Forum Topic

Manacare '' Charity'' clothes collection

Just noticed we have had their plastic bags pushed thru our door. Seems to have a bit of a dodgy past; accounts not submitted, being struck off. Their website seems designed to try and pull every  possible human heart stringJust also had a look for the Montenegrin charity shop near Morrisons; it says its a charity, is it?

Jeremy Beckett ● 6341d30 Comments

I now assume all those things asking for old clothes are scams - they never seem to be legit charities - so the bags go straight in the plastics recycling...I'd rather take old clothes to a charity shop on the High St. At least you know those are for real.

Sara Nathan ● 6341d

In the past there have been reports that bags containing donations for Gt.Ormond Street Hospital etc. have been stolen from front gardens by some unscrupulous collectors.One wonders just how many of these organations collecting for charity are genuine.How do they get a Charity Number - or do these people have a Charity Number?

Jean F Fernandez ● 6340d

Mostly they don't have one - it's a good guide but means you have to read the bag carefully.

Sara Nathan ● 6340d

I always think they are a bit dodgy when they have a yahoo/msn/google email address.

Teresa Byrne ● 6340d

Apparently the price of recycled textiles has been soaring and the scammers can make loadsamoney.

Susan Kelly ● 6340d

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/05/2009_18_thu.shtmlYes, listen to this.  Legitimate charities are having their bags collected or 'stolen' by others.I looked up Manacare some time ago and they are at least listed as a charity!

Philippa Bond ● 6340d

Just a few weeks back i put out some clothes for the British Heart Foundation.....the bag clearly marked, and lo and behold a white van drove by, stopped and went to take the bag but i rushed out and asked to see their ID....driver was unable to speak English and or understand me and beat a hasty retreat.Same with clothes i have put out for recycling collection day......van pulls up and takes the clothes.....sadly that time i was not so quick on my feet to catch them before they drove off.

Ellie Rose ● 6340d

Yes, I was going to say a white van collects because I happened to see this one day and they noticed me. Of course it may have been the legitimate collectors but it may also have been the fact that they noticed me instead of just going about their business which drew my attention.Last week's You & Yours had an item on this (referenced in my posting above which can be listened to again).  Real charities are suffering in this downturn and from the thieving of clothes left out for them. http://www.charityshops.org.uk/  may help you find a charity.  Some will collect.  Don't get a parking ticket delivering to them or that will sour the effort and keep on giving!

Philippa Bond ● 6340d

sqaw the manacare van out this morning before 7am collecting and when i got to horn lane he was taking donataions from the acton recycling centre please give your clothes to the shops during the day so they can take them in the manacare van i saw had PL reg

Mark Ryan ● 6339d

I looked at the bag we got - it does have a charity number but I haven't checked it out

Sara Nathan ● 6339d

Also don't forget that there are Scope or Salvation Army textile banks with many of the neighbourhood recycling banks (street recycling banks) as well as banks at the Reuse & Recycling Centres.  There is a lot of choice and here is the reference for the list of LBE ones (too long to print out here):http://www.ealing.gov.uk/services/environment/recycling/neighbourhood_recycling_banks/

Philippa Bond ● 6339d

A recent post on one of these sites, I forget which, mentioned an auction firm benefiting Great Ormond Street Hospital. The word kids was in its title, which always raises my hackles, and looking closely I observed the auctions were in Manchester which struck me as odd as there are certainly some children's hospitals closer to Manchester than GOSH. However the site did display the GOSH registered charity number (as indeed they are obliged by law). I checked with GOSH whether they were aware of this firm claiming to be acting for their benefit, and was told they were aware and had benefited.  What I did not know, and do not know how to find out short of doing an audit, was who actually ran these auctions, what was their track record and how much the auctions made for whoever ran them and how much money seeped across to GOSH.

Dan Filson ● 6339d

The last bit is the really important one isn't it? What proportion of the money made by organisations purporting to be charities actually gets to the charitable prurpose?I imagine there is harity Commission gguidance but don't know what it is - also there are very many more charities than the commission can ever get round to so they do a risk-based regulation and some may slip through.

Sara Nathan ● 6339d

There are two risks - sloppy management , if any at all, of the charity itself, and people collecting for charity who "forget" to pass on all/most/any of what they collect.

Dan Filson ● 6339d

Charity continued fundraising after removal from registerBy Paul Jump, Third Sector Online, 22 August 2008 An international aid charity has been reprimanded by the Charity Commission for continuing its fundraising activities using a Gibraltar charity number after it was struck off the England and Wales charities register.The Manacare Foundation was registered with the commission in 2005 with the object of "relieving the suffering of people of all ages", and had an income of £70,000 in 2005/06. The commission deregistered it last year when it was removed from the companies register after it failed to submit its annual accounts to Companies House.The commission told Manacare's trustees that they could no longer fundraise, but learned from trading standards officers that the foundation was still running a charity shop that displayed a Gibraltar charity number.The commission was also concerned that the trustees had been unaware the foundation had been struck off the register of companies until they were told by the commission 12 months later.An independent adviser with experience of trusteeship and business was appointed by Manacare's trustees and volunteered to become a trustee himself after visiting the charity's work in Sri Lanka. He submitted the missing accounts for the past three years and promised to review Manacare's administration. The commission will check on progress in six months.The charity was restored to the register of companies in January and was then reinstated to the charity register.The commission's inquiry report says: "Trustees should take seriously their responsibilities to comply with requirements for the submission of accounts and annual returns. Commission policy is to remove charities from the register if they fail to comply in submitting accounts and annual returns. We take this as evidence of it ceasing to exist."

Ellie Rose ● 6339d

Oh well done Ellie! What a sleuth.My bag arrived last week - with a prominent CC number on it. Maybe we should tell them.

Sara Nathan ● 6339d

I'd like to suggest that you bring any clean, unwanted clothing, etc. to Acton Homeless Concern (Emmaus House).  What isn't handed out to the homeless is "sold" to a legitimate clothing recycling company, the funds generated then used to provide meals.  A very worthy, above board, local charity which benefits the immediate community.

Kim Bobsin ● 6338d

Those who are concerned about Manacare, or any other business purporting to be a 'Charity', which they think is not - should contact Ealing Council's Environmental Health Trading Standards Department.They will investigate the matter under the Consumer Protection rules and regulations.If something is amiss, they will take the appropriate action.

Dee Cook ● 6338d

Those who are concerned about Manacare, or any other business purporting to be a 'Charity', which they think is not - should contact Ealing Council's Environmental Health Trading Standards Department.They will investigate the matter under the Consumer Protection rules and regulations.If something is amiss, they will take the appropriate action.

Dee Cook ● 6338d

I have donated to Acton Homeless Concern in the past - good idea everyone!

Jean F Fernandez ● 6338d

Lots of this stuff used to be shipped to Poland and sold in second-hand shops (I saw the bags out there in the 90s). I can only presume that it is now going further south and east. Nothing wrong with that (it is primary recycling), so long as the collectors are upfront about the fact that they have a commercial purpose.

John Theodore Clark ● 6338d

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/RegisterOfCharities/SearchMatchList.aspxThis you can do either by number or by name.You do need to support your local charities though.  They often need volunteers... as well as contributions.Maybe not everything gets through but without anything being given nothing will get through.

Philippa Bond ● 6338d

Montenegrin charity shop near Morrisons; where is it? I have so many friends from Montenegro that never mentioned it and I am sure some of them will know if its a genuine charity or not

Veki Pavlova ● 6337d

The charity may well be genuine, I have no idea. The reality is that there is a world-wide trade in rags, which are divided up into those that can be re-sold eg in Africa, those that can be torn apart into rags and so on. This trade is a purely commercial one. Whether the charity shops etc get a fair whack if they pass on donated clothes to these wallahs will depend on how hard-nosed they are. Relatively few charity shops re-sell in England the donated clothes, for example there is an Oxfam in Chelsea somewhere that has first division name fashion clothes (nothing to do with football) that are worth a fortune; but it is a rare exception.

Dan Filson ● 6337d

Oxfam opened a charity 'boutique' in Chiswick High Road last year. This was one of three - there is one also in Westbourne Grove as well as the Chelsea one.They also have an online second hand bookshop and apparently also sell or auction Oxfam experiences.  So if you have designer clothes to give away you could give them to Oxfam or auction them on ebay for charity (there is a special section).However if you have somewhere nearby such as Kim has suggested that'll use the clothes then why not take advantage of it.  Even holey socks can be recycled according to LBE's Recycling Officer so you can even put these in a carrier bag in your green recycling box.Certainly nobody benefits if you just end up putting them in the bin - in fact it is just the opposite!http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/

Philippa Bond ● 6337d

Ellie Rose ● 5912d

Strange I did not start this post!!!

Jeremy Beckett ● 5912d

If you really mean that, check with the Editor that there are not two Jeremy Becketts. The ActonW3 site allows duplicate names, and does not warn about them.It happened to me, hence the middle M to distinguish me from another Ian Green.

Ian M Green ● 5912d

Doh!, it is my thread, I didn't realise it was an old and resurrected one

Jeremy Beckett ● 5912d

Yes, I've been confused by Lazarus threads a few times.

Ian M Green ● 5912d