We deal with complaints about charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and fundraising in Scotland where it is carried out by charities registered primarily with the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
To complain about fundraising by a charity registered in Scotland, please contact the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel.
What cases we can look at
We review concerns where a fundraising organisation may have breached the Code of Fundraising Practice. Some examples of this are:
If you believe the fundraising organisation has made misleading requests (such as not using the donation for what they say they will) or too many requests for donations.
If you believe a fundraising organisation has been disrespectful or treated you unfairly when asking for donations.
If a fundraising organisation is not open about the relationship it has with a third-party, for example, an agency working on its behalf.
If a fundraising organisation has failed to respect a donor’s wishes, for example, if you had asked to be contacted only in a certain way (such as by email, telephone or post only).
If a fundraising organisation has not dealt appropriately with a complaint made by you about fundraising. This could include not responding to you or you being unhappy with the response.
What we cannot look at
We cannot look at complaints that are not about charitable fundraising. This might include:
Complaints about the way a charity is run. These are usually matters for the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or OSCR (the Scottish Charity Regulator).
Complaints including allegations of fraud or criminal activity (or that an organisation is claiming to be a charity when it is not). These concerns should be put to the police or Report Fraud.
Complaints about employment or contractual matters, either from a member of the public, an employee or third-party agency.
Complaints that have already been brought to the attention of, and are being investigated by, the police or where legal action is being taken.
Time limits
We can normally look at complaints made within one year of you becoming aware of the problem or concern. This is usually counted from when you complained to the organisation(s) in question before coming to us.
We cannot look at any complaints brought to us more than six years after the event complained about, regardless of when you realised there was a problem.