Boss hits out as charity call firm goes bust
A CALL centre boss exposed by the Daily Mail said yesterday that charities must take more responsibility for ‘fundraising that happens under their watch’.
Giuseppe I antosca also announced the closure of his fundraising agency GoGen, which our investigation caught using high-pressure tactics.
The company, which worked for the NSPCC, British Red Cross, Oxfam and Macmillan, was revealed to be targeting the elderly and vulnerable, telephoning people on the Government’s ‘nocall’ list and taking money from dementia victims.
The Prime Minister quickly intervened to announce a new law to curb the shameful practices exposed by the Mail.
Mr Iantosca said: ‘Whether we knock on doors, stop people in the street, telephone or mail them, it needs to be done in a more responsible way, with clearer guidance, more support and less pressure.
‘ It is vitally important that charities and industry bodies take more responsibility for the fundraising that happens under their watch, including that of the agencies they instruct to carry out their work.’
The unscrupulous fundraising tactics of big charities were laid bare in the Mail investigation earlier this month. An undercover reporter spent three weeks on campaigns at a GoGen call centre in East London.
Staff were found to be asking dementia sufferers to commit to direct debits and to give bank details over the phone.
Fundraisers were ordered to be ‘brutal’ when asking for money and told that members of the public ‘have no excuse’ not to give, even if poor or elderly. Charity supporters as old as 91 were
‘No excuse not to give’
being repeatedly telephoned and asked to give more money, even if they opted out of calls.
The Prime Minister’s new law will force charities to have legally binding agreements wi t h fundraisers to show how they will protect the vulnerable.
Charities with a turnover above £1million were ordered to document how they monitor fundraisers to make sure they do not exploit potential donors.
Mr Cameron also announced a wide-ranging review of the whole fundraising sector, chaired by Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. The Mail’s revelations prompted investigations from the Fundraising Standards Board and the Information Commissioner’s Office, while MPs on the public a dministration c o mmittee threatened to haul charity bosses to Parliament to explain themselves.
Downing Street is understood to be considering imposing more far-reaching statutory regulation if charities do not mend their ways.
Announcing his intervention, Mr Cameron had said: ‘Charities undertake vital work, bringing communities together and providing support to the most vulnerable members of our society.
‘But the conduct of some fundraisers used by them is frankly unacceptable and damages the reputation of the sector as a whole, which is why we are introducing a law to make sure charities raise funds in the right way.
‘I’d also like to express my thanks to the Daily Mail for bringing this to light.’
GoGen has closed i ts f our offices after charities suspended their contracts with the firm because of the Mail’s findings.
Mr Iantosca said it was likely GoGen would enter a formal insolvency process next week.