Charity Rip-off!

HellsGranny

This morning a Charity bag arrived on my doormat, looking very much like one from Breast Cancer UK.

Looking closely, I noticed that the pink ribbon logo had a white exclamation mark on it (not immediately obvious), and in tiny print it said the pink ribbon goes green! Our collection bags are now biodegradable.

The front continues to say that breast cancer marks every 9th woman in Europe, and that they are collecting clothing for a breast cancer prevention programme,

On the reverse it turns out that the company is INTERSECOND LTD, appointed agent forAZZARA (Registered in Lithuania No. 124013046)
This is NOT a charity number, although it looks like one at first glance.

They provide an email and website address (both .org), which neatly obscures the country of origin, then in a small box on the sidethe admit that it is solely for the benefit of women in Lithuania.

There is no benefit to British women, and I feel that using the Pink Ribbon is a cynical and calculated attempt to defraud.

So , Please Scrutinise these charity collection bags carefully, where I live at least 50% are bogus. This one is cynically using the logo of a British Charity.

Dave_C_2

Slightly off-topic, where we live, we get charity bags posted on an almost daily basis. This has the effect of devaluing the bags, to the point that we rarely use them for their intended purpose. I have yet to see anyone putting out a charity bag for collection!

On the few occasions when we do have a clean-out we pick the biggest bags and drive down to the nearest charity shop.
Even then the latest bags are simply too thin to hold anything heavier than a sugar cube, so we end up double or triple bagging! Good job we always have plenty;)

Dave

Esqui

We keep getting dodgy 'charity' bags. It's NOT a charity, it's probably the same person as on here: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8396641.I_m_giving__Bernhardos__the_sack___literally/

daisyrose

I too get bags on an almost daily basis. I checked one out on the web. The site was under construction but somewhere I read that they give a % every year to charity which worked out to be a very minimal amount.

They come around in unmarked vans to collect. I suspect that the items given are sold on and those clothes that are not sold are sent for scrap so they get paid either way.

I never give at the door now. I always take goods to the charity shop of my choice and as a taxpayer I have signed a gift aid form.
This week I received a letter from the Heart Foundation that the sale of goods given raised £13+ it all helps and I feel happier knowing that all of the money is going to charity and not part.:)

trumpton

This is a well-known scam. The companies are not charities and there is no way to check if they ever make a donation to any charity. The clothes are sold on in eastern europe or weighed in. You will even see the collectors - in unmarked vans - picking up genuine charity bags that have been left out.

Air ambulance charities seem to have been especially targeted, maybe because people have heard of them but aren't sure of the logos. Best thing to do is take you stuff to a charity shop yourself.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2010/06/02/police-called-in-over-charity-bags/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-11651930

xangeleyes

We get these all the time, although not sure if they're dodgy or not. However, the are wasting money posting these out. They do it each week, and no one puts them out.
I personally wont because my fear is it being stolen, so I take my stuff down to the actual charity shop.
I also don't like it when the charities send out the 1p in envelopes or the pens, as again, this is wasting money that they need, HOWEVER, if a sponsor or someone else is paying for these to be sent out, then I feel a bit happier with it.

vikingaero

Even the genuine charities don't collect their unused charity bags. I find them a valuable resource for rubbish bags.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I wasnt aware that the pink ribbon was an EU trademark for breast cancer UK.

i get tired of having these shoved through my letterbox. Over the weekend I got 5 of them through and i dont use them at all. If i want to give my stuff away its always to a charity shop where i know the goods are going to be sold at my choice of charity..

One day maybe they will stop doing it.

HellsGranny

The pink ribbon is a UK logo for Breast Cancer UK. I'm angr that this Lithuanian lot have hijacked it it in order to defraud.

DCFC79

You could put a load of rubbish inside and leave it out for them to collect,

SHIPSHAPE

DCFC79 wrote: »

You could put a load of rubbish inside and leave it out for them to collect,

This is what I have done on several occasions.

It is particularly useful if one were to miss one's collection day, just pop the black bag into the scam charity bag and they always take it.

What helpful scam artists.