Letter: Cold calls by charity unacceptable

Despite having two plainly visible notices on my door saying 'no' to cold callers, a young man called, wearing a charity's tabard.

I contacted the police, as I was under the impression that this type of direct approach is illegal.

Neither of the two people to whom I spoke knew whether it was or not.

The second one suggested I contact the charity concerned.

I did this, explaining the notices and that as a charity street-collector myself I am not even supposed to shake the bucket, let alone approach people directly.

The response was along the lines that they are 'engaging with the public' and 'giving them information with a view to setting up a direct debit'.

To me, this is a pressured way of trying to get people to make a financial commitment for a period by targeting them in their own homes.

It is also potentially intimidating for some people and makes saying 'no' much more complicated than passing a collector in the street.

Chris Jones

Apley