Collection boxes

[pinstripe]

Please could someone confirm or deny whether it is illegal to solicit money / donations by rattling a collection box / bucket in public.

[carmalee]

to the best of my knowledge it is now illegal and has been for quite a number of years, to rattle tins when collecting in a public place.

[factor-fiction]

I agree with carmalee.

[pauln90]

Perfectly legal provided you apply to the local council for a permit and then meet their regulations.

http://www.raisingfunding.co.uk/street-collect ion-regulations.html

[auzzie]

The basic regulations quote:

A ban on any collecting methods that will cause annoyance or nuisance to any member of the public.

Shaking tins at people are perceived as an annoyance and therefore should NOT be done.

[Strauss]

auzzie is correct. The law requires collectors in a street or public place to register with the local authority. The local authority can, and in practice does, prohibit annoying behaviour such as approaching people asking for money, or as you say, even rattling their tins. The collectors have found a way round this law by collecting at the entrances to supermarkets, where they are not in a street or public place.