Red Cross rebuked after Mail exposes its cold-call sharks
THE British Red Cross has been chided by watchdogs for its aggressive fundraising practices following a Daily Mail investigation.
The Information Commissioner’s Office condemned the charity for hounding donors on the phone despite the fact they were on no call lists.
It was accused of a ‘major failing’ for not giving the public an easy way to opt out of begging calls. And the charity’s chief executive received a scathing email from the information commissioner, reminding him of the ‘stark reality’ that the public have a right to be left alone.
The crackdown comes after an undercover Mail investigation revealed fundraisers working for the British Red Cross were hounding elderly people – including dementia sufferers – for money using ‘boiler room’ tactics.
But while the ICO’s action has been welcomed, it is also facing criticism for initially failing to pub- lish the results of its probe, with damning emails only revealed by a Freedom of Information request.
The British Red Cross was the biggest customer of the disgraced GoGen call centre exposed by the Mail’s Investigations Unit last summer. Callers representing the charity were found to be targeting people who were registered with the official no call list, the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). They were pestering targets for up to three years after they had cancelled their donations.
The Mail also uncovered pictures of British Red Cross’s executive director of fundraising Mark Astarita dressed as a post box covered in charity appeals and the sign: ‘No junk mail ever’ – appearing to ridicule the notices used by homeown- ers plagued by begging letters. Following the exposé, the ICO launched its own probe. In emails to the British Red Cross, the ICO accused it of phoning people on the TPS without consent and failing to screen numbers against the no call list.
It said the charity did not give supporters a simple way to opt out of receiving marketing – a ‘major failing on which we require you to take action’.
In another email last October, chief executive Michael Adamson wrote to then information commissioner Christopher Graham suggesting a meeting ‘on or off the record’.
He wrote: ‘We have recognised from the beginning of this episode that things need to change ... we are trying to balance off the rights of donors and the wider public with the interests of beneficiaries of charitable services.’
Mr Graham replied: ‘The right way is to comply with the law which exists to safeguard a fundamental right to privacy. This is not a right to be balanced off or traded away. I should be
‘Fundamental right to privacy’
glad to meet you, but such a meeting would not change the stark realities.’
In February, the British Red Cross signed a written undertaking promising to stop aggressive fundraising.
Bosses agreed only to call supporters who have given ‘unambiguous and affirmative consent’. At the time, the ICO praised the British Red Cross for wanting to get things right, but it did not reveal the detail of its damning emails, which have only come to light because of a Freedom of Information request from charity news site Third Sector.
Last night, an ICO spokesman said: ‘We did find some areas of concern, and were pleased that the charity committed to addressing these in a formal undertaking to follow best practice.’
The British Red Cross said: ‘We are committed to maintaining the highest standards in fundraising. The ICO review found that British Red Cross’s fundraising practices are compliant with the law and current guidance.’
The Mail’s award-winning investigation followed the suicide of Olive Cooke, 92, a poppy seller who had been hounded by charities.
Reporters found fundraisers were ordered to be ‘brutal’ and ‘ferocious’ when asking for money. A subsequent government inquiry led to the creation of the Fundraising Regulator.