# Royal British Legion suspends work with lottery ticket sales company - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/08/03/royal-british-legion-suspends-work-with-lottery-ticket-sales-company/ - Published: 2015-08-03T23:08:14+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake **The Royal British Legion has suspended its contract with Magnum Direct Ltd, the fundraising agency that sells its poppy lottery tickets, following a Mail on Sunday investigation.** At the weekend [The Mail on Sunday claimed](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3182610/Royal-British-legion-suspends-firm-investigation-reveals-cynical-cold-call-lies-fundraisers-poppy-lottery-appeal.html) that an undercover reporter at the agency had exposed “how commission-led salesmen break industry rules to extract cash”. It alleged that: ## Advertisement * “A team manager boasted that he lied to the public by saying he is an unpaid volunteer when he is a paid fundraiser pocketing hundreds of pounds a week; * Employees are instructed to knock on doors even when they have ‘no cold callers’ signs; * Donors are told their money is going directly towards a new rehabilitation centre for injured troops, when it actually goes into the charity’s general funds;” The report also claimed that one named team manager used racist language. ## Context of the latest allegations The investigation follows: * a [five-day series of reports by The Daily Mail](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/2015/07/12/the-daily-mail-criticises-fundraising-methods-for-five-days-running/) in early July about techniques alleged to have been used at telephone fundraising agency GoGen as it raised funds for at least four national charities * the front page interview with the chair of the Charity Commission one day before with a headline calling for chuggers or face-to-face fundraisers to be banned. All of this follows the extensive coverage and commentary from May onwards in which [The Daily Mail attempted to link the death of Mrs Olive Cooke](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/2015/05/15/family-and-friend-claim-poppy-seller-distressed-by-fundraising-appeals-before-her-death/) with the volume of fundraising appeals she had been receiving. Indeed, Mrs Cooke was again invoked in the latest report, with the photo caption: “committed suicide after being harassed by charities”. ## Responses to latest allegations A [Magnum Direct Ltd](http://www.magnumdirect.co.uk/) spokeswoman was quoted by The Mail on Sunday saying: > “Magnum are very disappointed to have this feedback from within our company. We > do not knowingly as an organisation break fundraising rules and we do not condone > dishonesty nor racism on any level. We have already taken action by suspending > the person in question.” A spokesperson for The Royal British Legion said: > “The Royal British Legion takes these allegations against one of our suppliers > extremely seriously, and has launched an urgent investigation. While the investigation > is underway we have suspended the services of Magnum Direct. Once the investigation > is complete we will take appropriate action, so we can continue to ensure all > of our suppliers conform to the highest standards in fundraising practices.” The Institute of Fundraising told The Mail on Sunday that it had revoked Magnum Direct’s status as a ‘corporate supporter’ of the national membership organisation for fundraisers. Alistair McLean, Chief Executive of the [Fundraising Standards Board](http://www.frsb.org.uk), the independent self-regulatory body for charity fundraising in the UK, said that it had begun an investigation into the claims on Friday. He added: > “We are extremely concerned to hear of allegations by the Mail on Sunday about > another fundraising organisation breaching aspects of the IoF Code of Practice. > The Code is designed to safeguard the public from sub-standard fundraising practices > and it is critical that fundraisers treat the public with respect, openness and > honesty at all times. The FRSB will investigate these claims.” ## The Poppy Lottery [The Poppy Lottery](http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/raffles-and-lotteries/poppy-lottery) raises funds for the Royal British Legion. It is run by Royal British Legion Poppy Lottery Ltd, a subsidiary trading company of The Royal British Legion. Players pay £4.34 for one entry in the weekly draws, with a chance of winning one of 200 cash prizes each Friday, including a top prize of £2,000. They are also entered into a quarterly jackpot draw to win either £15,000 or £20,000. Each weekly ticket costs £1. Players must be over 16, and can purchase lottery tickets online, via kiosks or via a doorstep promoter such as Magnum Direct Ltd. * **[Ministry of Defence announces £2 million programme for veteran support](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/15/ministry-defence-announces-2m-programme-veteran-support/)**( 15 November 2016) * **[Poppy Appeal collectors to accept old pound coin after deadline](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/11/poppy-appeal-collectors-accept-old-pound-coin-deadline/)**( 11 October 2017) * **[Royal British Legion recreates In Flanders Fields in poppies to launch 2017 Poppy Appeal](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/27/royal-british-legion-recreates-flanders-fields-poppies-launch-2017-poppy-appeal/)**( 27 October 2017)