...and would you like to donate £1 to charity?

[goldilocks]

i did a bit of shopping today - and in various shops at the checkout when purchasing my goods i was asked 'and would you like to donate £1 to 'X' charity?'

now...

i am big supporter of a number of charities - i think that we should all donate (however small the amount) when we can
but i do object to being asked to add an extra pound to my bill when i'm only spending £2.30 (on something completely unrelated to charity) and the fact that they were collecting was not advertised any where
how do i know the money will go to the charity?
how much of my £1 will go to the companies handling charges?
i was paying on my card, it wasn't like i was putting the odd quid into a sealed charity box - it would have been debited with my shopping.

i was in a huge queue, and i felt like a bit of an arse saying no, but we do give to charity, and to be fair payday isn't until thursday (maybe if i'd have been asked on thursday i'd feel more generous!)

so, am i an arse? i'm feeling pretty silly for saying no now. what would you have done?

(yes i know it's only a pound, but i went into about 12 shops today and i'll be going into town probably every day this week - it would add up!)

[Marmoset]

so, am i an arse?
No.

what would you have done?
Politely said "No thank you". I give to the charities that I want to give to. I hate this method of confronting you with it and trying to guilt you into handing money over. :angry:

They've started doing it in one of my locals. Sat with the missus having a pint and a girl came over and asked if I wanted to donate to the NSPCC. I said "No thanks" and she said "Are you sure?" Yes I'm sure, now bugger off. :angry: :angry: :angry:

yes i know it's only a pound
The amount is immaterial. It's the principle that winds me up.

[Blackstar]

Nope, i object to being asked for the same reasons you stated. I give to charity when i can afford to and am running race for life this year but when you are shopping it seems a bit rude and pushy of them to ask outright.

[BBx]

No way.

If any of the chuggers stopped me in the street I would be giving them the double glazing schpeal...

If I want one I will look myself thank you ;)

BB x

[Muban]

No you aren't. I find this kind of thing really annoying. Like when there are bag packers at checkouts collecting for charity (as well as the pressure tactics to give I prefer to pack my own shopping anyway). I always politely decline but it bothers me that I have to. Some people find it too hard to say no and give anyway. What about people who cant afford to give even if it's just a little, being made to feel bad just becuase they can't give.

I do give to charities, ones that are close to my heart (RAFA, SSAFA & cancer charities). I tend not to give to others unless it's for friends sponsorship etc and I don't see why I should be pressured to by random people I don't know. Reminds me I must go to Kiva and choose a new business to lend give a loan to: I got my first loan repaid in full on Saturday :)

[Stan_Lite]

I wouldn't have given them anything either. It's as bad as having a collecting tin thrust in front of you when you're trying to leave the shop.
I want to say "Take your ****ing begging bowl out of my face. When I want to donate to a charity, it'll be a charity of my choosing at a time of my choosing."

I dislike all this pressure charity stuff. I can see why they do it but I just find it distasteful.

[MarcLister]

No, you were right. :D

[goldilocks]

phew - i'm glad i'm not the only one :)
i want to come up with something witty, but polite to say if it happens again tomorrow - *thinking hat on*

[MarcLister]

phew - i'm glad i'm not the only one :)
i want to come up with something witty, but polite to say if it happens again tomorrow - *thinking hat on*"Would 99p be enough?" :D

[Wossi]

I donated to something similar when I was shopping in America. I was spending $200 so figured an extra $10 is nothing, plus it was for a cancer charity and I always try and donate to them since my cousin in law was diagnosed with and subsequently died of throat cancer (through no fault of his own)

[rich99]

I'm a bit dubious about charities at the best of times, mainly since I was staying next to the *charity name removed* offices at Milton Keynes and saw the type of cars that "charity workers" drive.

If I didn't think that a not inconsiderable amount of all those "only a pound"'s were going to buy and fuel some monster of a sports saloon, not forgetting all the extra layers of management that charities can afford to have as they don't pay for any of it, I may be more interested.

As it is I would rather do my research and give to causes I not only have a belief in but some knowledge of how they are run.


*Thought I better remove the name in case their highly paid team of lawyers is on the ball :p

[Feek]

Nope, you did the right thing. It's trying to shame you into making a donation.

I don't think it happens so much these days but a few years ago it was common practise in some cinemas to have collections passed around before the film along with some heart wrenching clip being played on the huge screen. I always thought that was an awful practise because people would feel pressurised into making a donation, especially if you're a bloke taking a girl out, you'd feel that you _had_ to put something in there else be seen as a tight-wad. I never ever did.

[Stan_Lite]

especially if you're a bloke taking a girl out, you'd feel that you _had_ to put something in there else be seen as a tight-wad. I never ever did.

This is something that beggars rely on. I saw a programme on telly where the reporter was living on the streets for a week or something and one of the pieces of advice he got from other people was to target young couples as guys trying to impress girls on a date would likely be generous.

[Desmo]

I'm more than happy to give to charity...but only when it suits me. If I feel pressured in any way I'm much more likely to back away.

[Dee]

Sod that, I donate to who I want, when I want.

I have a DD set up for my chosen charity, to which I donate £10 a month. I sometimes give my change to charities outside supermarkets, its only ever a few pence.

I know the girls here will agree with me when I mention the "Race for Life" cold callers...?

[iCraig]

'In your face' charity requests do get on my nerves, especially when they get snotty at you. I donate to charity as and when I can afford it, simple as that. A year ago me and two friends queued up for what was advertised as a free 4x4 ride. When it was our turn we walked over to the jeep and climbed inside Then a snotty cow with a bucket strode up to us and said: "We ask for a small donation. It's optional but as I'm sure you'll agree, we can all afford to give to charity. I dropped a pound and 20p in (the only change I actually had on me) and she looked inside at it and said, "It's normally about £5 we receive" Cheeky bitch. My mate then shoved his change back in his pocket and said, "Forget it then, I only had two quid." She scoffed and left us alone, but it took a lot of will power not to climb back out and have it out with her. I hate people like that.

[Jonny69]

The sad thing, and I know this from personal experience when I worked in retail and we had a similar scheme, is that the shop staff will probably get a bollocking or be shamed by the upper management for not meeting their targets on this. It stinks and it used to really annoy me. The management that come up with hair-brained schemes like this must be living on another planet sometimes.