YOU can’t avoid them in the street, now it seems that you won’t be able to avoid them at home, either.
The organisation that represents face-to-face fundraisers, “chuggers”, or charity muggers as they are more commonly known, is urging its members to ignore “no cold-calling” zones and to carry on recruiting people on their doorsteps.
Local authorities have introduced the zones to crack down on bogus workmen and doorstep sellers. Residents display signs and stickers telling cold callers to stay away.
But, according to Third Sector (Feb 6), the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) will advise its members this month that the zones are not legally enforceable.
“They are a propaganda exercise by local authorities,” says Mick Aldridge, the PFRA chief executive. “We will ignore them.”
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Aldridge’s view is based on a legal opinion commissioned by the Office of Fair Trading, which says that although local authorities have the power to establish no cold-calling zones, they don’t have the power to enforce them.
“Entering a no cold-calling zone is not a crime,” Aldridge says. However, the PFRA will ask its members to respect zones that have been established to combat rogue traders or distraction burglaries.