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| Charity opt-out service launched to crack down on donation requests | Charity opt-out service launched to crack down on donation requests |
| (7 months later) | |
| Fundraising Preference Service will let people ask charities to stop contacting them, with fines for failure to comply | |
| Matthew Weaver and agency | |
| Tue 4 Jul 2017 09.16 BST | |
| First published on Tue 4 Jul 2017 08.17 BST | |
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| Charities could be fined tens of thousands of pounds if they fail to comply with rules introduced this week to crack down on nuisance requests for donations. | Charities could be fined tens of thousands of pounds if they fail to comply with rules introduced this week to crack down on nuisance requests for donations. |
| The Fundraising Preference Service (FPS), which launches on Thursday, will allow people to say they want a specified charity or charities to stop contacting them directly by phone, email, text or post. | The Fundraising Preference Service (FPS), which launches on Thursday, will allow people to say they want a specified charity or charities to stop contacting them directly by phone, email, text or post. |
| Should a charity fail to comply, it may be reported by the fundraising regulator to the information commissioner. | Should a charity fail to comply, it may be reported by the fundraising regulator to the information commissioner. |
| The chairman of the regulator, Michael Grade, urged charities to understand “a whole mood change about giving people much more control over their data”. | The chairman of the regulator, Michael Grade, urged charities to understand “a whole mood change about giving people much more control over their data”. |
| In 2015 there was an outcry over the case of 92-year-old Olive Cooke, one of Britain’s oldest and longest-serving poppy sellers, who killed herself after receiving up to 267 letters a month as well as regular phone calls from fundraisers. | In 2015 there was an outcry over the case of 92-year-old Olive Cooke, one of Britain’s oldest and longest-serving poppy sellers, who killed herself after receiving up to 267 letters a month as well as regular phone calls from fundraisers. |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Grade said Cooke’s case marked a turning point. He said: “As a result of that high-profile tragedy it was clear that there was bad practice across many, many charities. The public are rejecting the idea that anybody is free to bombard them. | Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Grade said Cooke’s case marked a turning point. He said: “As a result of that high-profile tragedy it was clear that there was bad practice across many, many charities. The public are rejecting the idea that anybody is free to bombard them. |
| “Quite a few [charities] have yet to get it: ‘We’re doing nothing wrong; the ends justify the means,’ we hear that all the time from quite a few charities. Many have embraced the new world, but charities have to understand that the fabulous generosity of the British public cannot be taken for granted.” | “Quite a few [charities] have yet to get it: ‘We’re doing nothing wrong; the ends justify the means,’ we hear that all the time from quite a few charities. Many have embraced the new world, but charities have to understand that the fabulous generosity of the British public cannot be taken for granted.” |
| Explaining the new service, Grade said: “You can go online, and you can send a message that you do not want to hear either from any charities or you only want to hear from those charities that you select that you favour.” | Explaining the new service, Grade said: “You can go online, and you can send a message that you do not want to hear either from any charities or you only want to hear from those charities that you select that you favour.” |
| He said charities found to be flouting those preferences could be fined up to £25,000. Grade, a former chairman of ITV and BBC, added: “We don’t have the power to fine at the fundraising regulator but the Information Commissioner’s Office does. If we refer that some charity is abusing and not respecting the fundraising preference service choice that they make, they can then fine them. The figure of £25,000 arises out of one particular case. They have plenty of powers to make the fines hurt and to make it effective.” | He said charities found to be flouting those preferences could be fined up to £25,000. Grade, a former chairman of ITV and BBC, added: “We don’t have the power to fine at the fundraising regulator but the Information Commissioner’s Office does. If we refer that some charity is abusing and not respecting the fundraising preference service choice that they make, they can then fine them. The figure of £25,000 arises out of one particular case. They have plenty of powers to make the fines hurt and to make it effective.” |
| In a statement the Fundraising Regulator set out how the new service will work. | In a statement the Fundraising Regulator set out how the new service will work. |
| “The FPS will allow a member of the public to enter a charity’s name or Charity Commission number it wishes to stop communication with. They must then choose the communication methods (post, text, phone, email) they wish to end and enter their contact details before submitting the request. The named charity will then receive notification of the suppression request and be invited to view it on the FPS portal, with 28 days provided to cease contact.” | “The FPS will allow a member of the public to enter a charity’s name or Charity Commission number it wishes to stop communication with. They must then choose the communication methods (post, text, phone, email) they wish to end and enter their contact details before submitting the request. The named charity will then receive notification of the suppression request and be invited to view it on the FPS portal, with 28 days provided to cease contact.” |
| Should they continue, the charities could be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which has the power to prosecute under the Data Protection Act 1998 and issue fines if there has been a breach. | Should they continue, the charities could be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which has the power to prosecute under the Data Protection Act 1998 and issue fines if there has been a breach. |
| Olive Cooke’s family have always denied that the amount of donation requests received by her had anything to do with her suicide. | Olive Cooke’s family have always denied that the amount of donation requests received by her had anything to do with her suicide. |
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| Michael Grade | |
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