A frugal life is an easy life!

Weeks after registering a complaint in writing, via the Charity commission's own website (charitycommission.gov.uk) we finally have a response to our complaint, regarding Little Treasures Children's trust - posting collection bags and returning to collect them on our street, without having a valid license to do so.

"Thank you for your email.  Although it is some weeks since you sent this to the Charity Commission, I would like to assure you that your concerns have been brought to the attention of the Commissions Compliance team about the manner in which the charity is operating.  We have received a number of complaints about this charity and are currently in the process of looking into these matters. 
Part of the our role is to evaluate causes for concern, and if substantiated, ensure they are rectified, either through the use of statutory powers or by providing regulatory guidance and advice to the charity trustees.

At this stage, I can only advise that it is up to you to decide if you should support this charity in the future."

"We have received a number of complaints about this charity and are currently in the process of looking into these matters"
According to charity commission telephone advisors, no charity complaint is investigated unless the commission receives around 3000 similar complaints.
I was advised that if I submitted the complaint in writing it would go "on file" until such time as a sufficient number of complaints were received, then and only then would it be investigated.

Should it not be the case, that it matters not wether it is one person making the complaint or three thousand people. If the complaint can be substantiated then it should be dealt with?

"Part of the our role is to evaluate causes for concern, and if substantiated, ensure they are rectified, either through the use of statutory powers or by providing regulatory guidance and advice to the charity trustees."
"Evaluate causes for concern?"
This charity are making collections for clothing illegally. Is this not cause for concern enough?
"If substantiated?"
One simple phone call to the chief licensing officer of my local council - which I provided with the complaint - would substantiate my complaint instantly. The licensing officer at my local council would confirm that both Little treasures children's trust and East London Textiles (ELT) that collect on their behalf, have never applied for, or been granted a license to post bags or make street collections in our licensed area.
On the collection I registered a complaint for, I even gave the name of one of the five staff working at Little treasures children's trust, who told me a catalogue of lies about what was going on and the same person who ADMITTED that it was one of little treasures children's trust's own vans that carried out the collection, without a license!
"Ensure they [charity complaints] are rectified, either through the use of statutory powers or by providing regulatory guidance and advice to the charity trustees?"
In this case, we have a complaint substatiated by a chief licensing officer for a local council, the neighbourhood police officers, a member of the charity staff themselves.
Other cases up and down the country, even have trading standards in other areas advising not to give to this charity's collections and local councillors in other areas refusing license applications on the grounds that the company making collections on behalf of the charity are making excessive profits for the collection to be deemed charitable.
Which begs the question:
If the charity commission have statutory powers, why are they not being used to stop this practice?

"At this stage, I can only advise that it is up to you to decide if you should support this charity in the future."
Is that it?
That's the best the charity commission can do?

After the stringent cuts in funding for public bodies/quangos that has just come into force, it might reassure you to know that this year's funding for the charity commission, that comes from taxpayer's money, is £29 MILLION. This falls gradually to £21 MILLION by 2015.
I don't believe that the charity commission are doing what they were put in place to do.
Yet another "talking shop" who discuss and market their own importance, yet don't actually DO anything.

The law clearly states that advertising for doorstep collections (leaflets/collection bags) and visiting areas with a van making collections, without a license, in a licensing area, is illegal.

It is worth reiterating, that charities that collect in this way without a license, are taking away vital funding opportunities from legitimate charities and misleading the public, making people less inclined to donate to charities in the future. Harming charitable causes as a whole, is supposed to be one of the charity commission's priorities?

This complaint is a perfect example of there being in place a simple piece of law, designed to stop pushing leaflets/collection bags through our front doors and visiting our areas without a license, stopping companies collecting on behalf of a charity, whilst making excessive profit using a charity's name, which is not being enforced by the police, local councils, trading standards and quangos set in place to protect the general public.

Related posts:

Little treasures children's trust - clothing collection scam

Little treasures children's trust threaten frugal ways with court action