HEADINGTON, OXFORD

"Charity” clothes collections

Commercial firms constantly bombard Headington with leaflets asking for donations of clothing for third-world countries. They give a limited company number (linked below to their company details) that could easily be interpreted as a registered charity number; but in fact they sell these clothes to the poor and make a profit for themselves. Some of them now claim to tive a proportion of their profits to charity.

Third World Clothing Collection

Clothing collection

 

A&P Collection Ltd
Company No. 5769478)
Incorporated April 2006

ASD Ltd
Company No. 4497391
Registered as dissolved company Olonex

Europe Suppliers Ltd
Company No. 5401427
Incorporated March 2005

G.V. Clothing
Company No. 4333357
Green Valley Clothing Ltd:
      dissolved August 2004

Kraslava Services Seven Ltd
Company No. 04899445
    Dissolved Sept. 2005

Textal Ltd
Company No. 5733047
Registered as Recycling Port Ltd (2006)

Third World Clothing Collection
Three company numbers:
5482825 "Pajury’s” (2005)
5834199 "Help & Support" (2006)
5780892 "Helpmates Ltd” (2007)

Polotex Ltd
Company No. 06240970

"Unwanted clothing collection
Two company numbers:
 5583979
Registered as Rogaile Ltd (2005)
"The more clothing your [sic] give the more the charity will benefit"

5995054
Registered as Helping Arms (2006)

Do Not Delay
A “breast-cancer prevention
programm [sic]” in Lithuania
How to recognize it as a scam

Children’s Welfare Foundation
Charity No. 1113250

Material collected by
Fortune International Ltd
See Guardian article

A & P Ltd
Textal
Unwanted Clothing Collection
Olonex ASD Ltd
Europe Suppliers Breast Cancer Prevention
Children’s Welfare Foundation Third World Clothing Collection

Some off the above companies have leafleted Headington many times, which implies that they are getting a good haul, despite the fact that there are eight charity shops in the centre.

The main company targeting Headington in 2009 was "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms"). They have recently added the following to their leaflet:

From Memorandum of Helping Arms: Company Limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. The company is formed for carrying out charitable assistance to medical organizations in the UK.

The former number of this company was 5995054: it was struck off, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also adjudicated against them in 2007. They now have a new company number: 7119680. Its website says it is in the process of being registered as a charity.

In January 2009 a real charity working in conjunction with clothes collectors started leafleting Headington:

Unfortunately scam companies have now adopted this idea, and on 30 October 2009 Headington was leaflets by SOS Support Ltd claiming to be collecting clothes in conjunction with Children's Hearts.


Charity Bags

Rip-off Britain: “Charity” collections

Clothes Aid: "Cheating on Charities"


Companies that have targeted Headington since December 2006
  1. 08 Dec 2006: “Do Not Delay"
  2. 19 Dec 2006: “Unwanted Clothing Collection”
  3. 21 Dec 2006: “Third World Clothing Collection” (with Help & Support registration number)
  4. 12 Jan 2007: “Third World Clothing Collection” (with Helpmates registration number)
  5. 05 Feb 2007: “A&P Collection Ltd"
  6. 13 Feb 2007: “Unwanted Clothing Collection”
  7. 15 March 2007: “Unwanted Clothing Collection”
  8. 02 April 2007: “Third World Clothing Collection” (with Helpmates registration number)
  9. 09 May 2007: “Third World Clothing Appeal” (A&P Collection Ltd)
  10. 12 May 2007: “Third World Clothing Collection” (with Helpmates registration number)
  11. 08 June 2007: “A&P Collection Ltd”
  12. 13 July 2007: “Third World Clothing Collection” (with Helpmates registration number)
  13. 22 July 2007: “The Children’s Welfare Foundation” (with collections made by Fortune International Ltd). Website http://www.childrenswelfarefoundation.org.uk/ does not work
  14. August 2007: “Polotex Ltd”
  15. 11 September 2007: “Unwanted Clothing Collection” for “Helping Arms” (blue plastic bag)
  16. 12 October 2007: “Unwanted Clothing Collection” for “Helping Arms” (blue plastic bag)
  17. 24 October 2007: “Clothing collection” (Polotex)
  18. 26 November 2007: “A&P Collection Ltd"
  19. 19 January 2008: "Clothing collection" (Polotex)
  20. 21 February 2008: "Clothing collection" (Polotex)
  21. 28 February 2008: “Unwanted Clothing Collection” (“Helping Arms”) (blue plastic bag)
  22. 1 April 2008: "Polotex Ltd"
  23. 6 May 2008: "Clothing collection" (Polotex)
  24. 6 June 2008: "Unwanted Clothing Collection” (“Helping Arms”) (blue plastic bag)
  25. 15 August 2008: "Third World Clothing Collection" (with Helpmates registration number)
  26. 22 August 2008: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (blue plastic bag)
  27. 28 October 2008: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (blue plastic bag)
  28. 14 January 2009: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (blue plastic bag)
  29. 29 April 2009: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (blue plastic bag)
  30. 3 June 2009: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (leaflet)
  31. 15 December 2009: "Unwanted Clothing Collection" ("Helping Arms") (blue plastic bag)

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© Stephanie Jenkins, 2000–2010

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Last updated: 11 March, 2010