Street fundraisers have been banned from standing within three metres of a train or tube station, according to new rules imposed by the public fundraising regulatory body.
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) is threatening ‘chuggers’ with hefty fines if they break the rules, which also include not following someone for more than three steps.
The new system, which came into operation on August 20, has been used on a trial period since August last year.
We think this is a more commonsense version of the rule and means fundraisers don’t need to perform an intricate ‘chugger waltz.
Nick Henry, PFRA head of standards
The three-step rule used to allow street fundraisers to take up to three steps towards a person, three steps backwards and then three steps alongside a person.
Previously, the three-step rule stipulated that fundraisers could take up to three steps towards a person, three steps backwards and then three steps alongside a person. The new version of the rule allows fundraisers “to take any number of steps towards a person providing that, as soon as they have engaged that person, they don’t follow them for more than three steps”.
Nick Henry, PFRA’s head of standards, said: “The point of the rule is to stop people being followed, so how many steps they take towards someone is much less of an issue. We think this is a more commonsense version of the rule and means fundraisers don’t need to perform an intricate chugger waltz.”
