Why is the capital so full of charity muggers?

Pity the poor souls doing it but it's also a blight on our streets

- Vicky Jessop

Take a walk past any of London’s major train stations this month, and chances are you’ll see the same thing: an army of brightly bibbed volunteers waiting to accost you. Charity “muggers” — or chuggers as they’re better known — mean business.

The phenomenon seems to be everywhere in the capital. Sometimes, it feels like you can’t get a hundred metres without somebody stepping into your path and imploring you to cough up some money in the name of an often-obscure charity.

A recent trip through Farringdon brought me within accosting-range of not one, or two, but seven chuggers. Seven! In a 50ft radius! Some were working for Oxfam, some for another organisation. They appeared to have carved up the concourse between them into zonal hunting grounds.

I sighed, braced myself for their luring cries of “got a minute?” or “cool footwear!”. It’s a tough life. And not just for us pedestrians. While nobody really wants to see a chugger, few, I imagine, would want to be one. How many of us could face the brutal daily rejections the job brings? It’s hard enough being told no by your mortgage adviser; now imagine a thousand people doing the same. Angrily. Or ignoring you completely. That got me thinking: there seem to be more chuggers than ever. What’s behind this apparent surge in do-gooders?

It’s not always charity

The thing is, there’s not a shortage of people wanting to give. According to the Charities Aid Foundation’s 2024 Giving Report, Brits gave £13.9 billion in donations last year — and that’s £1.2 billion up on the previous year.