CHARITY SCAM – AGAIN!!!

We all thought we had heard the last of the charity scams. We all thought that the law had been tightened up. We all thought that confidence had been restored in the charitable sector in Scotland. We all thought that scoundrels like Tony Freeman (Breast Cancer Research Scotland) would never again line their own pockets from charitable donations. Well, we were all wrong.

Welcome Rosebud (UK) Ltd – a company dedicated to “supporting children with cancer related illnesses”. Rosebud (UK) Ltd is a private limited company and is owned by Bruno Schultz, formally of the disgraced children’s charity, Moonbeams. Four years ago, Mr Schultz was accused of raising £300,000 for Moonbeams but handing over just £50,000.

Rosebud (UK) Ltd raises funds by selling a single double-sided sheet of A4 paper, disingenuously named a ‘newsletter’, door-to-door, by paid collectors, for the princely sum of £3. “To date we have donated over ¾ million pounds from the proceeds of the Rosebud newsletter to help children with cancer related illnesses” the newsletter boldly states. Aye, right – and how much were the collectors paid; how much is going in Mr Schultz’s pocket?!

So, what’s the loophole for the latest scam? It’s very simple. Rosebud (UK) Ltd is not a registered charity. Therefore, it does not fall under the scrutiny of the charity watchdog, OSCAR. Moreover, it states quite clearly on its ‘newsletter’ that it is a UK registered company, so technically it is not breaking the law. As a limited company, it is able to take as much ‘expenses’ from charitable donations as it wishes – which is just what Tony Freeman did to pay for his executive car and his villa in Greece, where we assume he is now luxuriating after his very short jail sentence.

Please, please do not give money to door-to-door collectors unless you are 100 per cent sure that they are collecting on behalf of a bona fide charity – even then, think carefully. Would your money be better spent going direct to the community e.g. to a ward at your local hospital; to a local hospice; or to a children’s home?

It doesn’t matter if the collector can show you a newsletter, an ID, a company number, a collecting box or whatever. If you’ve never heard of the charity, don’t be duped into giving money to a ‘good cause’. We know it is very difficult to say “no” to what seems like deserving causes but sadly, crooks, like Tony Freeman, are still around. So be very cautious.

And if you suspect that someone is collecting monies under false pretences, please contact your local police station where someone can check out whether a licence/permission has been obtained from the local council for the collection.