Think carefully before donating clothing to "charity
collectors" is the message from North Somerset Council Trading
Standards Officers.
The warning comes in response to carefully worded leaflets that
are being pushed through letterboxes in the area.
Trading Standards have been contacted by a number of residents,
Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators and councillors concerned that
these "charitable" organisations are, in fact, commercial,
profit-making businesses.
Enquiries have shown that in the majority of cases where these
particular leaflets have been distributed, the donated clothing
never reaches the third world countries and very little, if any,
money is passed on to charity.
In some cases, the donated clothing has been taken to a central
warehouse where the better quality goods are removed and then sold
at UK markets. The remaining clothes are not even recycled, just
burnt or destroyed.
Under the House To House Collections Act (1939), charities must
register or notify the local authority before organising a
collection of goods.
Some larger charities may have Home Office exemption in relation
to licensing with local authorities, but they are still obliged to
inform the relevant local authority when a collection is taking
place.
Collection requests from legitimate charities also show
prominent and recognisable names along with a "charity number"
which can be checked with the Charity Commission in 0870 333
0123.
Cllr Deborah Yamanaka, North Somerset Council’s Executive Member
for Environment and Community, said: “The companies involved in
these bogus collections are actually commercial enterprises where
the chances of any significant amount being donated to charity is
small.
“To be certain that your donation will directly help a charity,
seek out a local contact and deal with them. If people can avoid
being duped by these bogus collectors, genuine charities can only
benefit.
"If you have unwanted items of clothing that aren't suitable to
donate to charity then please recycle them using your green
recycling box."
To check whether a charity is registered to make collections,
contact the licensing section of North Somerset Council on 01275
884 373.