Agreement for action over problem 'chuggers' (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Agreement for action over problem 'chuggers'
6:04pm Friday 7th December 2012 in News
NORTH East councils have been invited to sign up to a national agreement to help them deal with troublesome street charity collectors.
The joint ‘Making the Pledge’ agreement between the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Public Fundraising Regulatory Authority (PFRA) aims to better equip councils to act on complaints about overzealous street collectors – sometimes referred to as ‘chuggers’, or charity muggers.
It was drawn up in response to a survey conducted by the LGA which revealed three-quarters of councils were concerned about the impact that the aggressive behaviour of some fundraisers could have on their high streets.
The Northern Echo recently reported that such collectors were being blamed for deterring visitors to a Darlington shopping centre.
The new agreement will cover aspects including the location of fundraisers, action and sanctions that can be taken, and monitoring of activity by the PFRA and the relevant council.
