Frequently
Asked Questions
1. How can people who are
wondering whether to authorise a collection check in advance if it is in
order? E.g. a manager of a supermarket or pub?
2. Can I, as a shopper, tell
whether a collection in a store is genuine?
3. Has any support been shown
for the Charity Check system elsewhere?
4. Does not registered
charity status give some guarantee of respectability?
5. Can I ring Charity Check to check whether a current
collection is genuine?
6. How can
I check online whether a direct debit (or “face-to-face”)
collection is in order?
1. How can people who are wondering whether to authorise a
collection check in advance if it is in order? E.g. a manager of a supermarket
or pub?
A good yardstick for minimum precautions is set out in a Motion passed
unanimously by the London Assembly on 1st November 2000
The Motion
A. Welcomes the spread of the Charity Check system, and
B. States that, well in advance of the collection, you need to check that
1. The charity is reputable not merely registered, and
2. The collector or organiser genuinely acts for the charity.
The Charity Check system, which is used by licensing authorities in several
regions and
by many retail managers, enables these enquiries to be made easily.
The London Assembly Motion
is a useful antidote to the traditional official advice. For example, owners
of such premises have been wrongly re-assured by the Charity Commission’s
advice to the public that it is possible to check a charity collection merely
by the presence of a charity number, and by checking the quality of the ID.
The Commission's advice published 12/12/2000 is an example.
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2. Can I, as a shopper, tell whether a collection in a store is genuine?
CONTRARY TO PAST OFFICIAL ADVICE, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN BE SURE JUST BY
STARING AT THE COLLECTOR’S DISPLAY OR LOOKING OUT FOR A CHARITY NUMBER.
Do not assume the management has checked the validity of the collection, and
do not assume that the presence of a registered number guarantees validity.
You can ask the management whether they observe the “London Assembly yardstick.”
- see above. The yardstick laid down in the London Assembly Motion was
devised by Charity Check.
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3. Has any support been shown for the Charity Check system elsewhere?
Yes - over 200 MP s have signed Commons Motions commending the Charity Check
system. There has also been exceptionally strong support for the system at
the National Assembly for Wales. In the Scottish Parliament there has been a
strongly worded Motion, not about Charity Check itself, but on the general
principles involved, including the fatal defects in the official advice,
meaning advice from central government agencies in London.
See "Motions"
for details
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4. Does not registered charity status give some guarantee of
respectability?
NO - the most eminent authorities agree that a registered
charity number, even if genuine, gives no such assurance.
The evidence for that statement is overwhelming.
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5. Can I ring Charity Check to check whether a current collection is
genuine?
Unfortunately not; such checks need to be made long in advance of the
collection, and therefore such checks should in practice be made by the
person authorising the collection.
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6. How can I check online whether a direct debit (or “face-to-face”)
collection is in order?
You can check whether the charity states that it conforms to Home
Office Guidance issued in November 2003, by going to the Charity Conformance
section of our new web site http://www.charitycollections.org/homeofficeguidance.html.
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