rattling tins!

Eagle_1

GiveItBack wrote:

Even a 'no thanks', or 'no' or 'expletive removed' is better than being blanked. Sarcasm maybe shouldn't happen but remember collectors are people too!

Yes they are people, but in todays society most of the people who collect for 'big' charities are employed arent they ? dont these people get a wage from standing in Tescos and other similar places ? (im talking the charities like the ones who hassled me selling trolley things for £1 donation). So you see its not like me doing a sponsored walk for charity or my hubby doing a parachute jump for charity there are many who do it as a full time job.

at the end of the day giving to charity is voluntary, charity collectors should not hassle people by being "in your face" and if they actually stepped back a bit I think they would get a lot more donations.

Savvy_Sue

Eagle_1 wrote:

Yes they are people, but in todays society most of the people who collect for 'big' charities are employed arent they ? dont these people get a wage from standing in Tescos and other similar places ? (im talking the charities like the ones who hassled me selling trolley things for £1 donation). So you see its not like me doing a sponsored walk for charity or my hubby doing a parachute jump for charity there are many who do it as a full time job.

at the end of the day giving to charity is voluntary, charity collectors should not hassle people by being "in your face" and if they actually stepped back a bit I think they would get a lot more donations.

Actually, I'd think there would be a quite large group of collectors rattling (or not rattling!) tins who are NOT paid to do it. Possibly the ones selling trolley things are, but I've always assumed that the occasional collections which take place at the supermarkets are done by volunteers, to whom I take off my hat!

The ones accosting you on the street and asking for your bank details, on the other hand, are employed, not necessarily by the charities.

Eagle_1

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Possibly the ones selling trolley things are, but I've always assumed that the occasional collections which take place at the supermarkets are done by volunteers, to whom I take off my hat!

Thing is though there are more and more charities employing staff to make money for them and yes I agree they are the ones selling trolley things, the ones who sell badges etc and i wont give to them.
However your 'local' charity which have a collection well then yeah totally agree i hold my hat up to them and id gladly give and think they do a brilliant job. Having said that though if they were 'in my face' then same with them I wont be badgered into donating to that charity.
When I go to the Supermarket and lets say the kids are singing and they have buckets then im in there donating because I know it is a local charity, or when I see the Age Concern then yeah im gonna donate or when a local charity has a market stall then I buy tombola tickets or buy from their stall and these kind of charities are all ran by volunteers and I think they work very hard for their charity and deserve a pat on the back.

Skint1

I don't care what type they are I'm fed up of all of them.

slinks

r.e. "Even a 'no thanks', or 'no' or 'expletive removed' is better than being blanked. Sarcasm maybe shouldn't happen but remember collectors are people too!"

i say no thanks and i'm getting fed up of 90% of the time being sneered at by the person or them being sarcastic to me - a recent example was "ok thanks - you have such a fantastic day while people starve" - i was incensed but chose to walk away. it's not necessary - i have my own problems, including financial and health and i should not be guilted into giving to charity when i can't afford to!!!

GiveItBack

slinks wrote:

i say no thanks and i'm getting fed up of 90% of the time being sneered at by the person or them being sarcastic to me - a recent example was "ok thanks - you have such a fantastic day while people starve" - i was incensed but chose to walk away. it's not necessary - i have my own problems, including financial and health and i should not be guilted into giving to charity when i can't afford to!!!

I'm with you on this. Guilt isn't the best way to get people to donate. It shouldn't be done, and is against the rules. Was this someone asking for a direct debit? I suspect it was, and you should feel totally justified in reporting them, to the charity, or their company. They aren't doing any good for the charity anyway, so reporting them will help the charity in the long run, and hopefully remove all the people that don't act according to the regulations they're bound by. (See Savvy Sue's link)


Most people rattling tins,or selling tokens are not paid, they volunteer to give up their time to stand and get donations (often in some not very nice weather). Most people who ask for direct debits are paid.

Neither should give you any form of abuse, or treat you badly, whether or not they get abuse and treated badly themselves.

Perhaps for another day: Is any charitable giving truly selfless? When you do the parachute jump or the sponsored marathon, how much of the money goes to the event organiser to pay for your experience, and how much to the charity?

But now I'm being deliberately cheeky. Without peopledoing things to raise money, these charities couldn't run, and so many people would find themselves in appalling conditions and situations. Sometimes we get so caught up in what charities "should" and "shouldn't" do, that we miss the outcomes and the effects of their work.

ellybelly89

i've always been told it is illegal to rattle the tin or ask for money as it is considered begging. i have found this

"You can shake but you can't annoy. That's the law according to the
Charities Aid Foundation book , "How to Guide - Running a Public
Collection" (1998 £7.95) Covers topics on this and other public
collections."

I can't seem to find any concrete textual evidence online though to say it is actually illegal.

GiveItBack

Thanks for that ellybelly, as what you've said here is much closer to what I have always believed, but I no longer have the links I had.

slinks

interesting...

so how come it doesn't apply to people asking for direct debits??

i would love to know the difference - both are annoying!!

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

GiveItBack wrote:

Did this chap really say it sarcastically?

of course he could have, as I've done on occasion too. Sometimes being ignored for an hour straight does make you wonder if you:
a) exist
b) have suddenly turned invisible
c) really should bother trying to make a difference to people's lives

The tone of his voice said it all unfortunately.

As I originally posted, it was the morning of the snow and I must have seen less than half a dozen customers in the shop as I walked round. An unlucky day for him to choose.