Name and type of organisation: Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) (registered charity no. 1043985)
Fundraising method: Direct marketing
Code themes examined: The sending of direct marketing after being asked by the complainant to stop contacting them, complaints procedure and data protection requirements
Code breach? Yes
The complaint
The complainant, who was a member of the church, asked the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG – the charity) to stop contacting them. They told us that UCKG did at first follow this request, but that they later received two further communications from the charity. They made a complaint about this to the charity, but they remained dissatisfied with the outcome of UCKG’s investigation and its reply to their complaint.
What happened?
We reviewed information from both the complainant and the charity. This included examining the charity’s website, relevant policies, strategy documents, published reports and the evidence they provided.
Our decision
Stopping the sending of direct marketing
We looked at whether the charity had processed the request from the complainant to stop contacting them within a reasonable timescale. The Code of Fundraising Practice (the code) says this should be done as soon as possible, but in any case within 28 days. We found the complainant was contacted again by the charity 18 days after their first request, which was within the threshold set by the code.
However, we accepted the charity’s explanation that the further telephone calls made to the complainant outside the 28-day period were made specifically in response to the complaint they made to them. We therefore concluded that the charity did not breach the code.
Complaints procedure
As part of our investigation of the complaint handling in this case, we asked the charity to provide us with a copy of its complaints procedure. They replied saying it had an “unwritten complaint policy”. The charity told us that once a complaint is received it is normally taken to senior management for assignment to whichever department is best placed to deal with and resolve the complaint.
The code says that a charity must have a clear and publicly available complaints procedure. We therefore found the charity had breached this part of the code. Since we opened our investigation, the charity has published a complaints policy which is available on its website.
Data protection requirements
Although the charity complied with the complainant’s request to stop contacting them, we found that its response to the complainant was overcomplicated and confusing. During our investigation, they received two further contacts from the charity. The first was a telephone call about Gift Aid and the second was a text message inviting them to return to the church.
Even when an individual has asked for their personal details to be deleted, organisations may be required to retain some details for specific purposes, for example to provide HMRC with records such as Gift Aid. However, the information kept by the charity should only relate to the specific purpose for which it is kept and should only be used for that purpose.
In this case, it appeared that the charity still held the complainant’s telephone number as part of its Gift Aid records. This was even though a telephone number is not needed for Gift Aid claims by the charity. Although there was nothing to suggest this was a fundraising call, because it related to Gift Aid records which come from fundraising activity, we looked at whether this was a breach of the code. We also saw that the complainant was advised by the charity that all their details would be deleted from its Gift Aid records. However, if it was required to keep this information for HMRC purposes, it would not have been able to do this. We found therefore that the charity had breached this part of the code.
Code sections considered
Code of Fundraising Practice, version effective 1 October 2019 (last updated 4 June 2021)
- Standard 3.2.5 - Stop sending direct marketing to a person within a reasonable period
No breach identified
- Standard 2.4.1 - Having a clear and publicly available complaints procedure
Breach identified
- Standard 3.1.1 - Meeting all legal requirements relating to data protection
Breach identified
Our recommendations
Since we received this complaint, the charity has taken appropriate steps to correct the issues identified, which includes the appointment of a new Data Protection Officer (DPO). They have already acted to improve their processes, including introducing new measures to improve communication with the UCKG Gift Aid department. The charity has also published a complaints policy on its website. We note the improvements that UCKG has already introduced.
We recommend that the charity:
- Reviews the way it communicates with people who are asking it to stop contacting them. We recommend that they explain how long it will take to process the request and that people may continue to receive information for up to four weeks after making the request. This will help them to manage people’s expectations.
- Obtains guidance and support from the Information Commissioner’s Office to improve its procedures in relation to data protection requirements.
- Takes action to make sure its complaints policy is more easily accessible on its website.
Outcome
The charity has accepted our findings and agreed to comply with our recommendations. We will continue to work with the charity to support the implementation of our recommendations.