It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

newlywed

Yeah I always tell chuggers that I don’t give out my card or bank details in the street, but am happy to look up their charity at home if they have any leaflet…. They usually don’t!


there were some days in the city centre where I would be pounced on four times whilst walking down one street!

Pollycat

Chuggers appear to have disappeared from our town and all the others I visit.
There are only the Big Issue sellers.

boultdj

The accident scam calls get told it was due to aliens/ kiddies toy or pink rhinos after the pub.

The survey ones have had such broad accents and the area I'm in is a bad recepetion area I just put the phone down as it's mainly static, plus my hearing is starting to go.

I once had 5 scam calls in 1 day, said to other half if another one phones I'm having some fun, just then the phone went off and I answered with XYZ dominatrix how can I inflict pain on you?  I got eermmmm and the phone slammed down 5 seconds flat and no more calls for about 6 months.

I've also had wrong numbers from elderly people and I tell them it's a wrong number but they normally just want a chat, they are the one's I don't mind as they are very interesting people to talk to.

liberty_lily

I'd never heard of the term 'chuggers' before 🙄

We live very rurally these days and get no-one like that - not even Big Issue sellers - in our nearest market town, but if I go further afield and get approached I always say "no thanks" politely to the Big Issue peeps and ignore anyone else. I don't see why I should engage with them at all.

No landline here and if I get calls on my mobile from numbers I don't recognise, I don't pick up. DH is the same.

Years ago - when we were living in a big house in a south coast city - DH (who's much softer than me) once managed to get talked into a monthly direct debit donation to the RSPCA. After a few months I persuaded him to cancel it. We frequently used to get these type of door knockers - I think they equated the size of our home to the amount of spare cash we had, when actually what little money we had left at the end of the month after mortgage, bills, food etc went on DIY as the house was a wreck!

Don't get me wrong, we do make donations to charities but only local, independent animal ones these days 😉

I do recall about fifteen years back (in that south coast city) DH once bought some hot food for a 'homeless' person sitting outside our local Alldays shop with a begging bowl. A couple of weeks later he saw her driving into a supermarket car park in a huge, posh car...way better than our old banger! He stopped giving food to beggars after that.

slm6002

For those that come to the door, I generally interupt their speech about how it costs less than a fancy coffee a week, with 'sorry but I'm on a debt management plan and can't sign up at the moment'. Has worked everytime. Originally it was true but since being debt free I still use it. With the accident calls I say 'oh no was I really badly hurt, am I ok' they generally hang up

slm6002

I will say I do donate to charity but those I choose 

JIL

What's wrong with a simple and firm please take me off your calling list. And hanging up. 
By actually engaging with the cold callers and not a quick response, it could actually work against you, in that call/talk time is actually longer and as such worth a callback by the company.

Pollycat

JIL said:

What's wrong with a simple and firm please take me off your calling list. And hanging up. 
By actually engaging with the cold callers and not a quick response, it could actually work against you, in that call/talk time is actually longer and as such worth a callback by the company.

+1 to this.

And if anyone knicks at my door, I simply say 'I don't deal with cold callers'.
So many people wasting their time with phone & personal callers.

maryb

I agree JIL.  The scammers deserve what they get but ordinary telemarketers I don’t like to be unkind to.  They get penalized if they are on a call too long without making a sale.

To be fair, I don’t get many direct calls from scammers any more - it’s all the fake HMRC type now - a warrant has been issued for your arrest unless you press 1 and give us all your details so we can empty your bank account.  Always makes me laugh since I used to work in tax

ladyholly

I find a simple go away and putting the phone down works. We did have a friend who in the days of double glazing cold calls went through the whole thing with the caller and finished by innocently asking if he though they could do it on a council house. Apparently he wasted about half an hour of the callers time.