Update! (2009-10-28) 3 years later and the Do Not Delay website has been updated. Thanks to this comment for pointing it out. Their About the Project page gives a detailed account of what they do in Lithuania:
Six years ago, the Lithuanian rate of deaths caused by breast cancer was the highest in Europe.DO NOT DELAY, a breast cancer awareness program, was initiated by Agnė Zuokienė in 2003. Today, the number of deaths is significantly lower.
The Do Not Delay team includes professional doctors – specialists of their field who face breast cancer cases on a daily basis.
The Pink Bus travels to the most remote locations in Lithuania to deliver the message to all women – “Take care of your health, pay more attention to yourselves for your own sake and for the sake of those who love you!”
It would appear from this that “Do Not Delay” are in fact a charity in Lithuania. They’re not registered as one in Ireland or the UK however. This report by the Fermanagh Herald covers some of the same concerns I have and I will repeat my advice below. You’re better off handing your clothes in to a local second hand shop. At least then you’ll be certain the proceeds from the sale of those items will go to registered charities in your locality.
The original post continues below:
It’s not unusual for junk mail to be delivered to my door. Thankfully there’s a lot less of it than the electronic equivalent. Over the summer a number of flyers made their way to my doorstep, supposedly from charities looking for old clothes to sell to raise funds. Unfortunately only one of those was from an actual charity and they collected the clothes at a local carpark.
The latest one is from donotdelay.org. I was going to let it pass but my neighbour had a bag out for collection this morning which prompted me to grab the laptop and show them this page on letterbox spam. That page points out that donotdelay.org redirects to nedelsk.lt, which asks for donations to be sent to this bank account in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Azzara VšĮ
Enterprise code 124013046
Account no. LT267044060001204079
SEB Vilniaus Bankas
Bank code 70440
There’s a phone number too, 0044-28-3084-9971, which is a UK number and not exactly encouraging for an Irish person.
How do you spot the fake charity flyers?
- It will have a contact number but it’s more than likely a mobile number. In Ireland, that’s an 085, 086, 087 number. A landline number means that they at least have a base or premises in the country.
- The flyer should have a registered charity number. A registered business number is not the same.
- Ring your local authority and ask if the “charity” is licensed to make door-to-door collections.
- Use the Google search engine to find out about them. Use any registration numbers you find, an identifying website address, even search for text from the flyer. Any charity with the resources to organise a door-to-door clothes collection will have at least some presence on the Internet.
If you do have old clothes to give away, pop them into a bag and bring them into one of the charity shops in your local town or city. They’re always looking for quality saleable items. Here’s a list of Irish charities if you want to donate money. Some well known and reputable charities include Trocaire (they even have an rss feed!), Bothair and Simon Community.
If you live in the UK, this page has some useful information including how to report a fake charity.
“Do Not Delay” collect money for breast cancer research but you would be better off making a donation to The Irish Cancer Society who will put your donation to good use.
I’ll update this post from time to time with thumbnails and summaries of flyers that hit my door. Check back often!
Just as I was wondering when donotdelay would collect their clothes I spotted an old blue van parked outside. It’s a Dublin reg vehicle and quite old, given that it’s a van and presumably used for business. The reg is “97 D 45516″. I spotted a man in denims walking down the road. He ducked into a house at a corner for a moment then walked up a hill out of sight. I waited a few minutes and he returned with a woman. Both got into the van, drove down to the end of the cul-de-sac and about 5 minutes later drove past again. On closer examination of the photos below I recognised the top of the heart shaped flyer they had in their hands. One was delivered here a few weeks back. I might have it arond here somewhere.
Update: Another blogger received the same flyer. Hopefully someone will search online for “Clothing Collection For Breast Cancer Prevention Programm”.
2006-11-21 – a new leaflet was dropped in the door a few minutes ago. It has an Irish mobile number, 0876815133, and reg. no. 382101. No sign of a charity number.
Not every family in developing countries can afford to buy new, often expensive clothes, footwear and household things.
If you search for their reg no. the first link is a pdf file (view as HTML) from Dublin City Council. Councillor Naoise O’Muiri asked, in a question to the City Manager, if he can
confirm that the following agencies currently engaged in collections in the City Area have all applied for and received Permits: …
“Unwanted Clothing Collection”, no Reg No given, 087 0552513
He replied:
The Collectors referred to by the Councillor do not have a waste collection permit from Dublin City Council.
Chances are they’re collecting ilegally in Cork too.
2006-11-29 – “Thank you for help” – another flyer appeared this morning before 8am, they’re out early! Identifying text includes the above badly constructed sentence and: “we urgently need clothing that you and your family may never wear again” and “Company Reg. Nr. 5655565A”, “Phone: +353851670878″ – another mobile number. No landline, address or charity number.
2006-12-05 – “We support Orphanages.” just fell in the door. Here are their details: Reg. no. 9027839, phone 085-1337528. That’s a mobile phone number.
Update! I have set up a new site, Clothingcollection.org where I post details about all the fake charity leaflets I get. I’m sure you’ll recognise a few of them!
You might also like
- Do any real charities collect clothes?
Those with a long memory may recall my do not- Stop sending me junk mail Chorus
The previous owners of my home had a Chorus box- Filter spam through Postfix and Spamassassin
It has been a long time since I used and
If you like this post then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You can also click here to subscribe by email. There are also my fabulous photos and funny videos to explore too!
Hey Donncha,
Nice set of information there on the charity scammers. FWIW – An actual friend of mine works for Enable Ireland. They also do these door-to-door collections, dropping bags through letterboxes and collecting them some days later. He has told me that they are finding it increasingly difficult due to the actions of these scumbags. Just last week, they were collecting bags in a particular Cork City suburb, when they were approached by a number of men driving old beat-up transits. These charmers proceeded to slash the tyres of the van used by Enable. They also threatened my friend and the volunteers who accompanied him – telling them ‘This is our effing turf – now eff off’. The nice boys in question were a mix of Corkonian scum, Dublin scum and some foreigners, showing that scumbagetry is an equal opportunities employer.
Regards,
Daniel
11/06/2009
Just had a sticker from JSD Clothes Collection Appeal. There is no charity registration number, just a phone contact number. I am thinking of stickinging on my household refuse bag and saving cost of refuse collection. Apparently JSD are a clothes recycling company based in the North of Ireland
I checked out JSD they say they are associated with several charities they sponsor and make donations is this the same as actually collecting for the charity. Check out JSD (NI) ltd and let me know if they are geniune please
Thanks for the info. I have received these, I believe (I’m in Dublin 14). Even after reading this I am still finding it hard to believe this actually happens. What do they do with the clothes? I read on one of the links you have there that they sell them to poor people, but where do they sell them? It’s weird to think that there are spammers so desperate they’ll try and rob your old clothes!!
I don’t understand. What do they do with the old clothes? How do they profit?
At a guess, I’d say they sell them like any legitimate charity does.
We got one of these flyers here in Bournemouth this week. I am feeling especially miffed because my wife got diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer last week.
The pick-up date is tomorrow and I will be at work. Otherwise I would keep an eye out for these scum bags and express my opinion in very forthright terms!
Surprisingly, there is money to be made from 2nd hand clothes. This particular scam was featured in the BBC program “The Real Hustle” where they set up a vintage clothes store. And made a significant amount of money in the process.
Clothes recycling is an industry. Basically the trick is to get as good quality a supply as possible. Then you take out the best stuff to sell on to second-hand clothes merchants, and then move on the rest to the next guy. Then he will filter out the stuff he can sell second-hand in his market (say, Eastern Europe). The next guy down the line will be looking stuff for an even poorer economy. Finally, whatever is left will be sent for shredding. There are rates per tonne for all the different grades, I think.
It is worth saying that you really should have a waste collection permit to be in this business. The council should prosecute anybody in the game who does not.
I’ve got bad news for you all. These scum bags are part of an international gang who use the leaflets as an excuse to be on the streets and steal from legitimate charities.
In Wales, England and Scotland I’ve been working for children’s hospitals (Great Ormond Street, Alder Hey, Sheffield and Birmingham Children’s Hosptials) to try and stop the thefts. These hospitals and charities are losing over 2 million GBP a year to these theives – yes that’s over 3 million Euros.
It’s despicable that they can steal from most sick and seriously ill children.
We are about to update our website with details but urge the public to carry on giving doorstep donations to REGISTERED and LEGITIMATE charities only.
If you notice anything suspicious call the police immediately and give the registration number of the theives vehicle.
Well spotted Donncha!
This subject was featured in the Irish Times a fortnight ago – I suspect it was the same member of Enable staff referenced by Daniel, above, who was interviewed. He mentioned the same experiences; threaths, intimidation, tires slashed….
Apparently there are a number of criminal gangs at work in Ireland alone (so prsumably a factor of ten again for the UK), and there are more all the time. Competition means violent behaviour towards each other, and legitimate charities get caught in the crossfire. As the lads commented above, the clothes get filtered for locally resaleable, while a lot is ferried and driven to eastern europe, or chucked in a bargain bin. Oddly, they seem to make good money!
It’s not unheard of for them to use fake charity registration, so it’s worth chasing up, and if possible, get the reg for the gardai if proven false. Does anyone have a link for checking charities Reg numbers? An online resource would be handy for filtering the real from the many fakes.
i have just received a label from “used clothing collection programme”, charity no xn 56712, tel 087 0667323 (from 9.00am till 12.00 noon), is this another con
Wondering about Homeless Orphans in Kenya Used Collection Drive in Bandon, Innishannon and Ballinhassig, Co. Cork on 7th December. Is this a legitmate charity since web site is inaccssible and only mobile phone number with no Charity Reg. No.?
“Do not delay” leaflets reached Headington in Oxford over in England today. The fraudsters are coming back to collect their swag on Monday. I rang Trading Standards immediately. Some of the people who try to collect from our house are legal but deceitful; but this lot don’t sound legal, as they don’t even have a company number.
This semi-literate Lithuanian drivel has fallen through letterboxes in Hampshire, UK. They don’t say they’re a charity, they don’t say they aren’t. I’d be referring them to Trading Standards except they aren’t trading. We receive loads of these kinds of flyer and ignore them but a percentage of folk won’t so that’s how these characters get their clothing for free. Grubby business. I do so hope they knock on my door …..
They reached wokingham in berkshire, england last week, collection tomorrow morning. Unfortunatly they have caught me at a VERY bad time as I have a funeral for someone very close to me who died of cancer a week and a half ago. If I see them, they’ll have a piece of my mind, i don’t no what else to do?Can you call the police on these people?I’m 19…x
A “Do not delay” flier came through my letter box today. I was suspicious because it had no phone number or charity No. Found your website from a search in Google; it contains very useful information. I live about ten miles north of Belfast. Too late to take action today but I’ll be contacting the charities commissioner on Monday.
A ‘do not delay’ flyer came through my door today too. I don’t know why, but I just immediately felt suspicious and googled to find your interesting information. I live outside Belfast too. I will go to all my neighbours tonight to let them know not to leave any clothes out, and keep an eye out for the van which is due to come round on Tuesday.
i live in london and I found this information after this people took my bag away.I am very upset with myself now not to checking fly before. I put the bag inside of my front garden at 7.20am this morning and a white van came around 7.30am even collection time suppose to be at 9.00am. They waited few minutes infront of my garden door. I was thinking why they were waiting for and i felt suspicious. i started to watch them from door drill and try to see any label for breast cancer charity but i could not. I was going to open the door ask them any proof but i scared it was dark and guy was just one step away from my front door. i tried the get the licence plate but i coud not.
I was realy happy that i was giving my clothes away for good i fell very sad now.
I live in East London, and these flyers have just gone around the block of flats that I live in.
We’ve had scams like this before, but none of them have stooped so low to take advantage of people’s desire to help breast cancer sufferers. This is pretty sick, in my opinion.
How can we raise the profile of this scam, so that there’s no chance of anyone ever falling for it? I hate to think that they’re getting away with this.
Hello,
Maybe do you know some names and contacts to charity organizations from UK or Ireland which organize legally collections distributing their sacks with logo(name) organization not leaflet)? The most interest me organizations which help on example: for children, for children from Chornobyl and different. I don’t know or you know that charitable organizations sell and export used clothes too but they probably really carry help using with got with this sale earnings.
If can you help me, write here or my email: emka66@hotmail.com , please.
Emka,
can you repeat that in English?
The director and 9 employees of the company that distributes these DO NOT DELAY leaflets were arrested on 15 January for stealing donations from Great Ormond Street children’s Hosptial, Marie Curie Cancer Research and British Heart Foundation.
Do not delay is the name used on leaflets by a company called Intersecond.
It appears that these scammers are thieves as well as frauds. If you get one of their leaflets, report it to trading standards and if you see them stealing from other charities, call your local garda or police.
It is so very sad that these greedy thugs are preying on our charity and the fact we want to help real causes. Don’t let them get away with it. Give your donations to regular charities but watch out for these theieves.
I also received a “breast cancer” leaflet from Intersecond Limited (phone 07983 018041). I reported it to Camden Council, so let’s see what happens.
Interestingly, most of the locations listed above are from quite affluent areas, which fits with the explanation that these people are going after good quality clothes.
But the idea of leaving bags of clothes on the doorstep in an inner city area seems daft, and invites theft. We have a very good and well run Oxfam shop in the Kilburn High Road, which is even open on Sunday, so it’s easy enough to take clothes to a charity shop direct.
We have another organisation that regularly puts out plastic bags for clothes, which is a registered charity – Evergreen Trust reg no 1004289. However, its accounts on the Charity Commission website don’t show much money going to its good causes, and it’s hard to see how a small charity could afford to put out and collect so many plastic bags. I’ve reported them to the Charity Commission but they were not interested.
Thanks for your very clear post on this subject, I’ve added a link to it on a much less coherent post of my own.
We received flyers earlier this week (N15, north London). A friend of mine has been corresponding with the “donotdelay.org” jokers by email, and they are quite intent upon giving him the runaround when it comes to the question of why they are not registered as a charity in the UK. As we expected, really: “We are a registred company (reg. no. 5713257). We work on behalf of Breast Cancer Prevention Charity ‘Azzara’ and donate money to then on regular basis…. If you require any more information,please go to our website
http://www.nedelsk.lt“. Even if this website did refer to a real Lithuanian charity, we have no proof that these collectors are associated in any way with them. Anyone could create a website which redirects to the nedelsk.lt site, and claim to be operating on their behalf.
An interesting follow-up: yesterday was the scheduled collection day by “donotdelay.org” in my neighbourhood. We donated nothing (of course!) but instead received a new flyer (same style/size and semi-glossy paper stock) from the “gentlemen” cruising the street for collections, purporting to be from a different organisation: Orellana Ltd. (a quick google reveals that this name has been associated with the same sort of faux-charitable collections a few months back). Same scam, different flyer.
UPDATE: We received another email from “donotdelay.org”; they claim it is not necessary for them to be registered as a charity in the UK or ROI because Lithuania is now part of the EU. I am quite sure this is not correct but don’t know enough about charity registration to be certain. Just thought I would post it here where some dialogue has occurred.
Hi,
Thanks for the info.
I am always wary of these letters that come into my door.
I live in Galway, and I get different ones every week.
I check out most of them and I get no information on Google at all.
When i checked out this “Do not delay” scam, i found this website.
Im going to go around my area and put my own flyers into peoples mailboxes telling them not to give anything to these cons.
Thanks for the info.
Alan
What can we do to bring this to the attention to our local areas?. I received one of these leaflets and it was easy for me to spot that this was a fake but others can’t. What bothers me is that charities are missing out on the clothing that is intended for them.
Who can we report this to?
Dan
Donotdelay.org collection bag delivered at my house today, Its now reached South East London!!
Will put out the bag on Tuesday as directed with the contents of the cat’s litter tray inside.
Think me and my four sons will stand by with Baseball bats just in case!!
Sending a Cheque to Royal Marsden Hospital here in london. They I am Sure need the funds!!
Cheers
This is my first time here. I put in the Company reg no 5655565A and got my confirmation that this is a phoony charity thing. They are around Ashbourne.
Ref no, Nr.5655565A are doing a lot of mail (sticker) drops in Limerick…0851670878…don’t give to them, they’re NOT a registered charity and are well dodgy.
UK Epsom, Surrey.
Donotdelay.org have leafleted us here. They are due to collect next Tuesday 13th March. Why doesn’t Epsom & Ewell Boro Council catch them redhanded and compound their vehicle??
Re: Dan on Feb 3rd, I’d also like to know who to report it to. I live in Donnybrook, which as many of you may know is quite an affluent area (not for me though, I’m a student!) and we are absolutely inundated with these flyers. Is there an easy way to put a stop to them? I’m not really into the idea of confrontation, obviously, but some of these don’t even have a name or a number of any sort. Just some spiel about helping orphanages, single mothers etc etc. I saw the programme someone mentioned above, ‘The Real Hustle’, on BBC3, and the amount of money these people get away with is shocking. They sell them on as vintage clothing and make a fortune off other people’s good will. Scum!
Do not delay have also reached Lucan. Though I never put bags out, I was going to in this case but something didn’t ring true. It’s a UK phone no (or NI) So glad I looked this up! I’m going to warn my neighbours but what else can we do?
HI I GOT A FLYER.I LIVE IN HORNSEA EAST YORKSHIRE.I PUT CLOTHES OUT BUT THEY NEVER CAME BACK.SO THAT IS WHY I GOT THE EMAIL AND FOUND IT WAS A SCAM.I CARNT BELIVE PEOPLE DO THIS.IT IS A SAD WORLD WE LIVE IN.
SKZ 6037
BLUE TOYOTA VAN
The smae thing is in Ardee, Co .Louth, It goes quiet for a few weeks, then I receive 2-3 flyers a week. Often Eastern Europeans, as I have confronted them many times and stopped to record ther reg, and ring the Gardai, who can/will do nothing. These bhoyos dont be long shifting then.
Lower Earley Reading – Do Not delay leaflet left yesterday to be collected tommorrow Friday 20 April – my day off so will keep a look out. Have reported to TV Police and will report to Trading Standards today.
The “donot delay people” are in Essex. There are so many similar scams that I wonder if they are connected – maybe local “travellers”.
Personally I would not buy or give anything to anyone who only quotes a mobile number – or at the door full stop. There is a good chance they are on the move and dubious.
Local charities deserve the items they are looking for rather than these rag and bone men.
Trading Standards and Local Authorities are unlikely to be interested since the careful wording on the leaflets means they are unliley to be committing an offence (other than not being licensed for collection) any more than the makers of “Utterly Butterly” are in breach of the trades description act. Its all mild deception – irritating rather than criminal.
Paulatepc
the people that collect these clothes get over 400 euros a ton thats why there are so many collections and slashing of tyres.
I live in Karlstad, Sweden. And I recently got a sticker with the same company Reg. Nr. that you wrote about. I thought it was dodgy, so I googled it and found this.
So I thought I’d tell you that these creeps are working internationally now. And also, I’ll send a link of this site to some media here in sweden so they can warn ppl about this scam.
They get everywhere. I live in scunthorpe and i’m always getting these leaflets. Today i got one from do not delay breast cancer. THESE PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO BE STOPPED, AND THE MONEY GO TO THE PROPER CHARITY.
I have lived in my house in Limerick (ROI) about 4 months and must have a flyer for every other day I’ve lived here, none of them seem at all legitimate. This sickens me as I know the locals can be very generous and especially members of the older generation who have lived through poverty in the 40s and 50s go out of their way to help the poor. What can the Gardai / police do about this? Other than collecting vehicle regs what can we do? There seems to be a huge amount of it going on here under everyones noses. If there is this much of it surely someone else has noticed? Looks like its time I actually got off the behind and contacted the local paper or the Guards; but to be honest I dont think anyone in authority will be that interested. Worth a try though and many thanks to the rest of you for setting up this information.
We got a flier titled ‘ developing world appeal’ through our letter box. Nothing unusal in that you’d say but it was put through at 4:30 in the morning. I had heard some noise went and checked it out to discover nothing out of order. I was told in the morning that the leaflet put through the letterbox wasnt there the previous night when we went to bed. The noise that woke me wasn’t a simple leaflet through the letter box for sure, I can only imagine that it was someone checking to see if the front door was open – the doors in our estate, like many modern ones, have doors that you can just walk in unless they’re locked with a key.
It is unfortunate that Enable Ireland, amongst others, are being squeezed out by thugs. I have also heard that most of these dodgey clothes collectors have their final destination of eastern block countries, they make their money. Older leaflets used to mention Africa and 3rd World etc, these only mention Developing countries which basically could be anywhere so no false claim is being made…
I’m all for helping out so we hold out for the legitmate charities or on occasion drop the stuff into a charity shop in town. I know it’s tempting just to get rid of it to the first person that shows up on the door but you’re funding something dodgey that could go onto something more sinister and affect you r someone you know.
Waterford is sported with many of the fradulent flyers. one such is that with a green and white sticker with reg no. 5655565A and Tel No 0851033456
area around Edinburgh got one of these today – was just checking online about them since having the pink breast cancer ribbon on it makes them even more devious and nasty than the usual lot of scam flyers that get delivered and found your site. well done in publicising it!
I have tried to check this alleged charity online and also their charity number but to no joy i beleive it may be a hoax charity, can anyone confirm this for me please?
kindest regards,
Lisa.
I got this flyer in North Lancashire a week ago. The flyer didn’t have stickers, but requested the householder provide their own colection bag (“in an effort to keep costs down”) and attach the paper flyer to it.
Rang Trading Standards, but I can longer get through to my local Council office, instead I was relayed to a regional call centre who took details, and said they’d pass it on to the relevant department “who may ring you for more info”, which quite predictably never happened. They fobbed me off by suggesting I ring the Charities Commission, which I did, but they could only confirm that donotdelay.org is not a registered charity, although they did say “there was an appeal going through”.
I checked the registered collector, Intersecond Ltd, at Company House, and their registered address is on the third floor of a prestigious address – New Bond Street in the Mayfair district of London. Googling the address, 13/14, reveals that a couple of jewellers are also resident in that building. Somehow I cannot see a company registered as a Clothing Wholesalers needing to operate from such an expensive rental, but I’m sure they will think it sounds impressive.
Unfortunately I did not see any collector/vehicle while I was in, or I would have rang the Police with the reg number. The flyer must have been delivered late at night too, I’d picked up a freesheet out of my front porch at 10:30pm on a Friday night and the flyer wasn’t there then, but it was under Saturday morning’s newspaper delivery – I mention this because obviously it sugegsts they deliver the flyers after dark so there’s few witnesses/possible altercations.
Hi I am in Limerick and I can safely say I get at least two of these fraudulent flyers every week it is so frustrating. The flyers are always on the mat when I get up at 7:30 so what the heck time are they delivered – suspicious in its self.
Just got a green and white one USED, UNWANTED SPARE CLOTHES COLLECTION which has reg number 5655565A but not a charity reg number so I assume it is once again a scam.
The annoying thing is now I have two bags of goodish clothes to pass on but all the collections are scams, we never seem to have collections from the original trust worthy charities any more.
Trish, please take your goods to a real charity shop, there are plenty in the high street.
we got the “donotdelay” fliers last week and some people on the road put bags out. but a few days later the arseholes collectin the bags dumped their van around the corner, took the bags out and just put them in aother van and left! few days later they came back from the wheels, police have been called and still havent done anythin, the van is still sittin around there, and they had the cheek to post more stickers this mornin. scumbags!
Hi guys.
Seems the clothing collection scam is kicking off again here in Bray County Wicklow Ireland.
Got a leaflet morning (Wed May 30th) appealing for clothing and textiles.
I left out some stuff with the idea of seeing who turns up and how much they can tell me about the good work they are doing – once I’ve got some discreet snaps with my Nikon telephoto.
This time they are calling themselves ‘Christian Charities Used Clothing Collection Programme’.
Hope this is of help.
Regards.
Simon.
I am receiving this type of layout collection notes every 4-6 weeks with a diffrent company no and web address
I think they are a scam, if you want to donate use the local charity shops.
Excellent article. These sods, or at least some likeminded scum are doing the same thing in Cork. It started about a year back and I see at least 1-2 new stickers through my door each week.
I spoke to the garda about it and they didn’t seem very interested. It’s up to me to phone the scammers and do the detective work before they’d get involved.
Just received a flyer entitled “Breast Cancer Awareness, Clothing Appeal, European Bridge of Health Alliance” no name or charity reg number. I googled all text on the flyer but found no references at all on the Internet.
On the flyer is a UK telephone number : 0044 7731579127. Collection in the Athlone area (Westmeath) is supposedly on Wednesday 20 June 2007. The flyer was wrapped around two pink collection bags. Printed on these bags it said “Collected by I.C.C. Irish Clothing Collection.
I saw a white van with (what I think was a Northern Ireland reg).
Received the same flyer and pink bag as the fellow above — I’m in Rathgar, where pickup is to be Thursday, i.e., tomorrow. Was going to donate something to them until I googled ‘European Bridge of Health Alliance’ and found this blog. Thanks for the info. They’ll get nothing from me now.
hi i`ve spent all day yeasterday collecting clothes and find stuff to be able to give to charity,haing a a new born is not a easy task.
I`ve waited all day for the bags to be collected and nothing happened.Only now I`ve realised is a scum!!
Now I`m left with bags of clothes and no car to take it to a charity shops
regards
Emanuela
Emanuela, if you can find time while you are out shopping, take a few of your items at a time in a plastic carrier bag to the charity shop.
This news needs to be spread on a broader scale and promote more awareness. This sort of information and research is relatively inaccesible to those without the internet etc.
The convenience of these operations to people without cars for example, overides second thought to the background of such organisations.
Can anyone tell me if anything has actually been done against these companies? articles in local newspapers etc? it cant be stopped if people dont know about it.
Holly asks if warnings can be spread wider. I have posted a note in our local parish magazine and asked the publishers of a free magazine to put in a warning.
I have also put up a poster in the local shop window.
It may not have a very wide impact on its own but collectievly the message will get through.
Several County Council websites also have warnings – a Google search on “clothing collectionn scams” bring up items such as.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/features/se_undercover/clothes.shtml
Don’t rely on the authorities to do anything – they are unlikely to get any convictions even after a lot of effort in catching them.
Blogs like these I think are surprisingly effective.
Paul
“Unwanted Clothing Collection” bags.
Another bogus scam being run by Lituainians in a Renualt Master van reg no BHH 637
Have reported them to our local Bobby.
I’ve got the same registered company number for donotdelay, this time under the name of ‘Intersecond Ltd.’ A so-called, authorised stock collector – blimey, they’re cheeky!
“european bridge of health alliance” just delivered to Lisburn, NI. 0044 7731579127 as well…
wandsworth oasis trading company limited, what has happened to it. have they been caught out for the scamming, it seems so…
Clondalkin area – spotted a battered white van reg V516 LOW driving around suspiciously this morning. Stopped to watch them. They stopped suddenly – a guy jumped out and ran into the front garden of a house grabbed a bag and ran back out to the van. This does not strike me as the behaviour of someone collecting legitimately. I think a flyer came in a couple of days ago so I must check what it was for. I glanced at it briefly and noted that it had a telephone number starting with 077, so assumed that it was a fake.
Received the Do Not Delay leaflet today in Lisburn, near Belfast. Phone number quoted is 02830849971, company name Intersecond Ltd, quoting a Donotdelay e-mail address. Just started to fill the bag and then got a bit suspicious so checked it out on-line and found this site. Now I’ll look to see what alternatives I can put in there instead. Thanks.
A lot of there scammers in ireland take the clothes and will ship them to poland to sell. usually dey will say collection starts at 8 and the numbers are always dead ends! DO NOT BE FOOLED!!!!!!!!!!
i think if people want to donate so who metter where clothing goes, me myself when my house clean of old ones im much more happy
Galway
John, your breeding is showing, be careful your thoughtless stupid remarks leave you exposed as dumb and uncaring.
In response to the last stupid comment, of course it matters where your old clothes go. Sites like this remind people that some of these collectors are despicable crooks.
Why support criminal gangs ?
There is now an entry for Clothing Scam Companies at wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_Scam_Companies
And for UK readers a petition to Shut Clothing Scam Companies Down
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ClothesScams/
every second week these leaflets are dropped off in Mullingar , no bags anymore . The collectors never come back on the allocated day so whoever calls first could get 2 or 3 bags regardless of sticker, at the mo the most pop sticker is just a red one with pic of red jacket on it and heading unwanted clothes collection.
do not delay have hit scotland ,flyer arrived tue for collection thur.the wife had a bag filled with newish clothes as the mother in law had just recovered from breast cancer but i thought i better check it out first .total scumbags .keep up the good work
2 bags collected at 7 30am on wed only to be replaced by one for Chernobyl charity .
Dear Good Friend.
I greet you in the name of the Lord.
I am Mrs.Gloria Joseph from Solomon Islands. I am married to Mr. Prince Joseph who worked with our Embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died on the 15th August 2006. We were married for eleven years without a child.
thank
gloria joseph.
And you want me to collect his 500,000 pounds?!!!!
These guys are at it now in Dun Laoghaire and all round Dublin, Ireland. They are members of the travelling community and Polish or other accent of eastern europeans.( i am not pre judging…i deal with both on a nearly day to day basis) I have reported them but the police have to catch them then they can only warn them… What is wrong with society? The leaflet says christian charities and has a charity number. I checked it and it is fake….it even has a prayer on the leaflet. These guys are pros and they make tens of thousand of euros/ pounds by selling these brand names on ebay and exporting the rest for sale in poorer countries. Do your bit and spread the word.
Just received two different sticker leaflets in the door, interestingly enough although it looks like two different charities looking for clothes, the Reg. No. is 292007 on both stickers and the email address clothescollection@gmail.com is also on both. One sticker advises that they support Children’s Foster home Organization No. 195220531 and the other states that the clothes “will be sent to the Ukraine, Africa and some other countries…”. Surely a real charity would not have two different leaflets?
As a rule, I normally throw these stickers in the bin if I don’t recognise the charity and especially if there is no landline on the sticker. In my area, (Dublin 13) we seem to get these stickers in every week!
They are at it in Belfast.
Thinking of leaving a large bag of trash for them.
Kingsize, a friendly warning, these scumbags are violent criminals and have slashed the tyres of genuine charity collectors. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were to tip the trash you left them over your front garden in revenge.
wise up they’re hardly makin a mint with old rags, stops them going to land fill
Joe, you are the one who needs to wise up – read these messages and you will learn a lot.
Joe – you underestimate them! This is big business. If it wasn’t they’d be out there doing something else.
Further reading: Clothing Collection.org
With the 70s and 80s back in style, I just loving vintage clothing from the thrift shops. You can find designers like Chanel and Armani for cheap there. Ebay is great too!
And what relevance has this nugget to do with fraudulent clothes collectors?
Just to let you know got one in the door Sunday 3rd Feb 2008 for collection Tuesday. Why are the Guards not on this if they collect on specific day ????? makes me wonder how I keep from going under.
Thanks! Just got a flyer through the letterbox, the grammar was dodgy, so I thought, let’s Googgle them. Thanks for your work on this issue.
Dirty Red LDV transit registration number: BX51 TOJ delivering pink ‘Do Not Delay’ fliers from a company called ‘intersecond’ in Lisburn area, County Down. There was half a dozen travellers in this vehicle and I believe your home may at risk of theft/burglary when these people are looking in through windows and around your property.
Just recieved a flyer UGANDAN CLOTHING COLLECTION. Its bigger than usual ones and is pink. There is no phone number, no charity number or registartion number of any description so I guess it’s yet another fake. I recieve a few fylyers every weeks but what I have also noticed is that it is the same white van with small sign on the sign that collects no matter how different the flyers may seem.
I gave a bag of used clothes away, but the company didn’t even claim to be a charity. No problem with me – they’re recyling and employing people.
It’s not expensive for anyone to print their own leaflets though…
Yet another unthinking, uncaring idiot.
do not delay came to Nelson and Colne areas of lancashire a couple of months ago,and they keep coming every three to four weeks.
i have notified the police to the scam and still waiting for something to be done about these scumbags.
dont leave any bags out for them and dont let them near your house,these people are travellers
(gypsies)and given half a chance would rob you and think nothing of it.
its about time these lowlives got prosecuted.
They’re in South Dublin today – white van, northern reg. 3 lads posting leaflets. Text reads:
“Please donate for breast cancer prevenstion. If we are able to diagnose breast cancer early enough, we may be able to save women’s lives, Please help by donating any type of ladies, gents and childrens clothes & shoes.”
That is really sick, to think that they are selling them on ebay instead.
This phone is 086 326 8717
What really amuses me is that several of these scam flyers actually ask for donations of cosmetics!!! Do people on starvation diets really use second-hand lipsticks and perfumes??
This alone highlights the fact that they are bogus scammers.
donotdelay.org are distributing bags in Barnstaple, supposedly for breast cancer prevention program. Glad I googled them first and found this site
hi,yuo think that yuo know abaut this job somethink,yuo dont know.its a hard job,its helps people in lithuania and ukrain.these contrys haves so much second hand shops that yuo cant imagine.people need these clothes,and you have it,please help them.nometter what they writting in leaflets but these clothes do good for more people.i know becouse i am from lithuania.
Nesta,
You have missed the point. Our charities are being robbed of two million pounds a year, because the cash is being siphoned off into the pockets of organised criminal gangs who use violence to thwart well-meaning GENUINE charity collectors.
So your cheap coat is depriving the NHS of funds to pay the wages of nurses caring for terminally ill patients.
Now do you get it?
hi nesta,re your comment,yes the clothes are needed in some of these countries,but the bottom line is that the irish travellers and lithuanian mobsters are the criminals behind
the do not delay organisation.
the clothes they collect end up in car boot sales or sold on ebay for profit,very large profit i might add,they keep the money for themselves.
what i find even more offensive and digusting is
the fact they use breast cancer as the selling factor of this SCAM,i lost my mother to breast cancer.
these scumbags dont give a damn about the people in need in any country,all they care about is making money,tax free money,they make no
contribution to society at all, they are total parasites.
Hi tony,i agry with yuo that they lieing abaut the cancer, or for chernobyl charity,that they bring here children.I know that some people who collecting clothes are not bad,a lot off clothes goses to lores and going to ukraina and lithuania,here they sold clothes for second hand shops.Its the job like every jobs.People paying for vans,diesel,leaflets,paying money for people who working,they rent the houses,buing food,they clean yuor houses,and everything doing in yuor country.in lithuania nobady collecting,people is too por.they going to second hand shops to buy clothes.just go to deveti drabuziai.lt and you will see how much companys in lihuania bying clothes from ireland and another countrys.
Hi There.
I just have got this leaflet through my letterbox and I know its a scam. I tried searching for the Reg No 4922754G but of course it was not found on the search sites.
Also there are some spelling mistakes on the sticker…”all clothing is a collection firm who prowide people in eastern european countries with clothes for their families they can afford…!!! well then why are they collecting??? I have have advised my generous neighbours not to leave out any bags for collection.
We have to be wise to these scammers who are robbing us of our trust and generosity in society.
We got a leaflet and bag through our door early this morning (Dublin 17) from “Irish Clothing Collection Progamme”, allegedly collectiong for “poor people in Africa” Company reg number on the end is 385362 and mobile number is 085 120 4935. They even ask on the leaflet “Please try and fill your bag”. Needless to say, I don’t believe it to be a real collection and it’s going straight into the green bin for recycling.
they now have a new leaflet calling themselves sch collections,third world clothing collection,company reg no,06437255.it’s the same scumbags as before.
i believe they are about to hit scotland once again.
Ormeau Road area, Belfast
DO NOT DELAY flyer came through letterbox at 6:30AM today, Mon 18th August.
Collection day: Wednesday.
Company name: ATHLAIMHE LIMITED
Company No. 01 646 1625
T: 0863 268717
Yes I received a plastic bag with DO NOT DELAY! in large font. delivered to me on Monday for Tuesday collection. Thanks for your help, I found this page very informative and will fill this bag and bring it down to the local irish wheelchair charity shop.
Irish christianity programme for africa dropping leaflets in south county carlow. Collecting on mon 24th aug. No charity reg no or authorisiation on tag. Phone no’s 9am to 12pm 01 443742 086 5521496.
INTERSECOND (N I) LTD
UNIT 6
BRIDGEVIEW INDL EST, LOWER ROAD, MEIGH
NEWRY
CO DOWN
United Kingdom
BT35 8SU
is another address for the Donotdelay crowd. Thats right on the border in the countryside, sounds about right.
I got a flyer that gave the compnay name Athlaimhe Ltd with a fake company reg no. they have an address ATHLAIMHE LIMITED
UNIT 20
GREENOGUE BUSINESS PARK
CO. DUBLIN
CO. DUBLIN
Ireland
.
Interestingly Intersecon and Athlaimhe ltd have a guy called RAIMONDAS BIGUZAS or BIQUZAS as a director/owner. For Athlaimhe he has a home address as Drogheda co Louth but for Intersecond he has an address in Essex, but its the same date of birth for both companies, so def the same bloke. Their website admits theyre not a charity but htat they are linked to Azzara who are a reg charity in Lithuania, but not sure how to verify that tho.
Recieved a sticker today in Hillsborough outside Lisburn – same outfit – I now only give in at charity shops where i know that most of funds raised will go where its needed – these people are nothing short of criminals , stealing from those in greatest of need
Is “African Children in Need” “For beg (stet) collection information call us on 0871 700 057″ another bogus charity. (Delivered Terenure Dublin 6W Friday ? Saturday 5 or 6th Sept 2008?
Hi there,
am glad I googled and found this site. I got a pink bag from the European Bridge of Health Alliance just this morning and was going to get rid of two or three bags of clothes that we had got ready for charity shops. That’s handy I thought. I decided to google as it wasn’t the Irish Cancer Society which I would have expected. So thanks for posting about this. I would have been disgusted to give clothes to a bunch of thieves and crooks. I lost my mother to breast cancer too and it is actually Breast Cancer Awareness later this month so it’s particularly disgusting to have crooks going around on the grab, using Breast Cancer as a tool of making more money for themselves instead of earning much needed funds for St Lukes and other cancer hospices and hospitals. How low can people go…
The Gangsters Intersecond Ltd aka donotdelay.org are back in Swords North Dublin today. Thanks for your useful information which sends warning signals to any googling Intersecond Ltd. You may not be aware that the local Irish police give these gangsters ‘free rein. Details of leaflet and bag were not even recorded when I reported them at the local garda station.
I don’t believe that anyone in authority takes these scams seriously – not even trading standards -certainly not the police nor even the Charity commission…
as an example we have even had one organisaztion with a registed charity that is supposed to be “under investigation” and has been for the last two years – no accounts submitted – nothing – and with a really obviously fraudulent purpose (ie to help everyone anywhere in the world etc etc). However this so-called charity remains on the Charity commission register gaining “credibility” from this official listing. The Charity Commission don’t even bother to reply to queries even though the queries are lodged via their official complaints system. These collection people have also been reported as stealing clothes left out for proper organisations and even taking milk money from doorsteps.
There is only one answer – takes clothes directly to charity shops when they are open to accept them.
these scumbags appear all over the british isles, i have informed the police and the local council over the last two years and nothing ever seems to be done about them.
i am going to contact my local MP regarding lacl of action by the authorities, this kind of action generally forces the police ect to take action because suddenly someone in high places starts kicking arses. might i suggest to everyone using this site to do the same
irrespective of country and maybe, just maybe something WILL be done
about these criminals.
I have just received a ‘donotdelay’ collection bag and decided to check it out!! Thank goodness I did as I would have put a load out for them. WHY DO THESE PEOPLE DO THIS? It’s immoral and takes away from the genuine charities… they are sad, sick in the head people!!
GREED,because they are too idle, amoral and stupid to get a real job and work for a living.
well as i have seen everyone puts loads in like you was about to wice would have been a really yousfull thing to do, really it is true dont you worry , why should people waist there time even doing this if it was fake i mean seriously
I got one in the letterbox this morning in Dundalk. It was pure chance I checked it out as I’d a bag ready for VdeP. Thanks for info.
Hi there.I was so glad to find your website today after I had reservations about a company calling themselves donotdelay.org. Sure enough their name appeared and the info was very useful. I phoned the local council and they are now looking into this companies operation within Lincolnshire. I raise money for charity and it makes me sick to the stomach to see fly by nights such as these exploit the sick and needy in such a low way.good on you for setting up this fantastic website
The people behind these are pure vermin. None of the authorities seem to be interested. The guards / TD’s / Government. At this stage of the game the only way to stop them would be a return to street justice and get a few burly lads to tie them up in the back of their own van and bring them off to a nice country lane and knock 7 shades of siucra out of them. Thats how strongly I feel about it.
[...] The websites I’ve seen so far are very professional with a fairly high amount of graphical content (flash and html versions no less) and a good amount of verbiage designed to make the reader feel upset, guilty, sentimental, or otherwise relieved of a tear or two. Much of the layout and content on one of these fraudulent sites was directly copied directly from a legitimate charities websites with simply a name and a logo changed. These websites are as bad as some of the leaflets that drop through your door, but they cost less, well at least in the short term. [...]
[...] if only there was a Spamassassin for the junk mail and clothes collection leaflets we get to the front door. How’s about a Defense Tower that would fire pellets when it noticed [...]
[...] Just got one of these to my doorstep. It looks more convincing than the usual fake but it’s going to be added to my collection at http://ocaoimh.ie/2006/11/13/do-not-delay-how-to-spot-a-fake-charity-flyer/ [...]
[...] “Do not delay, how to spot a fake charity flyer [...]
[...] August 2nd, 2007 at 12:35 pm (clothes collection, African Children in Need, charity scam, scam) This morning, through my letter box, I received a leaflet asking me for donations of unwanted clothes to support children in Africa. This is a well-known scam that has been operating under various guises in Britain and Ireland (and undoubtedly other countries) for a while now. The internet is full of articles detailing this despicable crime, here are just three: Consumer rights, Hounslow Council, and a blog site in Ireland. [...]
[...] only those fake charities respected the law too, we might stamp out all the rubbish flyers that drop through the letter box. [...]
[...] the issue. It’s ClothingCollection.org run by Donncha O’Caoimh. He also has a good post explaining the issue on his own [...]