Mrs Bridges
Member
What is the name of your state? Maine
My 96 year-old aunt lives alone, and as she has been becoming more forgetful, I have just started getting more involved with her check book. I discovered that she has been hounded by so-called telephone pledge fund-raisers, and since Jan. 1, she has given them over $900 total. One charity, the "Veterans Assistance Foundation", called her on May 11, and extracted a $25 pledge from her, and then called her again 3 days later, and got her to agree to send them $30 more. I asked her why she had donated to them again so soon, and she told me she forgot that she had donated only 3 days earlier. I told her that no legitimate charity would be hitting her up for money twice in one week.
She has been harassed by about two dozen charities, and I have never heard of any of them. In looking over the paperwork I could find, they all seem to be represented by either one of two professional fund raisers: Xentel, or Community Support, Inc. They give a local return address, which is a post office box. My aunt thinks she is giving money to help people locally, but I read on the internet that these are just drop boxes, and that the money is whisked out of state.
The really creepy thing is that all these different charities -- from cancer related issues to veterans, to firefighters, to police, to disabled children -- they are all using the same post office box in the same town!
I researched many of these charities on the internet, and most of them garnered a watchdog rating of 0 out of 4 stars. I also found out that you can't get off their call lists, and that they sell your name as an "easy mark" (or "sucker") to other groups.
They have also been sending my aunt solicitations which are deceptively printed to look exactly like a bill. They even say, "Please Remit Today!" as if you are tardy on a pledge you have made, and that they are desperately waiting for. In the fine print (which my aunt can't read because she is blind in one eye) it says, "this is an appeal, not a bill".
How can this be legal? My aunt said she will not send any more donations, but I don't know if she has the memory or the willpower to follow through on her decision. The fund raisers can be very persuasive, and she is meek. I told her that since I come to see her once a week (I live an hour away), she could set aside her solicitations, and I would help her review them. I should also mention that she has been late on some of her bills, like health insurance, fuel oil and gas. She has even had to pay them late fees! It's not that her bank account is empty, but I think it's that she's so busy paying these numerous charities, that the "real stuff" gets lost on her desk.
I am sure that my aunt is not the only elderly person being victimized in this way. What laws are there to protect this vulnerable portion of our population? I really hope that I do not have to take my aunt's checkbook away from her, because she has been independent up to now, and I really think that would make her feel useless, and like a child. She just gave up driving (her decision), so she is still mourning that loss.
Help!What is the name of your state?
My 96 year-old aunt lives alone, and as she has been becoming more forgetful, I have just started getting more involved with her check book. I discovered that she has been hounded by so-called telephone pledge fund-raisers, and since Jan. 1, she has given them over $900 total. One charity, the "Veterans Assistance Foundation", called her on May 11, and extracted a $25 pledge from her, and then called her again 3 days later, and got her to agree to send them $30 more. I asked her why she had donated to them again so soon, and she told me she forgot that she had donated only 3 days earlier. I told her that no legitimate charity would be hitting her up for money twice in one week.
She has been harassed by about two dozen charities, and I have never heard of any of them. In looking over the paperwork I could find, they all seem to be represented by either one of two professional fund raisers: Xentel, or Community Support, Inc. They give a local return address, which is a post office box. My aunt thinks she is giving money to help people locally, but I read on the internet that these are just drop boxes, and that the money is whisked out of state.
The really creepy thing is that all these different charities -- from cancer related issues to veterans, to firefighters, to police, to disabled children -- they are all using the same post office box in the same town!
I researched many of these charities on the internet, and most of them garnered a watchdog rating of 0 out of 4 stars. I also found out that you can't get off their call lists, and that they sell your name as an "easy mark" (or "sucker") to other groups.
They have also been sending my aunt solicitations which are deceptively printed to look exactly like a bill. They even say, "Please Remit Today!" as if you are tardy on a pledge you have made, and that they are desperately waiting for. In the fine print (which my aunt can't read because she is blind in one eye) it says, "this is an appeal, not a bill".
How can this be legal? My aunt said she will not send any more donations, but I don't know if she has the memory or the willpower to follow through on her decision. The fund raisers can be very persuasive, and she is meek. I told her that since I come to see her once a week (I live an hour away), she could set aside her solicitations, and I would help her review them. I should also mention that she has been late on some of her bills, like health insurance, fuel oil and gas. She has even had to pay them late fees! It's not that her bank account is empty, but I think it's that she's so busy paying these numerous charities, that the "real stuff" gets lost on her desk.
I am sure that my aunt is not the only elderly person being victimized in this way. What laws are there to protect this vulnerable portion of our population? I really hope that I do not have to take my aunt's checkbook away from her, because she has been independent up to now, and I really think that would make her feel useless, and like a child. She just gave up driving (her decision), so she is still mourning that loss.
Help!What is the name of your state?
