Third world clothing collection ???

joylikes2shop

I recently had a leaflet put through my door ( East Belfast) asking for donations of unwanted clothes etc for the 'charity' SUPPORT AND HELP LTD. It even quotes a company registration number - 5834181

Having tried to research this company online I found the following links which suggest that this company may not be as 'charitable' as the flyer suggests...

I'm happy to be proved wrong...but in the meantime I thought I'd share my thoughts and findings on the forum...


http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/f208fa485a6d3757c7b585246d295390/compdetails..Status: Dissolved 10/03/2009

http://www.asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2007/8/Support-and-Help-Ltd/TF_ADJ_42969.aspx ...
Advertising Standards Authority.... ''Because Support and Help did not prove that the clothing was used for charitable purposes, we considered that the ad misleadingly implied the collection was for a charitable organisation''

sunny-2009

To be honest, I chuck out those leaflets I get through the door, would rather deliver my old clothes to the local charity shop myself, least I know they are going to a legit charity! Ive heard most of those companies from the leaflets aren't real.

tanith

I agree with sunny, I always put them in the bin and take stuff to the charity shop, I think I would rather take it to the dump than give it to one of these so called charity collecters..

sunny-2009

Me too Tanith! My MIL2be works in the local charity shop and I bung all my old clothes to her! Would defo rather dump the clothes than give them to a load of cowboys!

joylikes2shop

yes I agree...I normally do the same sunny-2009, but this particular flyer irritated me :mad: because it states ' God will reward for your good hearts' and I didn't like this tactic.

Thought I would mention it here for the benefit of those people reading this thread who aren't aware of these types of companies.

sunny-2009

Oh my word you are kiddin! I cant believe somebody would use a tactic like that, how dare they! You are just right raising awareness to this because my mum used to fill the bags and set them outside, til we realised they weren't going to orphans in Africa at all!

Bigcammy

This really bugs me, I take our stuff to charity shops directly these days, at least I know where the stuff ends up.

dmxdave

Not a week goes by that we don't get one of these through the door in Ballygowan, same thoughts here, direct to the charity shop and as stated by others you know where it is going!

Oh and they don't even give you a free bin bag anymore, just a sticky label :rotfl:

spike7451

On average I get 2 of these a week thru my door in the Dee.I bin them.
BBC's Watchdog done a piece on this a while back,a lot of donated clothing will find itself for sale on market stalls in third world /Eastern Bloc countries.It was also in some major papers like the one in the Telegraph below...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1569695/How-charity-clothes-line-Lithuanian-pockets.html

Eastern European gangs are duping householders and stealing millions in a charity clothing scam.

Bags of used clothes intended as donations to help the needy are instead being shipped to former Eastern bloc countries to be sold at a profit in street markets.


Leaflets pushed through letter boxes in thousands of streets across Britain are deliberately misleading homeowners by making it seem that the clothes are "sent to Third World countries to help clothe the poor".
In reality, the clothes are taken and sold by Lithuanian gangs, which are estimated to be depriving charities of up £10 million a year in lost revenues.
Leaflets soliciting donations have been found across dozens of towns and cities all over the country, including Cardiff, Brighton, Taunton, Nottingham, Manchester and Sheffield. Beginning with phrases like "Dear householder", they copy genuine charity flyers by appealing for "urgently needed clothing" while giving the impression that it will be donated to Third World countries.
Van-loads of used clothes, left out as a result of leaflets delivered in Wandsworth last week, were traced by The Sunday Telegraph to a depot on an industrial estate in east London.
Members of the gang could be seen loading hundreds of bags of clothes from anonymous white vans into larger lorries with Lithuanian licence plates for transport across the Channel.
The clothes are worth at least £500 a ton wholesale, but will fetch even bigger profits when they are sold second-hand.
Up to 30 lorry-loads of clothes are being sent from Britain to destinations in Eastern Europe every month, leading to what one leading charitable organisation has called "massive losses." Clothes Aid, which runs legitimate collections for charities, including Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, Alder Hey children's hospital and the Make a Wish foundation, has been forced to set up an intelligence unit, which includes motorcycle patrols, to catch the gangs at work.
The company, which sells the clothes to the Third World and gives a percentage of its profits to the charities, estimates that
£10 million is lost each year to the gangs, who also steal bags meant for Clothes Aid if they see them on doorsteps.
Clothes Aid estimates that Great Ormond Street alone is losing £300,000, which would be used to buy equipment to research childhood diseases such as leukaemia and diabetes.
Marie Chowdhry, Clothes Aid project co-ordinator, said: "The reason why we had to set up the intelligence unit last year was because of the massive losses. "We know, that, because of the way people feel about Great Ormond Street they fill their bags with good-quality items.
"The thieves know the quality of the brand and bags are stolen to order. We do believe that those involved are organised crime gangs. This is very lucrative for them."
She added: "In the run-up to Christmas we are expecting the problem to get worse, but we hope that it won't stop people donating. Charities like Great Ormond Street can't afford to run charity shops and we are the best way for them to get much-needed money."
Clothes Aid placed tracking devices in some bags, resulting in police raids that led to nearly 100 arrests and the recovery of 13½ tons of donated clothes.
Two Lithuanian nationals pleaded guilty to the theft of Great Ormond Street bags and will be sentenced in February.
Charities say such prosecutions are rare, with most of those arrested released with a caution or without charge. After one raid, 10 Lithuanians were freed by police because they could not find a translator and the cells were needed for other prisoners.
Often culprits never make it to court because police do not see it as "priority crime" according to the Association of Charity Shops.
Many leaflets are distributed by a company called A&P Collection Ltd, whose drivers drop clothes collections at a depot in Barking, east London.
In a carefully worded leaflet, A&P describes itself as "a collection company who provide people in third world countries with clothes for their families they can afford."
The company was registered with Companies House in 2006 but has failed to file accounts and faces being struck off for insolvency.
Like many similar operations it pays no tax in Britain despite being registered here.
Company secretary Ana Bruziene has not responded to a request for an interview submitted using the email address given for the company.
A&P leaflets have turned up in Scarborough, leading Len Swift, trading standards officer, to issue this warning: "We are suspicious of companies where the leaflets make it look as if you are making a charity donation, because people could be misled into thinking it is for a worthy cause.
"If the company is not making misleading claims in its leaflet, there is no action we can take to stop it."
Ragtex, a bona fide clothing bag collector based in the Midlands, has also suffered thefts.
The company which gives donations to charities such as Scope, and sends unwanted clothes it collects to Africa, has alerted police.
However, director Gerald Cemell said: "When we complained to police they took no action so we gave up ringing."
Jo Swinson, a Liberal Democrat MP with a strong interest in the issue, said: "This is one of the most pernicious things - taking money from a charity collecting for a genuine children's cause. It is up there with the mugging of elderly ladies.
"It is just so horrible that right-thinking, community-minded people are unwittingly taking part in this fraud.
"I have had emails from all around the country from people who have been duped into supporting one of these companies thinking they were supporting a charity."

mumoffour77

Its horrible to think we are giving to charity/charitable causes and it actually lining peoples pockets!!
I give to the charity shop, even what they cant sell i put in a bag and write "RAGS" on it....the charity shop still gets 60p for these as they are used for filling matresses!!

Old_Git

fill the bag with crap that the charity shop wouldn't take .
you get rid off your precious no longer needed item (crap )
everyone wins.:rotfl: