I've nevr seen anyone sign up or even any girls being convinced to hand over their phone numbers, which seems to be the principle aim of a large part of the males involved in this activity.

When I very politely declined to stop for one the other day, I was even asked if 'a hug' would change my mind. I'm not a violent man as a rule, but the spectacle of a grown man throwing his arms wide and adopting the tight lipped face wide smile of the simpleton, brought me to the brink of some sort of physical outburst.

They are like festival jesters' hats made flesh and asking for money.

Don't mind the Ann Summers windows though.

I have a hearty dislike for them. If they have such great social skills why can't they get a better job than being ignored in all weathers? A special circle in Hell is reserved for the muppet in the dayglo tabard who appeared at my elbow by a cashpoint in Brighton, spreading his arms and grinning, 'Let's be friends!'

I have sufficient friends in my life, and also make sufficient charity donations based on choice and a little research. I don't think I've ever had one come to my door, but if they did then they could fuck off as well.

One guy actually got quite cheerfully agressive with me once.
I gave a polite "no thank you", as I always do, and he actually followed me down the street going "go on, it'll just take a moment". Twuntsack.
My friend and I were drinking in Islington one evening when a group of them were having their equivalent of a pre-selling pep talk or whatever it was. Was actually quite Jonestown to watch; the leadertron was whooping his charges into a Peruvian Hatted frenzy. We watched with interest as they were all told in no uncertain N1 terms, to f right off.

The way they try to get you to stop, by commenting on what you're wearing or your facial expression or something is really fucking irritating.

Who but the truly desperate would do that job?

Charities have realised they need to actively engage people and this is as good a way as any to get someone to actually think, well maybe I could spare a few quid a month. Plus they act as useful roundabouts in busy pedestrianised shopping streets.

There's a particular walk that only Charity street teams have - knees bent to meet your downcast eyes, leaning back unthreateningly, with arms spread wide, palms out, to make you swerve round them to such an extent that you couldn't possibly claim you hadn't seen them. The Chugger Stagger.

I don't see what the big deal is, to be honest. Most of the causes are good and I admire the chuggers for being relentessly jolly in adverse circumstances (bad weather, miserable people).

In my experience, a quick 'no thank you' suffices and you're on your way.

However I have actually signed up with a Greenpeace chugger in Chiswick. I was absolutely hammered after drinking by the river all afernoon and the chugger who approached me appeared to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

A week later I wrote to Greenpeace explaining the circumstances, cancelled the direct debit and sent a donation - again no hassle.

My mate made me howl with laughter when we were stopped in the High Street one Saturday by a Clipboard Colin. As we kept walking the Tabarded One asked "What would you like to see changed about your town-centre?" Quick as a flash my mate said "The law that allows c*n*s like you to bother me every Saturday."

I recently popped back to London for a few days and found these these grinning oafs everywhere. Quite amazing, the nerve of them. I don't want some glow-hatted moron sticking out his lower lip in comic entreaty as I trudge past, shaking my head to his babbling requests I slow down, smile or indeed let him know how MY day's going. Gah. I thought we had a decent respect for personal space in Britain. Without getting all Outraged-Of-Tunbridge-Wells about it, surely this kind of niggling harrassment (for want of a slightly less choleric term) borders on the limits of the law?

And what is the possibility of the practise spreading - I can imagine that soon, companies will start using these halfwits to sell new ISPs, phone deals, insurance, banks, whatever. Sigh.

Sorry, rant over. Thankfully, they don't have them here in Berlin. Yet.

That's why they exist. They generate far more for the charity than they cost, and as they tend to get people to arrange direct debits, the benefits can go on for some time.

Similarly, the free pens charities send out as part of their campaigns to encourage more donation are surprisingly successful. Many people complain about the cost of this to the charity, but the reality is that they typically receive far more response than they would to a pen-free mail-out.

True dat. It usually works with street chuggers, door-to-door salespersons and telephone mitherers. If it does not work I just get bolshie. If that does not stop them I get irate. I refuse to conduct any business in the street or at the door or while talking to strangers. As long as I stick to that mantra I'm not likely to regret a unexpected financial transaction. We have done street collections in the past but the sort where we stand fairly still in a town centre and hope for sympathetic giving of loose change. We always instructed our volunteers not to shake the boxes or behave aggressively.

position in a charity told me a few years back that they were regarded as being a very effective way of both raising money and the profile of the charity, far more so than the traditional means. At the time, the muggers didn't seem quite so desperate, these days though it is different and they can be bloody irritating. I just give them a smile and walk on.

The percentage of the amount collected which legally has to end up in the coffers of the nominated charity is worryingly small. This applies to collection-boxes waved round in pubs as well. Although I think you can exempt the Salvation Army on that one. Which is why I'm happy to give them a handful of change.

Brighton has a problem with chuggers becaue, I suspect, nice Brighton types are an easy touch. I've only seen chuggers once in Portsmouth, and that was in leafy Southsea precinct. And they seemed to be all getting a " Do what, mush? Eh? You kin faaaarkawf.." response.

and have developed a rather bizarre zig-zagging walk down Cornmarket Street in Oxford that is designed to create maximum distance between myself and whoever is after my money.

However I don't really have a problem with them collecting in this way... in fact I did sign up to donate money to Unicef after being approached by one of their people in the street. Although I should be honest at this point and admit that I really, really fancied the young lady in question and was happy to spend a few minutes in her presence.

about handing out sensitive banking information to randomers in the street. I haven't interacted with any of them in a long long time so maybe they have found a way of doing it securely but giving my bank details to some kid always seemed a bit crazy to me. You need fairly heavy encryption and security just to take a one off credit card transaction online.

the 100 Metres, though, wouldn't it? A fresh-faced gap-year goon doing the 'chugger stagger' in each lane, and Usain Bolt and Co have to find a way round them without making eye contact and while mumbling yeahsorrymatebitofahurry. The winner is the first to the tape with no new Direct Debits.

Even better, chuggers instead of fences at the Grand National. And they're under standing orders...

(been in the sun all day, sorry)

among you come up with a story that involves the phrase "Chuggers Plays Pop"? I'm buggered if I can.

one of them flipped out and started shooting at people inside a cut-price CD store.

The Sun headline read CHUGGER SLAYS FOPP

they are only allowed to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and only in one of the four designated Charity Mugging zones where there must be no more than 5 collectors.

Seems to be working so far. Before this they were everywhere, and they used to leap out in front of you waving their arms and trustafarian dreadlocks in yr face.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1408428_charity_mugge...

Cheggers.

...from the recent Nick Lowe podcast regarding Keef. NSFW.

I make eye contact with them, give them a big grin and exclaim "Not today thanks, I'm in a hurry!" while walking away.

Sometimes that's enough, other times the chugger will continue to try and engage with me. In which case, I smile again and say "I did just say no, thanks" and stride off.

If I'm lucky I can get out of the office for 20 minutes at lunchtime and have a bit of a wander round the shopping precinct. It's one of the few times in the day when I get a few minutes to myself and I tend to mooch around in a world of my own. I'll be happily wondering about whether to have spaghetti for dinner or why so many girls now have false eyelashes when suddenly ... "Hiiiii! Cheer up!! Do you have just a few seconds ....??" Oh please. Yes I know it's a good cause, but can't you organise a sponsored walk or a bring and buy sale or something? And wouldn't Greenpeace and Amnesty actually get more results if they recruited people involved to do stuff (I spent many a winter evening in church halls in the 1980s organising letter writing campaigns on behalf of dissidents in Eastern Europe) rather than just sign a direct debit form, OK, thanks bye.

but not quite so graspy, are the people that sell (or try to sell, I've never seen them successful) those electronic cigarettes on Euston concourse. You're set up by a smoking area, I don't think you're going to get anyone suddenly looking at their fags and having an epiphany.

It's like the staff of TGI Fridays have been given sherbert dib-dabs and let loose for an hour before having to serve over-priced milkshakes to tourists again.
I sometimes make a beeline for them when I am in a bad mood just so I can be a bit rude to someone. I'm sure it's water off a duck's back to them and they won't lose too much sleep for giving me a chance to offload some bile.
I do applaud myself with ways I have invented to get rid of them. Just yesterday I simply waved an over-excited Greenpeace chugger away with a regal flick of my left hand. Satisfying.

Basically our job was to ring up people whose details the chuggers had got and try to get them to give money. The chuggers only ask for contact details when they stop people on the street, not a donation. Our job was to try and get people to part with cash by reading a specially worded script designed to emotionally get them to cough up. I hated this job - it was just after the Panorama doc that exposed how much the call centres were pocketing from the funds raised, so a lot of people you rang would choose to have a pop at you for daring to ring them

I thought it was about this.....

Reading some of the experiences above I was reminded of Victoria Wood's lady conducting an opinion poll.

Speaking directly to people about charitable causes and hopefully prompting a donation.

But the idea that it's OK to divulge banking details in the street as a result of a chance encounter with a stranger is very odd.

I can't and won't do it.

One guy brandished an electronic scanning machine and assured me it was as safe as safe can be. Well, it isn't. Ever. Anywhere.

These guys can be as annoying or as polite as they want. I bear them no grudge. But my charitable donations are arranged elsewhere.

the opening gambit from every scammer, beggar, charity collector (in person, or on the phone) is always "Hi! How's your day been?"

Whenever I hear that line I instinctively know that someone wants to relieve me of my money. I like to choose which charities to donate to (usually animal related ones, since you ask) and I hate being bullied via emotional blackmail into giving money and/or personal details just for a quiet life.

Where I work I have to pass chuggers 2 or 3 times every day to get lunch or coffee and frankly it's a pain in the arse.

for the days of 'Black Binliners full of ever-so-expensive goods' scams in squatted shops, Find The Lady card sharps, and attractive young ladies enticing punters to come along to listen to a timeshare spiel. Oh, and letters from Tom Champagne at Readers Digest, announcing how much money I've won.

but not by monthly direct debit - just a chunk when I can. Always attach a post-it to the form that reads "If I ever get a letter from your charity asking for donations I will never donate to you again.".

Hasn't failed me yet.

Get one of those 'super soaker' type water guns and when approached soak them. Much the same way you would spray a cat or dog with water everytime they're tempted to go to the toilet in the house.

A friend's exboyfriend ran a company that supplied chuggers, the whole flirtation thing that a lot of them employ is one of the central parts of their training.

The place is infested with them. Fortunately it was busy so the buggers just seemed confused about who to hassle.

Mainly young ladies and not all that attractive, unlike the young lady in the cake shop........

"Chugging" is subject to regulation and a code of practice - by the Institute of Fundraising or Fundraising Standards Board (I forget which).

It is an expensive way to acquire a new donor - and many of them fall away later when they realise what they've got into. But the return is still worth the investment for those that do it.

Charities are trying to recruit younger donors - historically they have relied on "Dorothy Donor" (the older donors, usually women) so this is a way they can reach younger people with a view to developing a lifetime of support.

Some charities use agency staff, and some, like Amnesty International, train up their own staff because they think their own people can better explain the cause, reflect the values and such.

Of course the fundraisers are on commission. Charities do big work - do people seriously think they run entirely on goodwill and volunteers? Is it reasonable to expect Cancer Research UK to find a cure for cancer on a zero budget? The government is increasingly pushing its obligations to care for society onto charities to deliver. This takes management, people, resources, IT and therefore money. And if we want professional services these charities need to pay professional salaries, and rent offices, buy IT etc.

But I also agree, chuggers can be bloody annoying. But "not today thank you" is an acceptable response.

..I thought this thread was going to be about Keith Chegwin.

I once volunteered to collect for the Indonesian tsunami in a shopping centre and collected, literally, hundreds of dollars in a couple of hours. I made a point of being non-intrusive as well. To be fair though, it was a major tragedy and not a lot of "selling" needed to be done - but it was nice to see so many people being so spontaneously generous.

Those were the days; We used to raise funds for the Scouts during Bob-a-Job Week by actually doing work in return for a donation. Wouldn't be allowed nowadays though, more's the pity.

The ones I really can't bear are the door-to-door chuggers.

I've had a cold this week, haven't felt up to scratch really. I answered the door one evening last week to a grinning person who just wouldn't take no for an answer.

I told the person I was ill and she kept on with her spiel, I told her I didn't buy anything or sign anything on my doorstep. I told her this 3 times before she went away. And she only went away because I said I was going to close the door and then did so.

I know there's a crisis in Africa, but right now buying them a cow isn't going to help, if there's no food for the people there's nothing for the poor bloody cow to eat. Direct aid through DEC is what's needed most immediately and that's what I've done - my choice, my terms.

It's not a job I'd want to do but this is MY house and I really hate the assumption that it's ok to knock on my door, try and tap me up for money and not go away when I say I'm not interested.

I choose where I donate, when, how, how much, how often and no amount of street approaches or door-knocks is going to change that.