Hit them like a sledgehammer ... bosses’ callous tips for trapping the vulnerable

‘You put them in a position where they can’t say no’

CHARITIES are prepared to take money over the phone from people with dementia and Alzheimer’s, the Daily Mail investigation found.

Potential donors who reveal they have these conditions or memory problems are asked to commit to monthly payments anyway.

They are simply asked whether they are happy to continue the call. If they reply that they are, telephone fundraisers are then permitted to set up a direct debit over the phone.

One supervisor, Hadley, told the call centre fundraisers to hit members of the public ‘like a sledgehammer’ with demands for money.

Making a punching motion with his fists, he said: ‘I want to see much more ferocious asks. You can really – bang! – hit it hard. Don’t take any prisoners.’

The charities are also prepared to take money from people with a terminal illness – or those who admit they are ‘confused’, ‘getting mixed up’ or ‘have memory problems’.

The practice was a permitted procedure on campaigns for the NSPCC, British Red Cross, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, Oxfam and a string of other charities until just a few days ago. It was only axed after the Mail contacted the charities and the call centre involved last week.

The policy was branded ‘disgusting’ and ‘beyond the pale’ by MPs and campaigners.

An undercover reporter for the Mail spent two weeks working as a telephone fundraiser, carrying out campaigns on behalf of Oxfam and the British Red Cross, among others, at a call centre called GoGen in East London.

The fundraisers, paid £7.30 an hour, are told to be ‘ferocious’ and ‘brutal’ when asking for money.

They are told that the members of the public have ‘no excuse’ not to give – even if they are sick, elderly, disabled, unemployed or in debt.

During one call, our undercover reporter was told to take a donation on behalf of Macmillan from a woman even though she had started to repeat herself.

Another supervisor, Scott, reprimanded a fundraiser – who had been working at the call centre less than a week – for not being ‘tenacious’ with a 91-year-old man who was insisting he could not increase his gift to the British Red Cross.

‘What he was saying to you? He was harshly saying to you he was 91 years old,’ the supervisor said. ‘That doesn’t mean he can’t help, and it doesn’t mean he can’t increase. Yeah? Tenacity.’ For example, he said, she could say: ‘ Wow, you know, you’re 91... if he’s 91, he knows all about the work. Get straight in there, and try again.’

Disturbingly, the scripts make it clear fundraisers can set up direct debits over the phone even in cases where someone has told them they are getting ‘mixed up’, or ‘confused.’

In such cases, they are told to reply: ‘I’m calling on behalf of (name of charity) and I have been telling you about our work and asking if you can help with a direct debit. Are you happy to continue with the call, or would it be better if we left it there and contacted you by post?’

If the person is happy to continue, the fundraiser is told they should proceed, simply checking that the person is able to confirm a few basic details before taking their money.

Even if a person explicitly states they have Alzheimer’s or dementia, the fundraiser is told they can still ask for money. They are told to say: ‘We want to make sure that our calls are to the highest possible ethical standard. I am required to let you know that this is a call involving fundraising, and asking you to make a finan- cial decision. Are you confident and happy to take a call of that nature?’

Baroness Greengross, of the AllParty Parliamentary Group on Dementia and Ageing and Older People, described the practice as ‘beyond the pale’. She said: ‘I am shocked by how the most vulnerable in the whole of our society are being exploited by charities in such a bold and crude way.’ Marilyn Baldwin OBE, founder of the Think Jessica charity, set up to protect elderly people from fraud, said: ‘I am disgusted by the techniques. Sometimes these appeals are little more than emotional blackmail. I am delighted this has been exposed.’

One supervisor, Glyn, told callers that if call recipients refused twice to give money, to respond with a ‘brutal’ third demand for cash which he said ‘really worked a treat’. The fundraisers were ordered to stick closely to the scripts – designed to manipulate impressionable people. One caller said: ‘You just put them in a position where they can’t say no.’

Last night charities defended the policy of taking money from dementia sufferers, saying it had been approved by the Fundraising Standards Board. The FRSB said it had reviewed this but had told GoGen if a call recipient said they were ‘confused’ or have ‘memory problems’, the call should be terminated. It said it was now developing ‘further guidance.’

GoGen said it would be reviewing its procedures and had suspended two members of staff. It added: ‘GoGen do not support, condone or agree with any of the alleged statements made by staff members. As part of our investigation into your allegations we will be reviewing the processes and criteria by which members of staff are inducted.’

The firm also said it would not be asking anyone with dementia or Alzheimer’s for money in future, and had changed its policy as of Friday. It said that policy had been inspired by a belief ‘ age and mental health are not reasons to discriminate against’ those who want to donate.

The British Red Cross said it ‘will not tolerate lapses in maintaining the highest standards to protect the vulnerable.’ Macmillan said it will ‘investigate’ a call in which money was taken from a woman who was repeating herself. It added: ‘We take the claims seriously and are looking into these as a priority.’

Oxfam has suspended all telephone fundraising activity in the light of the Mail’s evidence. The NSPCC said: ‘Any suggestion of inappropriate activity is deeply worrying and we would want any concerns to be raised with us immediately.’