Cancer Research

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

I have one rule for charity. If you can afford an advert on Tv, employ door stoppers, you are in no need of my money. If they employ so called celebs, then it goes with the wisdom of John Lydon. Open your wallet love, it is f...ing big enough.

As for cancer, I take my old mans advice, do not give any money to them. He died of cancer. Next.

Gra76

I had a knock at the door earlier in the year from a nice enthusiastic young chap trying to get me to sign up for Macmillan Cancer Support. He stood there and gave me a load of info for a couple of minutes about all the wonderful work they do and how I could help etc etc.

Now. Here's the thing. He had probably noticed I was bald as a coot. He probably hadn't thought much of it. He was a nice chap so I didn't want to be particularly rude to him for knocking on my door at 8pm.

Thing is, I'd just had my 12th (last one) treatment of ABVD chemotherapy that morning. I wasn't really in the mood for small talk.

Especially not at 8pm.
Especially not when I felt sick as a dog.
Especially not when my previous 6 months of experience of Macmillan Cancer 'support' was my 'dedicated Macmillan nurse' having said no more than hello to me twice. Once when I was diagnosed and once when I held a door open for her about 4 months into the treatment...

I pointed this out to him quite politely and he just looked mortified. He didn't hang about.

I'm sure all these support and research charities are wonderful, and I'm sure my experience with Macmillan was a very isolated case (she'd sit talking to someone next to me, then get up and ignore me completely...) but it didn't inspire me to contribute.

I don't agree with knocking on doors. It's little more than begging and the adverts are little more than guilt trips. I don't do begging and guilt trips so the money stays in my pocket thanks!

ThumbRemote

GlamGirlie wrote: »

Chill out!!!!! It's perfectly legal and the 'salesman' was doing nothing wrong. He/she was simply doing his/her job.

You might not like it but there's no need to get so angry about it!! :rotfl:

It might be legal, it might be their job, but that certainly doesn't mean it's right.

Pressuring people on the doorstep to buy/sign up for something, in a system where the salesman gets comission, is one of the worst forms of selling. There are countless tales of abuse - just look at the utility companies over the last few years.

ThumbRemote

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny wrote: »

I have one rule for charity. If you can afford an advert on Tv, employ door stoppers, you are in no need of my money. If they employ so called celebs, then it goes with the wisdom of John Lydon. Open your wallet love, it is f...ing big enough.

As for cancer, I take my old mans advice, do not give any money to them. He died of cancer. Next.

What bizarre logic you have.

Many charities advertise on TV, as part of their remit is publicising their aims (eg British Heart Foundation, NSPCC etc).
Many celebrities give their time free of charge to assist charities, they aren't necessarily paid.

dickydonkin

no-oneknowsme wrote: »

You both have the option of opening the door and politely saying "thanks for calling but I am not in a postion to offer donation at the present time"!

How hard can that be?

You are completely missing the point.

The same could be said about 'cold telephone calls' and just answer the phone and say 'no thank you'.

But that is scant consolation to those who for example work night shift and will just love to be awoken during the day by someone calling or knocking - I know - I've been there and I can assure you that they got the sharp end of my tongue!

There is an annoyance factor and I agree with an earlier poster that this practice should be outlawed.

Elvisia

I agree with this, when I was only on Carers Allowance so I was on £55 a week I was rung up by Childline, who insisted I was a regular supporter of theirs and could I sign up for another regular donation. Turned out I had made a small donation in 2006!!! What was annoying was the guy wanted me to sign up for a £12 donation, and I said "look, I am on £55 a week, so as you can imagine £12 out of that would leave me short of the basics" to which he replied "just sign up, go on, you're not even paying it now, we'll take the money in two months". I kept saying "I can't help you" but he was so insistent. In the end I said "I am ending this call" and had to hang up.

What upset me was he wouldn't listen to the fact I am not in a position to help, and kept pushing. He wouldn't listen when I said I wasn't going to help, and he put me in the position where I had to say I was hanging up, as I hate hanging up and find it rude. I was shaking afterwards. I had just finished clearing up my dad's mess as I am his carer and I really wasn't in the market for starting to tell callers where to go. I do support Childline, but at the moment I can't give them any money.

However I wrote to Childline and they said it was an external agency, and they were sorry they were using tactics like that but in fact it wasn't anything to do with them. So it really is just a business.

Because I can't afford to give money I give other things, all old clothes are mended, washed and pressed and taken to the charity shops, in fact this afternoon I have two big bags of things to be taken in. My dad has heart disease and my mum has cancer so I support both of these shops on the high street.

These callers however don't take into consideration that some people can't cope with having to say no, and it can really stress you out. I am always called when I am busy clearing up sick or some other explosion and my brain isn't in the right place to tell them to sod off.

Azari

Elvisia wrote: »

However I wrote to Childline and they said it was an external agency, and they were sorry they were using tactics like that but in fact it wasn't anything to do with them.

Which is disgraceful and shirking their responsibilities.

Of course it's something to do with them.

They are the paymasters of the companies involved in the canvassing and so they are responsible for setting the guidelines for the tactics they employ and ensuring that those guidelines are followed.

bargainbetty

If they could be relied upon to respect 'No cold callers' signs, accept your refusal when it is still polite, and also learn to check the areas they are not permitted to target (elderly or vulnerable adults in specific residential areas etc), then I might have some tolerance for them.

Until then, I will refuse to discuss anything with them and ask them to leave. Politely, the first time.

GoPD

I have found I've become more and more put off donating to the larger and national charities due to their collation and sales methods.

Working on a High Street and travelling in and out the office I frequently have to run the gauntlet of four or five people collecting for the same charities a dozen times a day. Its fine saying you are not interested to them and some are fine with that whilst others can be quite rude, overly pushy. A few weeks ago I saw one of them corralled an old lady into a corner when she had said she wasn't interested twice before the collector blocked her way. I regretted not going over to say something to him but did contact the charity who did apologise and take a report.

Recently our local 'race for life' was canceled as it is 'more cost effective to run larger events.' This despite the fact it raised several thousand pounds last year.

I continue to support local hospices and another local charity as I can see they are doing good. I worry some large charities have become so much of a business that it is more about the numbers than it is doing good.

Mista_C

Elvisia wrote: »

These callers however don't take into consideration that some people can't cope with having to say no...

On the contrary, I think they do take that into consideration and actively prey upon it.

Some years ago I had a bit of a run in with another famous charity, RNIB. I was preparing to move to Germany for a few months (my partner was German, so many months here, so many there) when they called. They asked me to keep a box to drop my loose change in. I explained the situation to them and said it would be pointless sending a box.
This went back and forth for around 5 minutes until I told them I was hanging up and under no circumstances were they to send a box to my address.

A week or so later (now in Germany) I had a call from my Mum to say she'd picked up some mail for me and one was from the RNIB. I had her open it to find out it was the cardboard money box I told them not to send. I asked my Mom to post it back to the address provided, which she did.

I thought nothing more of it until around 12 months later I received a letter from RNIB asking me to return the FULL box. I ignored the first letter until I received a second demanding I return the full box ASAP. I called them to explain. I don't remember the conversation word for word but the gist of it was I was accused of lying about telling them not to send a box, then lying about sending it back, the guy on the end of the phone suggested that perhaps I had kept the money for myself, completely ignoring the fact there was never any money in there. I was furious but still the guy carried on, even raised his voice. In the end I had to put the phone down before I completely flipped.

I tried to complain to RNIB by phone and letter but never received a response. That was 10 years ago and needless to say RNIB have never had another penny out of me.