# Useless documents on the Charity Commission website

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/06/11/useless-documents-charity-commission-website/
- Published: 2010-06-11T09:21:25+01:00
- Author: Finbar Cullen

I was researching The Gosling Foundation recently, and went to the Charity Commission
website for a copy of their latest accounts. Unfortunately, when I tried to read
the accounts for 2009, I got the following message: The file is damaged and could
not be repaired. Guidestar UK only has the accounts for 2008.

When I raised this with the Charity Commission, I was told that the Foundation had
submitted these accounts via the Online Service, and therefore the Charity Commission
does not hold a paper copy. It is a shame that they do not check before uploading.
However, someone at the Charity Commission has now contacted the charity and asked
them to submit another set.

The Gosling Foundation is a limited company, so I obtained a copy from Companies
House online (for £1).

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If OSCR – the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator doesn’t have the funds to
make accounts available online, could they run a scheme similar to Companies House
online, and charge a small fee for these documents? It would make researching Scottish
charities easier, and cheaper than it currently is.

Finbar Cullen

Research**Plus**

 * **[Identifying grant-making trusts using the Guidestar UK website](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/06/28/identifying-grantmaking-trusts-using-guidestar-uk-website/)**(
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 * **[GuideStar Israel has just been launched](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/08/04/guidestar-israel-has-just-been-launched/)**(
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 * **[GuideStar UK](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/12/20/guidestar-uk/)** (20 December
   2010)