I had 2 young guys at my door from a national charity.One of them had a clipboard which did make me a bit suspicious and the other did all the talking.He showed me his badge and said that he had visited my next door neighbour and he had been wonderful and signed up also. Now on one side of me is a single 73 yr old man who really struggles financially, if Im making soup,shepherds pie etc I always make extra for him and my mum, on the other is my mum who is a widower (my dad died 8yrs ago). I was curious so asked which side and he pointed to my mums.My mum wasnt in either so he couldnt have spoke to her.

I let him waffle on about the minimum DD was £3 but I could give more etc, I smiled and nodded at the right times, all this was happening on my doorstep, then he said will it be ok to go ahead with a DD, we will just need to fill a form in so could we come in. If I had wanted to support the charity I would have been uncomforatble having 2 guys in the house, but because of the blatant lies they told politely said no.The guy wasnt having this and questioned why so I told him that in NOv 2003 the guy that you claim to have spoken to died. His reply was thank you very much for your time and they walked away!!

If I gave to every charity that knocked on my door, even £2 or £3 then I would never have any money. Ive had to cut down on food shopping, buy slightly cheaper brands, look for 2 for 1 etc to help with the bills we have, not to give away to charities. Does anyone else feel the same or am I just on a monday moan

I have a few select charities that I support and if anyone ever asks me for money I just say sorry I already support other charities. This cuts them off at the beginning and I find it's not really something people argue with. Like you I can't afford to give money to everyone, however much I would like to!

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Completely sympathise!

I can't stand the 'oh, all the neighbours are doing it' BS that they come out with.
We have a sign on the door 'No door to door salespeople' - seems to work most of the time...or maybe it's the 'Beware of Dog' sign that does it...

I do the same thing - I tell them from the start that I regularly support 2 charities - an animal charity and one for partially sighted/blind people - and that I can not afford to support anyone else.


It is frustrating when they try to make you feel silly with their 'what? you can't afford £3 a month?' attitude.

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we dont get door to door very often thankfully. (usually just sales- but we rent so tell them that from the off)
I do, howver, dislike being approached in the highstreet by charities. they try to make u feel bad. If i could afford to help a chairty, I would, and I would choose after doing some research. I know they're doing whats asked of them, but they dont have to be so pushy and mean!

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I don't think you were wrong either - in my area we have them round everyday in the summer and I mean that and of course it is usually just as you have sat down for your dinner.

They are everywhere outside your workplace, in town, in stores, knocking at your door, on the telly, through the post (even though you have signed up for no junk mail) it's never ending.

The one I object to most of all is Barnardos - they have these young people on the streets spouting how good Barnardos is. I guess Barnardos forgot to highlight their past history i.e., when they shipped thousands of kids from the UK to overseas destinations splitting siblings up.

I was a Barnardos child and I can tell you there was more child abuse going on in our home than you could imagine. On my first day there I was put on a bedside cabinet and a bowl put over my head and my lovely long curly locks cut off. I was made to eat my own vomit, wash my own sheets (at 4 yrs old). We were beaten with a wooden ornament. We were not allowed to eat sweets or accept a sweet from school friends. Our mail came with pieces cut out of the letters. We had to put our hand up and not speak until we were told we could do so. 'Kids were to be seen and not heard'! I wouldn't give them a penny. That's just a taster of life in a kids home.

i turn doorknockers away , my home is my own personal space , it`s bad enough when they disturb you shopping but to knock on your door is unforgivable. had one here last night at 8pm , was given a card to read as he were deaf and dumb apparently , yep turned him away too coz 8pm was taking the pee.
i support a few charities of my choice thats it and thats all.

Oh you're all so much more polite than me! I just tell them "No thank you, not today!"

Like everyone else on here, we give to our favourite charities and if I had more spare money, it would go on those, not new ones.

But then I am also aware that they are just doing their job, it must be very hard for them in today's economic climate. There is still no need for lies though. That's just wrong.

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Remember, winners never quit and quitters never win!

Personally I would report them to the charity concerned stating that this method of "sell" is damaging to their reputation. It doesn't matter if they are simply doing their job in a hard economical climate. To me this is when it even more important to hold up to moral values and to band together as a society, not try to fleece those around you.

You could tell it was lies.. what happens to the pensioner who can't afford it and is pressured into taking part at the expense of being able to heat their home in the coming winter?

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I agree and the other thing I just remembered seeing on telly was when suggesting sign up to Direct Debit the statement 'conditions apply'. What does that mean? Is it a contract for a specific amount of payments? Must look into that one.