Collection Protection and 'bogus collectors'
Helpline: 08450 722 780 Monday to Friday 9am-5pm |
Clothes Aid has joined the Charity Commission, the Cabinet Office, Trading Standards and the Association of Charity Shops in a new public awareness initiative to help people check whether a clothing collection is for charity or not.
The initiative was started on 3rd December and aims to ensure that people who want their donated clothes to go to a charity know what information to look out for on leaflets and bags that come through their letter box.
Most leaflets distributed to households are from genuine registered charities. However, other leaflets can, at a glance, look like they have come from a charity, but are actually from a company that profits from collections.
What to look for
To help you know what information to look for, a leaflet has been produced by the group involved in this initiative (see below). Print a copy of the leaflet and keep it somewhere safe to remind you of what to look out for. In brief, here are our top tips:
- Does the sack or leaflet say the collection is for a registered charity? If so, what is the registered charity number?
– call 0845 300 0218 or visit the online Register of Charities to check that it is genuine. - Do they only give a registered company number? This just means that the organisation is registered with Companies House.
- Is the charity actually named? Be wary of wording that just says ‘families in need’ or ‘sick kids at Christmas’ or ‘creates employment’ etc.
- Does the leaflet or bag give a phone number? The absence of a terrestrial telephone number may mean the collectors don’t want to answer questions. Regular charities and their agents will not give a mobile phone number only.
For further information on 'bogus collectors' and how we can tackle them together, please click here.
Keep giving - with care
But most importantly, please remember to keep giving charity donations to legitimate charities and their partners. If we stop giving when we receive a charity bag through our door then these people will have not only stolen our donations but will have stolen our charitable spirit.
Together we can make a difference – Give With Care
The leaflet and poster are available to download from The Cabinet Office website
If you would like a hard copy of the leaflet, please email Clothes Aid Collection Protection team.
You can ring our help line: 08450 722 780
or email: collection.protection@clothesaid.co.uk
Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Thank you for your continued support