Latest Charity Tactic...grrrrrrrrr!
Discussion
Tell you what they do here which I give like a full grown giving tree. At Christmas they have people standing in the supermarkets handing out carrier bags for you to buy something for them to distribute to the needy. Now this charity I love and will more than happily spend 20-40€ to give someone something nice for a Christmas treat.
The Red Cross really pissed me off with their tactics. Used to pay £15 or so a month into the RC, yes it's not a life-changing sum but it's still reasonable. Got a call in the middle of my dinner one evening from some Red Cross bloke reading off a script, something about the ongoing crisis and could I up my donation to £25 a month. I politely said no thanks, I'm happy with my donation, please don't ask me again.
A few weeks later I got a very similar call. Ongoing crisis in Syria, please pay more. I reminded them, politely but firmly, that I was happy with my donation and to not call again.
About a month ago I received another call - it'd been about eight months since the last call. Once again, straight off a script. No thanks for your continued support, no small talk, no actual correspondance to make me feel like anything but a cash machine. I just hung up, logged into my bank, cancelled my direct debit. Looking for a decent charity to donate to, the RAF benevolent fund looks like a nice place to stick a few quid in a month.
A few weeks later I got a very similar call. Ongoing crisis in Syria, please pay more. I reminded them, politely but firmly, that I was happy with my donation and to not call again.
About a month ago I received another call - it'd been about eight months since the last call. Once again, straight off a script. No thanks for your continued support, no small talk, no actual correspondance to make me feel like anything but a cash machine. I just hung up, logged into my bank, cancelled my direct debit. Looking for a decent charity to donate to, the RAF benevolent fund looks like a nice place to stick a few quid in a month.
I don't like my bags being packed at the checkput. They take ages, overfill the bags and put me under pressure to give money to some s
te local football team. As i detest football, they are only ever onto a loser with me. I always say I'll pack them myself as I have no change. I give to a charity of my choice, not who happens to turn up!
te local football team. As i detest football, they are only ever onto a loser with me. I always say I'll pack them myself as I have no change. I give to a charity of my choice, not who happens to turn up!Hard-Drive said:
FFS. Here we go again.
In a restaurant last night and a £1 charge for some "roots" thing appears on my bill. I question it, thinking it's a side dish I never ordered, but no, it's a charity donation. Like a tt, I paid it as I was shattered, and I just wanted to go home. On reading the menu, I find there is an "optional £1 donation that will be added to your bill". Hardly fking optional then is it.
But that's it now. No more. Loving the idea suggested above that you can ask that the hotel reduce your bill, and I think that if stuff appears on my bill at a restaurant again without the staff asking me first, I'll say "ok, I've budgeted for my food bill plus a bit for a tip if I think the service is good. How would you like me to split the this between you and the charity?"
I'm sorry, but this new approach is bang out of order and will simply end up "ruining" it for charities who go about it in the right way. Hard line from now on...sorry!
Without knowing the specific hotel/restaurant and charity it's difficult to know exactly what to say. However, it's possible that the blame could sit with the former and not the latter.In a restaurant last night and a £1 charge for some "roots" thing appears on my bill. I question it, thinking it's a side dish I never ordered, but no, it's a charity donation. Like a t
t, I paid it as I was shattered, and I just wanted to go home. On reading the menu, I find there is an "optional £1 donation that will be added to your bill". Hardly fking optional then is it. But that's it now. No more. Loving the idea suggested above that you can ask that the hotel reduce your bill, and I think that if stuff appears on my bill at a restaurant again without the staff asking me first, I'll say "ok, I've budgeted for my food bill plus a bit for a tip if I think the service is good. How would you like me to split the this between you and the charity?"
I'm sorry, but this new approach is bang out of order and will simply end up "ruining" it for charities who go about it in the right way. Hard line from now on...sorry!
Many bigger charities will have corporate 'partners' who will publicly support them and raise money for them (think Sainsburys and Sport Relief). The partners will want to raise as much dosh as they can for their charity to give themselves good publicity. Charities might also have commercial partners, who could sell things and give part of the proceeds/profits to the charity - which is what these sound like (search for 'charity commercial participator' if you're interested!).
So, in cases like this, it could be people in the business that come up with the ideas - not the charity - although if the charity was on the ball, they should be across exactly how money was being raised on their behalf, especially if there was an agreement between the two parties.
Jasandjules said:
Seb, find a local animal rescue place to give money to.
what pay for some horsey people to look after old knackers for a living? Why? Its just paying people to spend their time doing something they enjoy. I would like to enjoy looking after poor mistreated old race cars :'( full time but noone seems willing to pay me to do it. Get a real job.I don't donate to the red cross.
A few years ago I had my card details cloned. I only noticed this because £100 was donated to the red cross and I didn't remember doing it, then £500 was spent at various clothes stores on luxury clothes items.
This all went through the card company and was reported to the police. I then was chatting to one of the police remarking that the thief must have been quite charitable to donate to the red cross and therefore had at least one redeeming feature.
The policeman then told me that a donation to the red cross was an obvious sign that the card had been cloned and is regularly used by the thieves to test the cards. They apparently use the red cross because they confirm payment without asking any security questions, and apparently claim they have no way of giving the money back.
Sure enough I contacted the red cross to tell them my card had been cloned and the donation was in error. I was told they were very sorry but they couldn't give the money back.
Take from that what you will but its the reason the red cross don't get any more donations from me.
A few years ago I had my card details cloned. I only noticed this because £100 was donated to the red cross and I didn't remember doing it, then £500 was spent at various clothes stores on luxury clothes items.
This all went through the card company and was reported to the police. I then was chatting to one of the police remarking that the thief must have been quite charitable to donate to the red cross and therefore had at least one redeeming feature.
The policeman then told me that a donation to the red cross was an obvious sign that the card had been cloned and is regularly used by the thieves to test the cards. They apparently use the red cross because they confirm payment without asking any security questions, and apparently claim they have no way of giving the money back.
Sure enough I contacted the red cross to tell them my card had been cloned and the donation was in error. I was told they were very sorry but they couldn't give the money back.
Take from that what you will but its the reason the red cross don't get any more donations from me.
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