Julian Knight, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Solihull, has congratulated Solihull Council on its plans to take a zero tolerance approach to instances of aggressive chugging – people who are paid commission to coerce shoppers into signing up for charity direct debit.
The council is asking members of the public to report instances where they have been ‘chugged’ in Solihull to ensure that third party firms that are working on behalf of charities follow strict local guidelines. The decision to send out the public appeal has been taken by Solihull Council Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel, headed by Cllr Andy Mackiewicz.
Although Solihull already has some of the toughest rules in the country to bar aggressive chugging, fears have been expressed that a ban by Birmingham Council on chugging could lead to these individuals de-camping to Solihull.
Julian Knight, Conservative parliamentary candidate and Olton resident who recently completed a 120 mile solo charity bike ride for Marie Curie raising more than £1000 said: “No one wants the blight of chuggers to migrate from Birmingham to our beautiful Solihull. It is excellent the council is asking the public to help them monitor these people closely. No one wants to stop legitimate charity collection, least of all me, but chugging is something quite different.”
“Many people don’t realise when they sign on the dotted line that most chuggers are commission paid sales-people working for a third party firm and that in the first year most of the money donated probably finds its way into the pockets of a middleman rather than the charity. The best advice, if approached, is to say no thanks to the chugger but if you like the cause, donate direct, that way the charity gets the cash.”
“The public will be the councils’ eyes and ears to make sure we only have legitimate and orderly charity collection in Solihull.”
Julian Knight has campaigned in the national press in recent years for stricter rules governing chugging.