# Irish Charities Regulator warns on bogus charity clothes collectors

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/11/27/irish-charities-regulator-warns-on-bogus-charity-clothes-collectors/
- Published: 2019-11-27T22:21:45+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Irish Charities Regulator has renewed its call to the public to take steps
to ensure that unwanted clothing and other items they intend to donate to charity
through house-to-house collections, actually go to registered charities.**

Charities Regulator Chief Executive Helen Martin said: “Our compliance team have
received an increasing flow of concerns from the public about individuals and organisations
who are carrying out house-to-house collections, but are not registered charities.”

From January 2019 to the end of October 2019, the Charities Regulator received 133
reports from the public, expressing concern about people and/or organisations operating
house-to-house collections for unwanted clothing and other goods, and querying whether
or not they were registered charities.

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“We are concerned in the increasing number of reports we are receiving and also 
the increasing trend in this regard”, Ms Martin said.

 

## Increasing public awareness of unlawful collections

She added that organisations engaged in unlawful clothing collections will continue
to operate in this manner only for as long as people continue to make donations 
to them. She one way they are hoping to address the issue is by increasing public
awareness around the issue and encouraging members of the public who wish to donate
unwanted items to charity, to check the public Register of Charities.

Irish radio is also carrying advertisements warning people about bogus collectors.

Leaflets and bags received for clothing collections from registered charities should
clearly display the following information the charity’s name, logo. registered charity
number and contact details. Potential donors can assure themselves that any organisation
seeking a donation is a registered charity by checking the publicly available Register
of Charities on the Regulator’s site.

 

## Charities should publicise where they are holding collections

The regulator also said that charities engaged in fundraising by way of clothing
collections from the public, including collections by third parties on the charity’s
behalf, should ensure that they have information readily available to the public
about where they are carrying out collections.

Under Section 41 of the Charities Act 2009 (the 2009 Act) it is an offence for any
person to advertise on behalf of, to invite members of the public to give money 
or property to, or to accept such money or property on behalf of a charitable organisation
that is not registered, or for an unregistered charitable organisation to carry 
on such activities.

The [Irish Charities Regulator](http://www.charitiesregulator.ie) liaises with An
Garda Síochána in respect of these matters on an ongoing basis and advises anyone
who suspects a charity is not legitimate to contact An Garda Síochána.

The Charities Regulator’s public update document contains examples of labels in 
respect of clothing collections by organisations that are not registered charitable
organisations, which were brought to our attention by members of the public.

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