Dublin People - ‘Bogus’ clothes collections hit charities hard

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‘Bogus’ clothes collections hit charities hard

Thursday, 22 May 2008

The collection of donated clothes from households on the Northside by suspected ‘bogus’ operators has hit genuine charity shops by up to 50 per cent in their takings.
This startling statistic has been revealed as householders in the area have been warned to be careful of who they donate their old clothes to.
An organisation that works for registered Irish charity shops is calling on the Government to urgently enact new legislation to curb the increase in the number of clothes collectors falsely claiming to be working for charity.
The Irish Charity Shops Association (ICSA), whose members include children’s charity Barnardos, Oxfam and Enable Ireland, claimed that bogus clothes collections have become a huge problem for their operations.
It is feared that many of the clothes being donated to charity in bags left through householders’ letterboxes are actually being sold for profit at markets in foreign countries.
A spokesman for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs confirmed to Northside People that there is currently no definition of what constitutes a charity under the present law.
However, he said that under the department’s Charities Bill 2007, work has begun on forming a Register of Charities, which will aim to weed out the bogus operators.
The news comes as one local resident revealed to Northside People that he has received up to 25 separate bags and leaflets through his letterbox from operators asking for clothes to be donated in aid of charity.
However, Charlie McDermott, from Baldoyle, said that when he rang the phone numbers advertised on 10 of the bags, he did not receive an answer.
Mr McDermott said he was suspicious of the motives of these operators and he will no longer donate any old clothes to them.
“I am of the opinion that most of these clothes collectors are not genuine and I hope other householders who may want to give clothes to charity are aware of this,” Mr McDermott said.
He added that he has approached some of the people who have put the bags through his letterbox.
“I have managed to stop one or two to ask them about their collections, but either they don’t speak English or they claimed not to understand what I was asking,” Mr McDermott stated.
Meanwhile, Paul Hughes, PRO for the Irish Charity Shops Association, told Northside People that bogus collectors have become a massive problem for genuine charities.
“This has hit some charity shops’ takings on clothes by up to 50 per cent,” Mr Hughes said.
He said the big problem lay with the fact there was currently no legislation stopping operators from collecting clothes on the pretence that it was for charity.
“Many of the bogus collectors put signs on their bags mentioning Third World aid, giving the impression that the clothes are going to charity without them actually claiming to be a registered charity,” Mr Hughes said.
“We are hoping that new legislation can be brought in to stop these operators from passing themselves off as charities, as that will be the best way to curb the problem,” he added.
Mr Hughes said that if householders are unsure, they should try to contact the charity through the telephone numbers on the bags.
“If you cannot get an answer then it is very likely they are bogus because any charity organisation that does not wish to be contacted immediately arouses suspicion,” he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs said the Charities Bill 2007 would aim at tackling the problem.
A principle feature of the bill will be to enact a reform of the law relating to charities, in order to ensure accountability and protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud.
The spokesman said a Register of Charities is to be set up, along with a charities regulatory authority.
A key function of the new authority will be the establishment and maintenance of the register of charitable organisations that will be accessible to the general public.
Registration will be mandatory for all charities operating within Ireland and every registered charitable organisation will have a unique registered number.
The authority will have the power to remove a body from the register.

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