How to make a complaint



If the charity is a member of the Fund Raising Standards Board (FRSB)...

The Fundraising Standards Board is the new self-regulatory body for fundraising in the UK. Membership is voluntary, but more than 1300 charities (including many of the UK's biggest charities) have already joined.

You can tell if a charity is a part of the scheme because they will use the Fundraising Standards Board logo (a tick) on their fundraising materials.

If you want to complain about a charity that is a member of the scheme, first contact the charity directly to see whether they can resolve your complaint. If you are not satisfied by their response, you can make a complaint to the Fundraising Standards Board and they will deal with it through a robust and transparent complaints process.

Full information is available on the Fundraising Standards Board website.


All forms of fundraising are covered by the FRSB scheme, including telephone fundraising, street fundraising, direct mail, house to house collections and events. They should always be your first port of call if you wish to make a complaint.

Where a charity is not a member of the FRSB scheme the advice below may be helpful.



Complaints about the content of fundraising communications

If a charity is not a member of the Fund Raising Standards Board and you are not satisfied with their response, you should contact the  Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ASA judges advertisements, direct marketing, sales promotions and electronic communications such as text messages, e-mail and websites against its own set of codes.

You can complain to the ASA if you:

  • think there is something wrong with an advertisement you have seen or heard
  • have difficultly getting goods or a refund for items bought by mail order (for items bought by mail order from adverts in national newspapers, the Mail Order Protection Service may also be able to help)
  • want to stop addressed mail sent either by post, fax, text message or e-mail.
The types of advertising the ASA deals with includes:
  • Magazine and newspaper adverts
  • Radio and TV commercials (not programmes or programme sponsorship)
  • Television Shopping Channels
  • Posters on legitimate poster sites (not flyposters)
  • Leaflets and brochures
  • Cinema commercials
  • Addressed mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)
  • Unaddressed mail (advertising posted through the letter box without your name on)
  • Advertisements on the Internet, including banner ads and pop-up ads.
  • Commercial e-mail, SMS text message ads and the content of websites
  • Ads. on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes


The ASA website has an online form for complaints.

Advertising Standards Authority
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6QT
Telephone 020 7492 2222
Textphone 020 7242 8159
Fax 020 7242 3696

All complaints are anonymous unless you are asking to get you name taken off a mailing list or you are complaining on behalf of your company. There is no charge for making a complaint as all of the ASA’s costs are met by a levy paid by advertisers.



To complain about telephone fundraising

If you have received an unwanted telephone call from a charity you support you should contact them to tell them that you do not wish to receive calls from them in the future.

If you are receiving a number of unsolicited telephone calls you may wish to formally opt out of receiving such calls in the future. This is possible by contacting the Telephone Preference Service on 0845 070 0707 or visiting them at www.tpsonline.org.uk.

It is important to note that joining the Telephone Preference Service will also eliminate cold calls from commercial companies. It is not possible to opt out solely from charity solicitations.


To complain about fundraising by mail

If your complaint concerns the content of a mailing you received and the charity is not a member of the FRSB you should contact the Advertising Standards Authority www.asa.org.uk.

If your complaint is about the volume of mail you are receiving you may wish to opt out of receiving letters from charities you have never supported. This can be done by contacting the Mailing Preference Service on 0845 070 0707 or visiting them online www.mpsonline.org.uk.

The Mailing Preference Service maintains a list of people who do not wish to receive unsolicited mail (that is, mail from organisations they have had no prior contact with). All reputable charities trying to find new donors will make sure they don't contact anyone on this list.

It is important to note that adding your name to this list will mean that you will also receive less unsolicited mail from companies trying to promote their goods and services.

If you enjoy receiving this kind of communication you should not join the Mailing Preference Service. It is not presently possible to opt out just from receiving charity solicitations. The MPS does not cover unaddressed mail.




To complain about fundraising on the television or radio

First contact the charity concerned. If you are still unhappy and your complaint is about the content of an advert you should contact the Advertising Standards Authority.

If your complaint is about the content of a television or radio programme you should contact Ofcom on 0845 456 3000 or online at www.ofcom.org.uk.




To complain about the way your personal information has been used

If you think a breach of the Data Protection Act has taken place (for instance if you think your details have been passed on without your permission, or if you have been contacted after you asked not to be) you need to contact the charity you think has breached the Act - the Information Commissioner will usually expect you to do this first.

If you are not happy with the response you receive you can contact the Information Commission. The Information Commissioner can't award any compensation but he can provide further information to help you enforce your rights or he can consider your complaint and make an assessment.

Complaints forms (different forms for each sort of communication - phone, mail etc. as the rules are different in each case) are available from:

England
 Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
Data protection helpline: 01625 545 745 mail@ico.gov.uk

Scotland
28 Thistle St., Edinburgh, EH2 1EN
Tel: 0131 225 6341
scotland@ico.gsi.gov.uk

Wales
2 Alexandra Gate, Fford Pengam, Cardiff, CF24 2SA
Tel: 02920 894929
wales@ico.gsi.gov.uk

Northern Ireland
 Regus House, 33 Clarendon Dock, Laganside, Belfast, BT1 3BG
Tel: 028 9051 1270
ni@ico.gsi.gov.uk