Take a walk past any of London’s major train stations this month, and chances are you’ll see the same thing: an army of brightly bibbed volunteers waiting to accost you. Charity “muggers” — or chuggers as they’re better known — mean business.
The phenomenon seems to be everywhere in the capital. Sometimes, it feels like you can’t get a hundred metres without somebody stepping into your path and imploring you to cough up some money in the name of an often-obscure charity.
A recent trip through Farringdon brought me within accosting-range of not one, or two, but seven chuggers. Seven! In a 50ft radius! Some were working for Oxfam, some for another organisation. They appeared to have carved up the concourse between them into zonal hunting grounds.
I sighed, braced myself for their luring cries of “got a minute?” or “cool footwear!”. It’s a tough life. And not just for us pedestrians. While nobody really wants to see a chugger, few, I imagine, would want to be one. How many of us could face the brutal daily rejections the job brings? It’s hard enough being told no by your mortgage adviser; now imagine a thousand people doing the same. Angrily. Or ignoring you completely. That got me thinking: there seem to be more chuggers than ever. What’s behind this apparent surge in do-gooders?
It’s not always charity
The thing is, there’s not a shortage of people wanting to give. According to the Charities Aid Foundation’s 2024 Giving Report, Brits gave £13.9 billion in donations last year — and that’s £1.2 billion up on the previous year.
But when we give to chuggers, there’s not always a guarantee that the money is actually going to good causes — or indeed, the causes we think they are.
It may take up to 12 months before the charity is even seeing any of your donation money fill its coffers
The way it works is this: reputable charities, such as Oxfam, Shelter and similar, will enter into contracts with firms, which will employ street fundraisers (the official term for chuggers) to go out and raise money for them. The charities will be charged by the firm for each donor who gets signed up to a monthly direct debit — often in the range of £40 to £60 per commission.
When you consider that many sign-ups start at around £5 a month, that’s around eight to 12 months before the charity is even seeing any of that donation money fill its coffers. That also means cash for the firms who take commission. Even considering that, chugging is still wildly successful when it comes to charity fundraising, bringing in thousands of sign-ups and millions of pounds in donations (700,000 people signed up to give donations after a conversation with a face-to-face fundraiser in 2022).
The problem is that not all the people seeking donations are actually working on behalf of charities. Take Inside Success Union. It’s a community interest company (which aims to benefit communities rather than shareholders) and legally cannot ask for donations. Inside Success therefore sells magazine subscriptions to raise money. It works with 16 to 24-year-olds who can be seen standing on street corners wearing bright blue bibs emblazoned with the phrase “stop knife crime”. Often, though it seems like it’s for charity they’re trying to flog passers-by their magazines: chug central.
Sometimes, things go too far. In a 2023 probe, Inside Success Union was investigated by the fundraising regulator for harassing members of the public, “approaching and intimidating young people (aged under 18) into donating money” and blocking the entrances to stations and public roads in order to accost passers-by.
The regulator found they had breached the fundraising practice code. At the time, a spokesperson for Inside Success told a newspaper that the rep’s behaviour was not “representative of our organisation’s values”. They added that they were engaging outside trainers to retrain their staff.
A triggering phenomenon
The phenomenon of chugging stretches back to the Nineties, but what does it mean to chug in this day and age? A quick look at job adverts gives some idea. “Immediate Start — CASH IN HAND DAILY,” reads one posted on Indeed. “Please note that this is a COMMISSION BASED ROLE.”
Some adopt the language of the start-up, offering its potential workforce a “laid-back dress code, epic company events, tasty food discounts, travel perks and even cash rewards.” No wonder it’s often young people who take the jobs — and no wonder they’re often so persistent, in search of that commission.
Chuggers have a reputation for being ruthless hecklers, willing to stand in your way, compliment your outfit (flattering, but never engage)
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean great things for commuters, and things look to be ramping up now due to the cost-of-living crisis. A 2023 report by the Charities Aid Foundation found that 24 per cent of people were considering changing their charitable behaviour — including cancelling or reducing donations — as their wallets get increasingly squeezed.
Factor in rising costs, and what you have is a market where charities are having to scrap over an increasingly small pool of money. No wonder chuggers are out en masse again — these days, charities must be betting that increased persistence pays off.
When you donate to a charity, of course, all donations (minus commission) do go to a good cause. It’s when the registered charities start being associated with the other chuggers circulating on the street that things get unfortunate — because of course, chuggers have a reputation for being ruthless hecklers, willing to stand in your way, compliment your outfit (flattering, but never engage) and, in extreme cases, follow you down the street to get what they want.
How to escape? Just pull out your phone, stick it to your ear and walk past quickly. Or just do the London thing and ignore them entirely. And dream of one day having the streets to ourselves again. Bliss.
Vicky Jessop is a culture writer at The London Standard
