Members of the public must remain on the lookout for charity scams and dodgy house-to-house collections as the holiday season approaches.
While many have seen the bags and stickers coming through their letterboxes asking for donations of unwanted clothes, most of these are not from registered charities, the Gardaí warned today.
The Charities Regulator and An Garda Síochána have once again joined forces to warn members of the public about dodgy charity collectors who try to take advantage of the holiday goodwill this time of year.
So far this year, the Charities Regulator has had 75 reports from the public expressing concern about people or organisations operating house-to-house collections for unwanted clothing and other goods.
Charities Regulator Chief Executive Helen Martin said she is concerned by the number of suspicious collections taking place, particularly those asking for clothing donations.
Ms Martin said: “The majority of concerns received by the Charities Regulator from members of the public continue to focus on individuals and organisations who are carrying out house-to-house collections, but are not registered charities.
“Only registered charities are regulated and it is unlawful for any group to falsely claim to be a registered charity.
“We believe 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,” Ms Martin added.
Meanwhile, Garda Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said anyone concerned about door-to-door collectors can contact their local garda station.
She said: “It is important that while supporting charities people have confidence in the charity they are donating to.
“If you are concerned about people calling to your door, or soliciting donations please tell the caller that you never engage with people ‘cold calling’ to your door and you’ll donate directly to the charity yourself.
“You can always check the collection is authorised by calling the charity directly using details from their official website or by obtaining the charity’s details from the Charities Regulator website.
“If you think a caller or collection is bogus please report it to your local Garda Station.”
Members of the public can check whether an organisation is a registered charity by going onto the Charities Regulator website.
