I did 6 weeks of chugging once
it's a thankless job. I never suffered migraines before that job, but ever since I've been getting them periodically.

If the charities get money from it, I'm not going to begrudge them for supporting it.

My defense of chugging:
* "I'll donate to charities I know about"
How do you find out about charities in the first place? Adverts? News items? These cost money through advertisers and PR agencies. Chuggers are another means of getting the message of the charity's work out.

* "I'll donate when I choose, not when someone asks me to."
I don't believe this. People are much more likely to donate when they're asked to, and very few have the initiative to set up a direct debit unless they get a flyer from a magazine or something.

* "I don't know if they're genuine."
In theory, you can ask them for ID; the ID will probably have a phone number on it you can call to check if the fundraiser you're talking to is genuine. In practice, you don't know who owns the phone number so it doesn't really help much. If someone fraudulently sets up a direct debit on your account I think the bank will reimburse you but I'm not 100% sure on that.

* "They're annoying cunts."
Actually, no disagreement here. Chuggers annoy the crap out of me too. The worst are the middle-aged women on Westminster Bridge who shove white heather into your chest.
( rhebus ac201fd270c3b96beab24f2829780ab2, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:16, Reply)