A bid to curb ‘charity muggers’ who use high-pressure techniques to collect donations has been welcomed.
A charity watchdog has approached Perth and Kinross Council and Fife Council in an effort to clamp down on “aggressive” high street fundraisers dubbed ‘chuggers’.
They have been accused of pressurising people into signing direct debit donations for charities.
“Vulnerable members of the public often feel uncomfortable when being approached by fundraisers and we must ensure the industry is properly regulated to ensure it works for shoppers, charities and businesses,” said MSP Murdo Fraser.
Now the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA), which represents various charities, has backed Mr Fraser’s call for tougher regulation of fundraisers and has written to councils in his constituency offering to set up a partnership agreement.
He welcomed the move, which comes in the wake of the death of Olive Cooke, which was blamed in part on the volume of charity requests made to the Bristol pensioner, and has called on the industry to clean up its image.
The PFRA already works with more than 100 UK local authorities to ensure fundraisers respect the code of conduct and the MSP is backing an extension to councils in his electoral region.
The partnership agreement works with a strict system of penalty points which can trigger financial penalties.