Public Servant Lifestyle

The findings of a new report from the Charity Commission reveal just how easy it is to guard against fraudulent charity collectors. According to the survey Londoners are the UK’s most generous when it comes to giving to collections claiming to be for emotive causes.

These finding emerge in a Charity Commission survey by the NOP Research Group.

Bogus

However, Londoners are as bad as the rest of England when it comes to checking to see if the collection is legitimate or not - with around 1 in 3 saying they didn't usually check before handing over cash. Interestingly, when giving reasons why they didn't check, Londoners were way above the national average in responding “Can't be bothered”. A sign of the stressful pace of London life? Maybe, but perhaps more revealing is that Londoners showed one of the highest scores when it came to not knowing how to check up to see if the collection is genuine.

Generous Welsh

Also among the findings of the Charity Commission was the fact that while people in Wales are generous in their giving, they may be being taken for a ride by bogus collectors during the season of goodwill - because they are too trusting.

While over 40% of people surveyed UK-wide said they were more likely to give if approached at Christmas, this figure rose to 50% in Wales. Yet astonishingly, over one third of people surveyed in Wales claim they wouldn't usually check to see if the collection was legitimate before handing over cash. And the main reason? While people surveyed gave a variety of reasons ranging from “not enough time” to preferring to give to favourite charities, the biggest reason given nationwide was “everyone trusts charity collectors”. The Welsh trust levels here were 44% against a national average of 27%.

Interestingly, Welsh folk were also above the national average when it came to not knowing what to look for - with 19% of those surveyed saying they wouldn't know how to check.

Charities do great work at Christmas and deserve all the support they can get. But to make sure it isn't also good news for bogus collectors, the Commission is highlighting its Safer Giving Code for people out and about this Christmas who might be approached by charity collectors.

The Safer Giving Code

The Charity Commission recommend looking out for the following before giving to a collector:

Licence. Does the charity collector have a licence to collect? In almost all cases local alone authorities issue collection licences. Apart from occasional charities with special Home Office exemption, the police have the authority to issue collection licences in some districts of London.

ID badge. Do they display a genuine and unaltered ID badge?

Charity registration number. Does the collecting box carry a charity registration number?

Collecting box. Is the seal of the collecting box undamaged?

The collector. Can they describe the charity's work in sufficient detail and tell you how much of the money will go to the charity?

Be Generous But Be Wise

Simon Gillespie, Director of Operations at the Charity Commission says: "There are unfortunately cheats who prey on the generosity of people, especially at Christmas - but charity fraud is rare. Our message is 'Be generous but be wise, and don't get caught out by the Christmas conmen."

The Charity Commission's full register of charities can be checked under the section: 'About registered charities' at the organisation's website.

The Charity Commission is the organisation responsible for the statutory regulation of charities in England and Wales. It carries out a wide range of functions, including the registration, monitoring and support of charities and the investigation of alleged wrongdoing.

More information available in Giving