Denbighshire residents are being alerted to the problem of commercial firms asking for donations of clothing for third-world countries.
The Council’s Trading Standards service warns that these collections are not for charity and any items collected are likely to be exported and sold abroad rather than donated for needy causes.
Each year in the UK charities lose millions in income because of house-to-house clothing collections by commercial firms who mislead the public into thinking they are for charity.
Householders in the county have reported receiving leaflets this week asking for clothes to be donated to provide help in Eastern European countries and some Third World Countries.
Councillor Sharon Frobisher, Denbighshire’s Lead Member for Environment, said: “After discussing this ongoing issue with Denbighshire’s Trading Standards Officers, I would like to advise residents that if they want to ensure their donated items go to support a genuine charity, they carefully read the adverts or fliers and check for a registered charity number”.
You can check whether a charity is a properly registered on the Charities Commission website at www.charity-commission.gov.uk.
Any Number quoted may ONLY be a registered number for a Limited Company listed with Companies House. A company registration number is NOT the same as a charity registration.
If a collection does not give a registered charity name or number it will normally be a commercial collection where the items collected will be sold for profit. Normally these collections work their way across a region so we would urge all residents to be wise to this practice.’ An alternative for residents to consider, is to contact a local charity shop if they have items they wish to donate.
If you have concerns about a collection then please contact Consumer Direct Wales on 08456 040506.
