A commercial collecting company, Byronswell Ltd., has been operating in the area, appearing to masquerade as a charity.
You are advised not to donate clothing to this company, but to take them to a registered charity.
Residents of the village have been receiving orange and black leaflets through their letterbox asking for unwanted clothes to ‘help the Ukrainian people who remain affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster’.
There is no evidence that the money so raised will benefit the people of the Ukraine – as the leaflet states, Byronswell Ltd is a ‘commercial collecting company’.
One Trading Standards Office said:
“The perpetrators of these schemes are profiteering from people’s goodwill and depriving genuine charities of much-needed support.
“Householders getting flyers promoting collection schemes should be aware that some bogus operators are posing as real charities.
“We want to raise public awareness to stop bogus collectors at the source – if the public doesn’t donate to them, they are out of business.”
A search on Google reveals that there many parts of the country have been targetted in this way, and a petition to 10 Downing Street was formed in an attempt to ‘Prohibit Commercial Companies From Misleading The Public Into Believing They’re A Charity.’
Note that the Clothes Aid organisation, by contrast, does work with registered charities and asks that bogus collectors be reported to the police.