My wife just presented me with a question that I'll serve up for everyone's view. Sometime within the last several months she agreed to a request for a donation to one of the law enforcement agencies. The amount she pledged was not alot but I've not been working much lately and funds are getting a bit stretched. She was wondering if we could renege on our pledge or if we are legally bound.
Edit to fix spelling (Thanks to rivka)
[ January 24, 2005, 02:17 AM: Message edited by: punwit ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Difficult to say. I've never heard of them going after anyone before, and it's definitely not enforcable in some states.
Did they give you anything, like a sticker?
Dagonee
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
No, this was over the phone but apparently recorded. I can't imagine that if we did renege that they would push the issue considering we give some every year. Pursuing something like this would alienate most folks.
Edit to fix spelling.
[ January 24, 2005, 02:18 AM: Message edited by: punwit ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Yep.
I'm trying to be really careful in this situation, because my gut says nothing bad would happen, but I have no actual facts or law to back that up.
I'm skeptical of all those charities - the last one that call was turning over 18% to the charity.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
I'd question which agency it was. From what I know, they don't actually raise the money themselves and whoever it is that keeps calling/sending you money is actually a telemarketing business. Next time they call, ask them to send you literature and find out how much the law enforcement agency really gets, as opposed to how much they keep of it. It's probably some sales guy trying to collect his commission.
Personally, when the call me, I tell them to take me off their calling list. At the time, if I have extra money, I'll send it directly to the agency that they say their raising money for, or some other law enforcement agency when they are truly raising money for something.
I hate telemarketers.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I don't think there can be a contract . . . there's no consideration. I am, of course, NAL, though.
I bet the place would be understanding, particularly if you just called and said you couldn't afford as much as you said, but that you'd give an amount you felt comfortable giving and intended to continue giving in the future -- they're likely to see reason, the amount given over time will almost certainly be greater than the current amount being discussed.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Wait, was it a telemarketing thing where they send out a package with info for you to fill out?
There's no need to bother, the return rate on those isn't high.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
It's a donation, right? Of course you can back out.
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
Yes, it's a donation. I assumed we would be within our rights to say, "Sorry but we've reconsidered because of tight finances", but I thought I'd see what you all had to say.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:I don't think there can be a contract . . . there's no consideration.
Exceptions to the consideration requirement abound.
quote:I was turned over to a collection agency after I was fired from a job because the donation wasn't debited from my paycheck. And it was United Way that did the turning.
Wow. If I already wasn't boycotting UW, I would be after that!
Dagonee
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Considering that it's my understanding that traditionally pledge drives and such actually net 30-60% of the actual pledges -- and that is a known and expected thing -- I'd expect that you could renege with no legal consequences.
But that is merely an educated guess. Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
Yeah, me too about boycotting UW...they turned me off big time with high pressure tactics on paycheck donations. It was presented in a way that made it sound like you'd be fired if you didn't contribute.
punwit, call the organization and discuss it with them. We don't generally give to police or fire charities (there are many others better for making sure the $ get to those who need it), but it's not at all unusual for a charitable org to ask for a monthly commitment -- they do it for budgetary purposes, not necessarily just so they can put on the pressure. If they give you a great deal of pressure about it, I'd consider discontinuing donations immediately, writing a letter of complaint, and then telling every friend you have not to donate to them ever again. Ever. Not a penny.
We discontinued donating to an organization because they started using several fundraising tactics I found inconsistant with their mission. High pressure, recorded telemarketing, and (IMO, absolutely inappropriate for a Christian charity) a credit card deal where they get part of the interest you pay.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
You can renege.
All of these phone contribution places figure on a certain amount of empty pledges. So does your local PBS station. They figure for every XX amount pledged, only really X amount will come in. It is a given that they almost always figure on.
Depends on what agency the LE community has doing their phone work, but if its local, I doubt you hear anything from them other than maybe repeated mailers..
Farmgirl
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
In all fundraising, a certain percentage is expected to back out. No, you are not legally bound. If someone is pressuring you, tell them they can bite you.
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