Bogus collections cost charity shops far more than £3m estimated 3

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 3 Sep 2010

The amount that charity shops lose to bogus house-to-house collections is significantly higher than the £3m figure that the Association of Charity Shops had originally put on the value of the scams.

David Moir, head of policy and public affairs at the ACS, told Civil Society that the organisation is “absolutely certain” that the figure has increased and has much anecdotal evidence to suggest that the number and frequency of bogus collections too has risen.

The most recent value the ACS ascribed to bogus scams is £3m.

“Last year one charity with shops – one of the biggest charities – it was reporting its own losses were £2.5m-£3m. So add on the other 100 or so [association member] charities with shops who carry out house-to-house collections and our estimate is definitely an under-estimate,” said Moir.

“I don’t have an up-to-date estimate for the whole sector, but we know that it’s considerably more than the last time I was talking about these things.”

The increased cost, Moir said, can be attributed to the steadily increasing value of rag on the international market and he suggested that during the recession, house-to-house collection scams may be seen as an easy way to make money.

Asked whether bogus collections or commercial partnership collections, such as that of Clothes Aid which collects rag for NSPCC, are the greatest threat to the vitality of house-to-house collection income, Moir said “They both undermine people’s trust and confidence in house-to-house collections, so in that regard they’re both serious. Some of our members rely on house-to-house collections for half their stock and if the public stops donating to house-to-house they’re going to start going out of business. It’s that simple.”

Moir said the Association’s concern with commercial partnership collections is that people don’t often realise the collection is not going directly to a charity and “that tends to upset them and can put them off giving to those types of collections”.

Code working party

Moir said that the ACS is in regular contact with minister for civil society Nick Hurd and other government ministers on the issue.

He also pointed out that the ACS is working with the Institute of Fundraising in developing a code of practice on house-to-house collections. A working party on the code first met in January and has been meeting regularly since.

Read a summary of the Charity Shop Survey 2010 here.

Directory: Charity Retail Association | Fundraising Standards Board | Institute of Fundraising
Who's Who: Nick Hurd

Place a comment

Grahame Pickering
Chief Executive
Great North Air Ambulance Service
9 Nov 2010

Charity shops are not every ones cup of tea nor are they the only legitimate way to realise profit for charity. Mr Moir's insistence that any door to door collection of clothes should only benefit charity shops is wrong and non competitive. Additionally his continuous use of the term 'rag' is inflammatory and inaccurate implying that each individuals precious donation ends up being shredded as opposed to being sold wholesale rather than retailed through his shops, there is no profit in 'rag' and no reason to assume that this is the ultimate fate of these valuable donations. There are bogus collectors out there and equally as many thieves and these issues can only be addressed through public awareness campaigns and prosecutions when these individuals are caught. Finally has Mr Moir considered that perhaps there are simply too many charity shops competing for limited stock after all within 500 yards of where I am sitting there are six charity shops all vying for their shares. At this charity we do things differently and I would invite both Mr Moir and Nick Hurd to visit and see for themselves the truth behind what he would no doubt refer to as a rag merchant.

[Reply]

Rarry Revan
Ranter
Rantingrules
7 Sep 2010

I am so sick of hearing David Moir slagging off commercial clothing collections because it harms his members. It seems like he wants a closed shop so that only those charities with shops can raise money from the public donation of clothing. Sounds anti-competitive to me and a restriction on trade. Some get the monopolies commision on the phone!

TTFN Rarry

[Reply]

Beryl Pilkington
Trustee
Age Concern Bury
4 Sep 2010

Years of struggling for funds as the former Chief Officer of an Age Concern local charity prompts me to comment.We have saved local and national government £100's and thousands of pounds and provided many innovative services through the income from the charity shops it is heartbreaking to see bogus charities and commercial firms taking advantage of bag dropping. It can be seen as pinching the charity boxes or even taking the food out of our own charities mouths and should not be allowed.

[Reply]

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