I just got off the phone with yet another group soliciting funds. Where does this all end?
I know charities and foundations must raise money for their various good causes, but there has to be a better way than harassing people on the phone all day long.
It has gotten so bad here that I don’t even recognize a legitimate calls from my bank or my insurance company, etc.
My first reaction is to say “no thank you.” I make my contributions either to my local church, and some charities that I choose to donate to, and I do this by my envelope being placed in the church collection plate, or I send a cheque to those charities that have contacted me via mail.
I have made a conscious decision that I will not donate over the phone ever again.
On the list
Once they get your name and phone number you are doomed for the rest of your life, it seems.
Once again, I do not want to come down on the charities themselves, just the way the members go about contacting you, or playing a recorded message, over your phone, and then when you say no thank you, they suggest you give $100 rather than $200.
Holy cow, how many can give $200 to every charity that calls them? Not me, that’s for sure.
I have put a block on my phone but still the calls come in, sometimes up to a dozen a day.
A friend of mine was so frustrated with the calls one day she actually pulled her phone out of the wall and beat it up with a hammer.
Please help …
I don’t think I would go that far, but there are days I can scream really loud when someone on the other end of my phone starts in with a rehearsed spiel about how grateful they are for my past contributions and would I double my donation this time?
I’m not sure how many others feel as strongly as I do about this telephone-athon, but I know I am just about at my wit’s end. Yesterday I hung up on a call that sounded very much like a money-call and I found out later that it was from my bank. I had to apologize for the error.
I hope you print this in your paper, so that others who are bothered by this constant asking for money over the phone know they are not alone.
I feel there should be some kind of law against this type of soliciting.
Better go now — my phone is ringing, and sure enough, it is one of those very long phone numbers that generally indicate someone is going to ask me for money … oh me nerves!
Diane Butler
Bell Island
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Changing your phone number is a perfect solution. You then give your new number only to those who really need it and this can be done very simply through emails. I now have perfect telephone peace and I know that every call is from someone of my choosing.