Clothing Collection for Breast Cancer-Scam?

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MandaC

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Yesterday, I was appalled to get one of those charity clothes collection dockets claiming to be for Breast Cancer. This one even has a web site, linking back to what may or may not be a genuine breast cancer charity in Lithuania.

I did a search on the internet and it comes up under scams, and indeed links back to a UK Company, whose business is the wholesale trade of clothing and footwear. There were a fair number of complaints in the UK about it and the leaflet is very misleading and does not list that it is a company, or even what or where (any) donations are made to.

To whom should I complain?

If it is a scam, I think its time that these people were stopped.
 
There have been lots of these "charity" collection stickers. I've lost count of them. Many have only mobile phone numbers and "registered numbers" which do not link to any Irish charities or tax reference numbers. ( I've checked a few, believe me ). Some show up as businesses with ltd companies registerd ad what might appear to be a residential address.

I don't know about complaining, but I'd only give to these collections where they are an Irish registered ( i.e. with a proper CHY reference from Revenue ) charity.

One Irish charity which uses this collection system has apparently recently had to change its timing of collections as other operators were taking good left out for them. Now they collect evenings when there's more likely someone in the house donating goods.
 
I see so-called 'charity' collectors going around my estate in their unmarked white vans every week.
I'd never give anything to them. I read recently that they sell the donated clothes, obviously for a profit as they acquired them for free. They discard 'unsellable' items, sometimes dumping them illegally.
 
MandaC said:
Yesterday, I was appalled to get one of those charity clothes collection dockets claiming to be for Breast Cancer. This one even has a web site, linking back to what may or may not be a genuine breast cancer charity in Lithuania.

I did a search on the internet and it comes up under scams, and indeed links back to a UK Company, whose business is the wholesale trade of clothing and footwear. There were a fair number of complaints in the UK about it and the leaflet is very misleading and does not list that it is a company, or even what or where (any) donations are made to.

To whom should I complain?

If it is a scam, I think its time that these people were stopped.
Click to expand...

What law did they break?
 
This site [broken link removed] is very interesting. A few of the bags / stickers are very familiar to me. I think I might have a few of the bags lying around as, while I don't leave them out for the "charity" collectors, I regularly fill them and leave them to a clothes bank. Must try out some of those contact numbers and see if any at all are genuine.

Also I must contact my county council and see if any of the "registered" numbers are for real.
 
There is a sticker and bag thrown through my letterbox on nearly a weekly basis for about the last 3 or 4 years.

I have NEVER given anything to them after hearing about the scamming that goes on with clothes collections. And I have NEVER seen any neighbours leave any bags for collection.

Any clothes I have to dispose of I either take to local charity shops or local community shops.
 
Complainer said:
What deception is involved?
Click to expand...
Well, from dictionary.com, to deceive means "to mislead or falsely persuade others", so if I leave out a bag of clothes in the belief that they are going to be distributed among needy people, but in fact they are sold on rather than given to the people I intended, then I have been deceived.

The Irish Charity Shops Association website reproduces an article from the Sunday Tribune here http://www.icsa.ie/icsa/Main/NewsArticle-SundayTribune.htm which is entitled "Bogus charity agencies make huge profits selling-on donated goods". It may clarify things for you.
 
For people like me who are both too cheap and too lazy to buy their own plastic bags for rubbish these people provide a valuable service. At this very moment my kitchen bin proudly houses a pink "charity" bag.
 
I had a look at that website for fake charities and low and behold just happened to get a leaflet for the one with the photo of the child on it today.

I have also been discussing the matter with a couple of friends and one told me that legitimate charities like Barnardos who collect have had to ask people not to leave stuff out because the fake charities were getting up at crack of dawn and going around taking the stuff people were leaving for Barnardos.

I would like to see the law changed to prosecute these fraudsters.
 
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