HRI- Heart Reasearch Institute Door to Door collecting - CON?

redman

Hi

Anyone come across door to door collectors (from ACT Marketing in Dun Laoghaire) collecting for HRI with big red banners

I gather from their helpline that "Support Direct" is the mother UK firm which is paid in advance by HRI to raise money for them. Apparently in the UK they get paid £1 and are expected to raise £5 as their "target".

Very concerned as they:
Could not confirm they are a registered irish charity
The door collector was claiming various spurious facts including that HRI are responisble for the Stent device used in heart operations.
They are collecting in an elderly area and are simply young salespeople doing a sell
Supposedly approved by Gardai to collect but had no proof

Anyone got more info on HRI?

Redman

smelltheglove

I'd call both the company and the Gardai to be sure. I had it once with people collecting for a deaf charity, I doubted them so called the charity and they knew nothing of it, I called the gardai who picked them up straight away, apparently there was a con going on in our area.

Lizzykins

I met up with them in in Nutgrove S.C about a month ago. I was under the impression that they were an Irish charity but they're Australian as I found out when I googled them. They also have offices in the UK. Not a scam as far as I can see but I really don't have any interest in supporting Australian charities of all things!

dudara

I'm pretty sure that you have to have a Garda permit to collect. My advice would be to get in touch with the Gardai and get them to look into it.

redman

Yes they didn't have a permit, rang the gards

Just feel sorry for all those that'll be taken in buy this....

smelltheglove

You need to have a Gardai permit to collect for anything really, my brothers friend passed away, actually in Australia, a few years back, the costs for his family to not only go over there but to also bring home is body where huge never mind the hardship on his partner and child, so my brother decided to do a fundraiser and need a garda permit. The permit depending on the organisation etc will only cover up to a certain amount until another permit has to be applied for, or something along those lines.

Lesson is, whoever asks for money, unless the local school, ask for a permit.

rubadub

I honestly highly recommend getting rid of your doorbell. Haven't had one in 5 years and no plans of getting one ever again.

redman

Thanks all, thankfully they have left the area:)

I heard they were looking for people's bank account details to arrange direct debits!:eek:

Mad stuff

jor el

redman wrote: »

Thanks all, thankfully they have left the area:)

I heard they were looking for people's bank account details to arrange direct debits!:eek:

Mad stuff

You should contact your local news papers and see if they're interested in running a story. People should be warned of these people collecting without proper documentation, and worse still when the charity only gets a percentage of what's collected.

Lollipops23

yeah any collecting crew working for a marketing firm will have a permit, simple as. if they don't have it chances are they're dodge central!i wouldn't give to any of those tbh, the charity themselves have to spend big bucks to hire a marketing firm and they're basically door to door chuggers.

siscri

You only need a permit if you're collecting cash.

If they're asking for bank details then they're setting up standing orders or direct debits which are pretty secure and safe. It also means they don't currently need a permit (although this law is changing).

I imagine the charity hired them because it works.

slimjimmc

From my brief reading of the Street and House to House Collections Act 1962 a permit is required for all collections except if it is
-- house-to-house collection or,
-- for charitable purposes and run by a state-recognised religion or,
-- exempted by the Minister for Justice.

Since the HRI collection is door-to-door a permit is apparantly not needed.

Even then, the Minister can still apply the Act to any or all collections if he fancies (aimed at stopping collections by unsavoury types I suppose).

It appears therefore, that for most collections (except door-to-door or religious run charity) you do indeed need a permit from the local Garda Chief Superintendent.


Regardless, I for one would certainly not feel safe or secure in giving my bank details to any door callers, whoever they may be. If they're interested in getting me to donate I'd expect them to give me the charity's bank details so that I could verify who's getting my money and make a lodgement if I so desire.
Also I'd never donate using DD, considering a DD permits someone to take money (usually phrased "variable and unspecified amounts") from my a/c.