Stop this sick cancer scam

by Tony Levene on 18 June 2011  |  21 comments
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Tony identifies one firm trying to make money from breast cancer...

Sometimes the sheer audacity of scam merchants beggars belief.

Just hours after last week's warning on bogus “charity” collections went live on lovemoney.com, yet another leaflet hit my letterbox, but nastier and even more dishonest.

Before naming this sick organisation, and sick is the only word to describe a firm trying to profit out of breast cancer fears, let's run through front door appeals.

1. Envelopes from registered charities – usually nationally recognised causes – asking for a money donation. Giving via GiftAid tax relief turns every £1 into £1.25. In most cases, a collector with identification, often a neighbour, will come for the envelope. Support these.
2. Plastic bags from nationally known charities asking for books, CDs, clothes and sellable bric-a-brac. These bags save you a trip to a local charity shop. A good idea.
3. Bags from less well known charities with Charity Commission numbers that make it clear they want clothing but ban books. These bags go to dealers who pay charities £40 to £50 for each tonne. A tonne is a lot – around 2,000 male shirts. One or two classy garments can easily fetch £50 in a second hand clothes shop. The charity defence is something is better than nothing.
4. Bogus collectors who suggest your clothes will benefit charity but they go to a profit making limited company. This is a fraud.

Most in the scam category say “you can help people in third world countries” who “really need your support.” Playing on your sympathy for people living in poverty is bad enough. But my latest example is far worse. It starts:

“For yourself and those who love you – Clothing Collection”

It continues: “Can you spare your unwanted clothes? For Breast Cancer Prevention Program (sic). Breast cancer effects (sic) every 9th woman in Europe.”

And there is a pink bow logo, stolen from a legitimate breast cancer charity.

The leaflet states garments will help fund a “breast cancer prevention program”. But this is a lie. There is no such programme or charity. The clothing collectors claim they will make “make a minimum contribution of £1,500 a month to the project”. However, as there is no project, that is meaningless. And how does anyone check?

This filth comes from “Retail of Clothes” Ltd, a company incorporated on April 5, 2011 at an address in Monmouth Road, Dagenham, Essex – a terraced house which last changed hands for £195,000 in May 2008.

There is one director – Ruslanas Izmagilovas, a Latvian born in February 1975. The Monmouth Road address appears to be his home.

Much of the remaining text on the flyer is word for word from the Rutex leaflet I quoted last week.

This suggests links – someone has to organise the flyers, the collection and the sale of the clothing. And I suspect that is not Izmagilovas (assuming he exists) but someone above him who has come up with this disgusting scam that preys on a dreaded disease.

The Charity Commission has pointers on “misleading and bogus clothing collections”. It advises:

• be wary of leaflets that do not use the words ‘registered charity’ but instead use pictures or wording to give the impression of a charitable appeal
• be suspicious of any leaflet that does not state the name of the charity your donations will go to
• beware of anything unprofessionally produced, badly written or containing spelling mistakes
• a leaflet only giving mobile numbers or none at all is a danger sign, it may be a sign that the organisation is not collecting for a real charity
• some leaflets suggest a charity but provide a company registration number - shun
• if you are still concerned, give directly to local charity shops or at an official charity clothes collection point
• Report clothes collection scams to Consumer Direct or to the police.

There is also a helpful leaflet (intended for MPs)

Follow me on Twitter @tonylevene1

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