Clothing bin con men target people's goodwill in Evenwood

SCAMMERS are preying on the goodwill of Teesdale people at Christmas by leaving “charity” collection boxes to hoodwink them into giving up their clothes which are then sold.

That’s the claim being made by Evenwood and Barony Parish Council, which is growing worried about the number of clothes collection boxes being left near shops.

People donate their clothing, thinking they are helping a good cause. But parish clerk Martin Clark claims the reality is different.

He said: “These clothes banks have been left outside the cafe, hairdressers and church in Evenwood. They always seem to be in a different place and they’re springing up all over the place – and then they’re gone. There’s money in it.”

Mr Clark said one clothes bin had the name “Make a Child Smile” emblazoned on it. However, when he called the number, he spoke to someone in a “foreign accent” who said he knew nothing about the charity.

Cllr Paul Townsend: “People are trying to get clothes for free and then sell them.”

There are several genuine appeals called Make A Child Smile, but there is no individual charity listed by the

charity commission by that name. Evenwood councillors were also told that a “bogus” collection box had been spotted in the car park at Tesco, St Helen Auckland.

Mr Clark said: “It was left next to the official one – it’s the new scam.”

BusinessWaste.co.uk, a UK company advising others on how to dispose of their waste, has reported how local and national charities were being cheated out of income by ambitious criminals who have started leaving fake clothes banks in towns and cities.

“The people are a blight on decent society,” said BusinessWaste.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall. “They prey on people’s charitable instincts just for personal profit.”

“It’s certainly enterprising, but the bottom line is that they are taking money away from the needy,” said Mr Hall.

“And apart from trying to catch the crooks in the act of picking up their bin, there’s very little the authorities can do to apprehend them.”

He claimed the gangs sort through “donations” and sell the best on the internet.

Other items are driven to Eastern Europe, where there is a boom in British-style clothing to be said in local stores, he said. None of the profits are returned to UK charities.

Owen Cleugh, consumer protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “We are aware of bogus charity collections that have been investigated throughout the country and we will make further enquiries into this particular situation.

“Whilst we cannot at this stage confirm that there are any concerns, we would encourage residents wishing to make a charitable donation to carry out background checks on any organisation before making a contribution.”