambulance has been going around door to door too. not sure if that is chugging or not! But they wanted you to sign up to some yearly direct debit, and were not willing to accept a one-off donation! Never-the-less they ought to consider the number of people who donate happily, vs the number who donate yet are annoyed by the imposition, vs the number who decide to actually make their own decisions in their own time!
Reply ID 65853
I'm so sorry that you write that, as it will stop people giving to "tin shakers". "Shaking a tin" is a thankless enough task anyway, without people thinking that you're making money out of it. [:)] I've organised collections for Save the Children at Tesco's. None of my friends who helped took any money, and it all went to the charity. I've also collected for many other charities (eg Amnesty, Christian Aid, cancer, etc, all national charities), and in no case did any of the volunteers take any money. Do you personally know people who have taken a percentage, then? PS Legally, you aren't allowed to rattle a tin, just to stand back and smile hopefully...
Reply ID 65873
Send them round to my place on Sunday morning. We'll see how much they love animals when confronted by 1/ An overfriendly & hungry wolf and/or 2/ A hung-over & bad tempered CP.....[}:)]
Reply ID 65886
Susan a percentage of the takings of the tin collections are able to be claimed by the person if they choose (how will you know if they do or dont?), this is mainly the big charities, afterall, do you think the students trying to sign you up to WWF or other charities do it for free? I don't know anyone personally because tin collectors are not personal friends of mine (except my dad last October). The tin collectors can keep a percentage of the takings from the tin and so I give elsewhere unless I personally can vouch that ALL monies collected will go where I want them to go. I don't like to be made to feel I am anti-charity donations, but I am anti the strong-arm tactics that some of the bigger charities and national ones are using and at the end of the day I have a right to decide who gets my money or not.
Reply ID 65889
quote:You seem to be confusing voluntary street collectors with chuggers. I think most people know that chuggers are paid and work for professional fundraising organisations, not charities; whereas street-collectors are volunteers who give their time free-of-charge directly to the charity. I would be interested to know the source of your claim that most street-collectors are paid.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Susan a percentage of the takings of the tin collections are able to be claimed by the person if they choose (how will you know if they do or dont?), this is mainly the big charities, afterall, do you think the students trying to sign you up to WWF or other charities do it for free?
Reply ID 65890
quote:But the person trying to sign you up for WWF is not collecting money in a tin? If a charity or other group uses it's own volunteers to collect money rather than direct debit mandates via a street collection or door to door appeal then those volunteers certainly can't take money from the collecting tins! The tins have to be sealed with a signed seal for a start and they can only be opened by the named person on the local authority licence. Records of the amounts in each tin and who was collecting with said tin also have to be returned to the licencing authority.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Susan a percentage of the takings of the tin collections are able to be claimed by the person if they choose (how will you know if they do or dont?), this is mainly the big charities, afterall, do you think the students trying to sign you up to WWF or other charities do it for free?
Reply ID 65896
Tin collectors can if they wish take money from the amount in their tins chuggers I am not sure about but I am afraid I am yet to find a student work for nothing.. They usually appear en masse in groups of three or four and target streets. I cannot, in my heart, believe they do it for free, maybe they get some expenses, maybe a percentage if they sign up people, which means their tactics are quite strong. I used to see in London the same girl but on Mondays she was WWF, Tuesdays Muscular Dystrophy and a different one later in the week..! Can they honestly be standing for hours rain or shine for nothing? For a start they wouldn't necessarily live in our area and have to travel to the town or its streets.. I think the charities need to come clean about these hard sell merchants, but it doesn't change my view of them, I don't give any of them anything and certainly not my bank details!
Reply ID 65898
quote:Either you've not read the preceeding two posts or you've chosen to completely ignore them. Both of these posts address your comments. Let's look again.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Tin collectors can if they wish take money from the amount in their tins chuggers I am not sure about but I am afraid I am yet to find a student work for nothing.. They usually appear en masse in groups of three or four and target streets. I cannot, in my heart, believe they do it for free, maybe they get some expenses, maybe a percentage if they sign up people, which means their tactics are quite strong. I used to see in London the same girl but on Mondays she was WWF, Tuesdays Muscular Dystrophy and a different one later in the week..! Can they honestly be standing for hours rain or shine for nothing? For a start they wouldn't necessarily live in our area and have to travel to the town or its streets.. I think the charities need to come clean about these hard sell merchants, but it doesn't change my view of them, I don't give any of them anything and certainly not my bank details!
quote:I think Deveraux answers this quite clearly. Despite me asking you to provide more information about where you get your information you have not done so. Please cite your sources.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Tin collectors can if they wish take money from the amount in their tins
quote:You are assuming chuggers are students. Chuggers are paid. They will tell you this if you ask them, as they are obliged to under The Charities Act 2006. They will also tell you how much they are paid. They will probably also tell you whether or not they are students.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
chuggers I am not sure about but I am afraid I am yet to find a student work for nothing
quote:See above
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I cannot, in my heart, believe they do it for free, maybe they get some expenses, maybe a percentage if they sign up people
quote:The charities are perfectly open about their use of professional fundraisers and why they use them. Useful links: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_fundraiser"]Street Fundraiser[/url] - information from Wikipedia [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_fundraiser"]Street Fundraising: What It Costs And What It Raises[/url] - from CharityFacts.org [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_fundraiser"]Street Fundraising[/url] - information from the Save The Children Fund [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_fundraiser"]Street Collections[/url] - information from East Herts District Council
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I think the charities need to come clean about these hard sell merchants
Reply ID 65899
quote:Drama Queen, it is clear that you have no understanding of how charities work. All charities have administration costs. How else would they: a) pay their staff - yes, shockingly people are not able to work for free these days, and if charities want top marketing, legal, communications people etc, they do need to pay them. Now you may be disparaging about this, but charities need to be run professionally, in order to communicate their cause to people, organise the relief efforts, run awareness campaigns, as well as having teams who attract those bequests you mention b) pay rent, electricity bills etc on the buildings they occupy. Some charities own their buildings, but many others, such as the British Red Cross have been through a process of selling these buildings as a way to raise funds and reduce their running costs Whoever told you that if you bequest/give a legacy to charity the entire amount goes to the charity's core work, as opposed to 'admin costs' is incorrect. Who do you think is working on the administration of the bequest? And do you think they work for free, in a free building? Re: the tin collectors - I implore you to check your facts instead of spouting untrue information that may put people off from donating cash.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Susan W that is not true. Most collectors for the major charities who use collecting boxes will know that a percentage of the box can be claimed by those holding them. Margaret Thatcher organised that one and so if you really want to make sure all your money goes to the charity work and not on "admin costs" you would be better off bequesting it, Gift Aiding it if you can or in a legacy. Maybe some smaller charities rely on volunteers who take nothing (The RAF boys in Hertford being one lot as my dad was one of them and they are staffed by their own ex-servicemen) but for all of the others the tin collector is legally able to claim from that tin.. sorry but thats a fact
Reply ID 65901
Still, they are often overly aggressive I think. [B)] At UH there used to be loads of adverts for students to 'Chug' in WGC, so i guess that a fair few students took up that offer...not sure if its still the same.
Reply ID 65902
quote:Oh, I am entirely unsupportive of chuggers. I actively support three charities by monthly donations and would never dream of giving my bank details to a stranger in the street. But I did just want to correct some of Drama Queen's statements which are entirely untrue [;)]
Originally posted by Prime
Still, they are often overly aggressive I think. [B)] At UH there used to be loads of adverts for students to 'Chug' in WGC, so i guess that a fair few students took up that offer...not sure if its still the same.
Reply ID 65916
Drama Queen, Ill informed statements such as yours on this thread really do no favours at all to the large numbers of VOLUNTEERS (Deliberate Emphasis) who willingly give up their time to support the charities of their choice. If what you say is true, then every time I do a voluntary Saturday session in one of the Hertford Charity shops (And I do) I can just dip my hand in the till afterwards, take a few quid and use it for lunch??? What's the difference between this and skimming money from a collecting tin? All of those people a few weeks ago who were collecting for Isabel Hospice? Let me guess - they counted the takings, took out enough for a couple of bottles of Dom Perignon in Baroosh and sent the remaining fiver to the Hospice?? I really don't think so. Please, check your facts!
Reply ID 65921
Much of which explains the move to doorstep chugging. It's becoming less successful so they're changing their tactics. They still use social engineering to guilt you into engaging with them. They know you can't just walk on by when they're there in front of you on the doorstep. The simplest way to get rid of them is to lie and tell them you're already signed up.
Reply ID 65922
Which charity does Deliberate Emphasis support Dev?
Reply ID 65923
quote:Shift key abuse [:D] And I think you mean what cause, not which charity. Maybe time for another edit James [;)]
Originally posted by James007
Which charity does Deliberate Emphasis support Dev?
Reply ID 65924
I originally typed 'do', clever clogs, [:D]. It's "which cause", by the way. [:)]
Reply ID 65926
quote:Touché [:)]
Originally posted by James007
I originally typed 'do', clever clogs, [:D]. It's "which cause", by the way. [:)]
Reply ID 65928
quote:What infactual and presumptuous tripe [V] I see that I am not alone in being insulted by your catch-all tirade against "tin-collector" charity collectors when many of us volunteer freely of our time and our efforts in raising funds for causes dear to our hearts AND, ABSOLUTELY, AT NO TAKING OF ANY PERSONAL EXPENSE. State your evidence to the contrary.[?]
Originally posted by Drama Queen
. . . can if they wish . . . I am not sure about . . . I cannot, in my heart, believe . . . maybe . . . maybe . . . which means . . . they wouldn't necessarily live in our area . . . I think . . .