Cold
callers selling charity products and subscriptions
Keep Britain Working - not good
There have been a number of
incidents reported across the UK of individuals going
door-to-door trying to sell merchandise branded with the Keep
Britain Working logo, eg. cloths, tea towels etc. It has been
reported to us that they claim to be young ex-offenders who are
selling these goods as an alternative to crime. We would like
to confirm that these individuals are not in any way associated
with the Keep Britain Working campaign. They
are using the name and logo without permission and are in no
way endorsed by, or part of, this campaign.
Red Cross subscriptions - OK, but ...
The
Red Cross, like many of the larger charities, are now employing
people to knock on doors asking for direct debits
to be completed to make regular payments to the charity. I have
spoken with the Red Cross in the past and they say that they find
more people sign up to the charity using this method.
I have been told that
these door knockers receive approx £50 for every new recruit so that means
that it must take the first year of contributions before the charity actually
benefits from the donations.
I am certainly concerned
that canvassers are knocking on doors asking for bank details.
Comment from Mary O'Toole who has spoken to the Red Cross ...
"The
people knocking door to door are genuine people. Red Cross,
St John and large charities use various Organisations who
do go door to door, they [the individuals] are not employed [directly]
by the Red Cross or any of the other charities. What they should
have is a card giving all their details and what they should
be telling people is that for probably the first 6 or 7 months
not one penny actually goes to the charity, it goes to the organization
they work for. It is the worst possible way of donating money
to the charities, but they do raise quite a considerable amount
of money for them. They do ask people to sign direct debit mandates,
that is not at all unusual, but quite honestly it’s more beneficial
to send a cheque directly to the charity."
Probation callers - not good
There have been reports of males
knocking on resident's doors claiming to be part of a Probation
Service scheme. On several occasions the caller has an identification
badge which appears to be from the Probation Service or a prison.
The
Probation Service does not run this scheme and does not issue
the identification badges. Prison identification is taken back
from prisoners before they are released.
In each case the caller claimed
to have been recently released from prison and trying to make
a fresh start.
A spokesperson from the Probation Service said, "Please
be assured that no probation areas are involved in this type
of resettlement work. Anyone who knows of any person who claims
to be working with the authority of the Probation Service in this
way should contact the police, giving as much detail as possible.
"Our
advice is not to buy from sales people who claim to be part of
this project. The goods or services offered can usually be purchased
at a lower price and better quality than those offered at the
door."
Police advise residents to always check the identification
of callers to their door and to verify their identification by
ringing the organisation they claim to be representing. Do not
invite them into the house. Genuine sales people will not be offended
by these checks. Please report cases to the police on 0845
458 0000.
JANE THIRSK
Watch Officer
Cheshire Police
Macclesfield Neighbourhood Policing Team 0845 458 6371
