Charity scam operating in Stoke Newington

Friday, July 16, 2010
6:01 PM

Stoke Newington residents are being warned by a cancer charity about a clothing collection scam operating in the area.

Leaflets from Clothman Ltd have been posted through doors, claiming a donation of £100 will be made to Breakthrough Breast Cancer for ev

Stoke Newington residents are being warned by a cancer charity about a clothing collection scam operating in the area.

Leaflets from Clothman Ltd have been posted through doors, claiming a donation of £100 will be made to Breakthrough Breast Cancer for every tonne of clothes collected.

They feature the pink ribbon symbol, associated with breast cancer, and Breakthrough's registered charity number.

But Chris Askew, director of fundraising at the charity, said Breakthrough has no links to Clothman Ltd: "We do not receive funding from Clothman Ltd and we are saddened that the suggestion of a charity donation is playing a part in this scam."

Anyone wishing to donate unwanted items is urged to take them straight to charity shops to ensure the full value of the donation goes towards a legitimate cause.

A spokeswoman from Hackney Council said that second hand clothing scams are not uncommon: "Scammers appear to take a cleverly targeted approach to the areas they work in, choosing charitable sounding names and company names that reflect the demographic they are trying to appeal to.

"Clothing collection scammers can make a decent profit from the clothes - you can make as much as £85 per tonne for mixed textiles and mid-market name brand items often sell well in developing countries," she added.

Trading Standards has been notified and is investigating Clothman Ltd.

Comments

Please log in to leave a comment and share your views with other London 24 readers.

Email address

Password Login

Forgotten your password?

OR tick the box below to log in using your account with

I have read and accept the terms and conditions

Not a member yet?

Register to create your own unique London 24 account for free.

Signing up is free, quick and easy and offers you the chance to add comments, personalise the site with local information picked just for you, and more.

Sign up now