RSPCA uses donations to investigate how much is in your WILL in latest charity shame
THE RSPCA uses charity donations to fund investigators to find out how much donors might leave in their wills, it has been revealed.
By HELEN BARNETT
PUBLISHED: 00:00, Wed, Sep 2, 2015 | UPDATED: 11:52, Wed, Sep 2, 2015.
Generous supporters of Britain's largest animal charity are unaware their funds are being used for "ruthless exploitation" to assess them and give them a wealth rating.
The RSPCA said 'legacy prediction' as it is called, is commonplace among charities, raising questions about the number of unsuspecting donors who have fallen prey to what Esther Rantzen described as "unscrupulous bullying".
The sickening practice was uncovered during an investigation into how charities traded the personal data of Samuel Rae, an 87-year-old former army colonel who suffered from dementia
He was duped out of £35,000 from conmen who bought his details from charities who sold his personal data 200 times.
The RSPCA, one of the charities which sent on his information, also sent his personal data to a firm specialising in legacy prediction.
Their job was to work out how much he was worth and estimate how much he would leave the charity in his will.
It was all done without his consent.
The catalogue of sickening practices all started because Mr Rae, of Cornwall, forgot to tick the box to stop his details being passed on.
Charity stalwart Esther Rantzen, who founded ChildLine, said generous donors were being seen as "walking wallets" who are victims are "unscrupulous bullying".
She said: "This 87-year-old gentleman, who gave a lifetime of service to his country and now suffers from dementia, was subjected to a frightening barrage of intimidation and deceit."
Tory MP Nigel Evans, former Commons public administration committee member, who oversees charities, said: "Because people have given once, they become a commodity to charities which they have seen fit to trade and use as they please."
The dirty practises were discovered when Mr Rae's son Chris made a 'subject access request'.
Information given to him revealed Mr Rae, along with other supporters, was scored relating to the likelihood of leaving money in his will. He was scored on a scale of one to 20, with one being the highest probability of giving. Mr Rae was listed as 13.
The RSPCA later admitted it continued to beg for donations from Mr Rae, despite him saying he didn't want to be contacted. The charity said this was "genuine error".
lf the money the RSPCA receives comes from donations left in wills.
The RSPCA has now launched a review of how it uses supporters' data and protection statements, since the investigation by the Daily Mail.
The charity said it had not broken the law and that legacy prediction was common practice among charities to "understand the make-up of our supporter base".
A spokesman said: "It simply provides a score and does not tell us whether anyone has actually left a legacy to the charity."