The warning comes from East Sussex County Council Trading Standards officers after complaints from concerned residents who have received bags and leaflets through their door asking them to donate unwanted goods to several charities, including ‘Heartbeat UK’ and ‘Orphan & Community Aid UK’.
Leaflets have been found in Crowborough and other areas could follow.
The charities mentioned are genuine and are registered with the Charity Commission. However, it appears from the fliers that the collection agencies are not genuine and therefore the collections could be unauthorised and fraudulent.
Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Member for Community Services, said: “These leaflets give the false impression that items are being sought for charitable means while in reality, items collected from such scams are often sold on for profit. The Association of Charity Shops estimates that over £1 million per annum is lost by charities as a result of bogus collections. It is money that many charity shops rely on as a substantial proportion of their annual sales. I would urge people not to leave out any goods for collection in response to the leaflets and only to donate unwanted goods to charities they know and trust.”
Anyone who has suspicions regarding the authenticity of a clothing collection claiming to be for charitable purposes can call East Sussex County Council Trading Standards through Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
Reference:
2357
Contact the press team
East Sussex County Council