MORE residents have been conned into donating clothing to bogus collectors they believed to be charities.
Scarborough’s neighbourhood watch co-ordinators have warned of another clothing collection scam circulating in the area.
The say leaflets asking for donations of clothing, shoes and household items are being distributed to residents.
The warnin
g follows a similar spate of incidents last December when it was revealed bogus groups were posing as charity collectors –even stealing bags meant for registered charities.
Peasholm area co-ordinator, Sue Rayner, said: “The leaflets state goods will be sent to third world countries, orphanages and eastern Europe.
“Three different glossy coloured leaflets have been posted through one householder’s letterbox within the last fortnight, no plastic bags are provided.”
She warned: “Many of these leaflets quote a limited company name and registration number.
“This shouldn’t be confused with a charity number.
“A few that are still registered companies, not charities, do run as a business – they actually sell on the clothing cheaply to deprived countries.”
She added: “If we put items in bags for them with their leaflets attached then we are voluntarily giving things away – they are doing nothing wrong by collecting it.
“Some householders did put bags out for collection.
“It’s such a shame when we have lots of local reputable charities doing the same thing and they usually provide printed plastic bags too for us to donate goods in.”
l Anyone wanting to check on whether companies or associates are registered charities they can telephone the Charity Commission on 0845 3000218 or visit www.charity-comm ission.gov.uk
The full article contains 272 words and appears in Scarborough Evening News newspaper.
