Charities asking for bank details

thescouselander

What is it with charities these days? They come knocking at my house asking for a donation (which I might be prepared to give them) but then insist on getting my bank details so they can set up a direct debit. I would never give out that sort of information to a stranger however convincing they look.

We do get a ridiculous number of charities calling though - last week alone we were cold called 3 times - are these people genuine or scammers? In fact, I'm getting fed up with the whole thing, what would be the best way to stop these people calling?

lincroft1710

Slightly off topic but why do charities think you want a set of preprinted sticky labels with your name and address on (and are so small that they can be hard to read). During past year 3 different charities have sent literature to me asking for donations and enclosing labels. I've yet to use any.

Dizzie77

You can put a notice on your door saying "no cold callers" and flatly refuse to talk to anyone who calls at your door without an appointment.

I never get charity callers here - but I live in a deprived area, so they probably know that it wouldn't be worth their shoe leather!!

As for the labels - I think they are just intended as returns labels for your correspondence. My Dad always uses the ones he gets for when he buys raffle tickets - it saves him having to write his name and address on them all..!!

carrieparkinson

ive got 1of those signs on my door, its bright yellow and situated undr my door knocker and cant be missed and i still get these calls.....

d-seven

thescouselander wrote: »

What is it with charities these days? They come knocking at my house asking for a donation (which I might be prepared to give them) but then insist on getting my bank details so they can set up a direct debit. I would never give out that sort of information to a stranger however convincing they look.

We do get a ridiculous number of charities calling though - last week alone we were cold called 3 times - are these people genuine or scammers? In fact, I'm getting fed up with the whole thing, what would be the best way to stop these people calling?

Politely ask them to leave. If that doesn't work, tell them to f*** off. That usually does the trick :rotfl:

Dizzie77

carrieparkinson wrote: »

ive got 1of those signs on my door, its bright yellow and situated undr my door knocker and cant be missed and i still get these calls.....

I still get some callers (just not charity ones) and I *politely* point them to the notice and say that I don't speak to people on the doorstep without an appointment.

Most of them will be on commission (whether they are charity or non charity) so they are likely to chance their arm.

charityfundraiser

Charities are being run much more aggressively nowadays because there is so much competition. It can get a bit much. I think sites like Just Giving have done a lot to streamline how raising money for charity works and compliment fundraising events really well. In the long term getting donations door-to-door isn't going to have a positive impact on how people view giving to charity.

lincroft1710

The other annoyance is the clothing collection bags or leaflet telling you to use your own bag. Last year our street was receiving one every other week, one week we had two. I can't believe the average person has so many surplus/worn out clothes they need to dispose of.

My point about the labels was why do charities go to expense of having these printed (not all accompanied raffle tickets they expect you to sell) wasting their income. If it's supposed to psychologically persuade you to donate money in return, it's not working.

fantasia322

I agree to a certain extent but its still fact that giving through direct debit is the most cost effective way of giving to a charity

thescouselander

Yeah, we get a lot of "charity" bags through the door too - actually when you look into it most organisations aren't charities at all - they are private companies out to make money!

Dizzie77

Lin - They may not be paying for the labels....
I work for a National Charity, and I know that the certificates that they give to people who have completed walks/runs are donated by businesses.

If it is a charity that you support, then just let them know you don't want/need/use the labels and they can save themselves the postage!! if it's a charity trying to get your support, then I don't know if there is much you can do, sorry!