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Charity street fundraisers, known as "chuggers", a neat conflation of "charity" and "muggers", come in for some serious bad press. They seem to be everywhere these days, patrolling the streets of most UK towns and cities, raising money for good causes while eating into our lunch hours.
I must admit that although I admire the work done by chuggers - they must have an almost inhuman capacity for coping with rejection - I also find myself irked by the apparent disingenuousness of some and the hard sell tactics of others.
Perhaps this is why I could not repress a slight pang of sadistic pleasure last week when I unwittingly guided one to being dealt a particularly nasty blow to the head. There I was, simply going out my business at 1pm, blood-sugar levels low, desperately seeking my first meal of the day.
The fact that I reciprocated the chugger's smile was probably my mistake. Had I just "blanked" him, he probably would not have bothered with me, and in turn not suffered any form of personal injury.
But as it was, he followed me, seeking to assuage me with that particular brand of sycophantic chugger charm, almost clutching at my hem as I accelerated away, focussing on an imaginary point in the distance. "I am very hungry," I told him. "I only have 15 minutes to get lunch. Please."
At this point, rather belatedly, I made what is known as "the chugger arc", seeking to lose my good-willed assailant cutting through and across the crowded Kensington street. Unfortunately though, he would not be lost, his voice growing plaintive and high. "I'll get you lunch," he fawned. "Just bear with me for five minutes and I'll find you the best sandwich in Kensing-."
Poor chap. Led by desperation for what surely would have been the first direct debit of the day, he walked straight into a No Parking pole. He fell backwards and was knocked-out cold. A nasty work injury to the head, and not one his is likely to be able to make a no win, no fee claim for.
There are however, a number of incidences where charity fundraisers have made successful no win, no fee claims. These though, like the workers themselves, always tend to prove controversial.
There are the cases where street fundraisers they may trip or slip on dangerous ground and seek to claim personal injury compensation, something which is only likely to exacerbate already hostile public sentiment.
Perhaps the most antagonising of charity worker-related compensation claims would involve door-knocking fundraisers who suffer personal injury on private property. These types of claims, made within the terms of the Occupiers Liability Act, are rarely made without outcry. If one were to be made by a charity worker, the tabloids would surely have a field day.
Fortunately, my overzealous charity stalker was all right when he came round. True to type, he even reached for his dropped clipboard, tried a smile, and again offered to find me a sandwich.
