Just £2 a month

squashy

I also stopped giving to the NSPCC due to their pushy tactics.

For anyone wanting to donate to a worthwhile children's charity may I wholeheartedly promote the National Deaf Children's Society? The work they do is wonderful and allows each and every deaf child to benefit from days out to equipment to campaigning for better education for deaf kids, plus support and advice for parents, grandparents and siblings. And they didn't find me, I found them, and they have never once pushed anything. :T

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/

Katherine (mum to Amy who is severely deaf in both ears and who would have completely lost the plot without the NDCS to turn to!) x

shadowknightz

Pfft, I refuse to give my money to any charity. You don't know that the money you give them actually goes to what they say it does. I also thoroughly disagree with their tactics i.e harassing people for more money. They should leave people in peace, IMO. *grumble*

I do, however, occasionally supply food to dog and cat shelters etc. when I'm in a giving mood.

Pollycat

Do you know, I feel like emailing the link to this thread to all the charities mentioned (plus the ones I donate to that I've not mentioned by name) so they can see how their 'more money please' letters and phone calls are viewed by the majority of people and how close many people seem to be to stopping their direct debits because if this "We're not satisfied with the amount you're giving us" attitude.

It might just make them rethink their policy.

Like Andyrules mentioned, all the charities I donate to (5) send letters asking to be remembered in my will.

I've decided that when I get another letter from any of my charities asking either for a one-off donation or an increase in DD, I'm going to write asking them to take me off their mailing list and if I receive another letter, I'm going to cancel the DD.
I'll then pop into our local hospice charity shop each month and put the money into their collecting tin.

1jim

OP, I have to say that I am not suprised by your tale, the bigger the charity the more they seem to take donations for granted and the more they seem to spend on getting these donations. Gone are the days where volunteers tried to get you to donate, now we have sales people making these calls and using all manner of unscrupulas (I know that spelt wrongly) techniques....would you buy something in a shop if the sales assistant spoke to you this way?

I would cancel my DD now, I would write to the organisation and inform them that you have cancelled and the reaons for this (personally I would send this to cheif exec), I would then save the money that I would have donated in a savings account and when you find a charity you like/appeal you want to donate to then you can donate (with gift aid if possible) as a one off donation (and would always give an incorrect phone number 01159111111 always works for me).

I used to donate to product red (HIV/Malaria charity) using amercian express card, I had no problems with the card but realised I could donate more by using egg cashback card and giftaid combination so do this now.

1jim

Andrew Flanagan (CEO)
NSPCC
Weston House,
42 Curtain Road,
London
EC2A 3NH

StudentMoneySaver

I've suspected for a while that the NSPCC has an aggressive technique for collecting money and this thread has confirmed it.

My experiences has always been with chuggers, often they are quite pushy and I've seen male chuggers grab hold of and follow (usually attractive) female members of the public down the street. My ex-girlfriend had to tell a guy that she abuses children just to get him to leave her alone. It worked.

Another tactic to get rid of chuggers is to tell them you are under 18 as they are not allowed to collect donations from minors. If you want to amuse yourself, tell them you are implausibly young. I said I was 11, it worked.

I was accosted by a Red Cross chugger in Leicester Square, I should have smiled and walked off but somehow she managed to keep me there for ages. She was almost in tears when I kept refusing to donate. The thing that gets me is that they never have any take away information to hand out, I'm sure that would be better than letting people go away empty handed and slightly annoyed.

edit - Also, what do the NSPCC actually do? All they seem to do is make adverts.

Foggster

lilac_lady wrote: »

Every charity should publish their expenses in newspapers. Some of them would make the MPs gravy train look positively meagre.

This will interest you then

http://www.nspccannualreview.org.uk/pdfs/NSPCC_Financial_Report_2009.pdf

Big money!

pinkshoes

Velcro_Hotdog wrote: »

The DD is in place still but only because I feel guilty not donating any money to charity full stop. As soon as I find another charity I will cancel the NSPCC DD and set up a new one for said charity.

Going to look for a local kids charity that do not have the means to pay pushy sales staff.

Stop paying immediately, put £2 a week in a pot, then every year donate a lump sum to your chosen local charity.

And in the mean time, put a complaint in to the charity, as the person on the end of the phone line deserves to be sacked!!

qetu1357

Pollycat wrote: »

I can understand your frustration with NSPCC.
If I'd had your experience I'd have cancelled my DD immediately after being told that

with the retort that 'if it makes so little difference, you won't miss it then, will you!'

I donate to a few charities (not the NSPCC) on a monthly basis (only £2 per month each) and have done so for a number of years.

I'd really love to be able to afford more as they are all charities close to my heart for various reasons but I'm now retired and can't.

All the charities send me letters regularly either asking for an increase in the monthly amount or for a one-off donation.

As you say, it makes you feel guilty.

I'm seriously considering writing back to them all and asking for them to take me off their 'more money please' mailing lists or I'll cancel the direct debit altogether.

It seems a shame (and a waste of money) that they're doing all these mailshots.

I can understand why this upsets you but if you don't want a charity to contact you, contact them and tell them you want no contact whatsoever.

Then the emails, phone calls and letters will stop.

Pollycat

qetu1357 wrote: »

I can understand why this upsets you but if you don't want a charity to contact you, contact them and tell them you want no contact whatsoever.

Then the emails, phone calls and letters will stop.

Yes, I've already decided to do that next time I get a letter from one of the 5 charities I donate to - see my post from yesterday.

Pollycat wrote: »

I've decided that when I get another letter from any of my charities asking either for a one-off donation or an increase in DD, I'm going to write asking them to take me off their mailing list and if I receive another letter, I'm going to cancel the DD.
I'll then pop into our local hospice charity shop each month and put the money into their collecting tin.