Waterford Hospice issues warning over bogus collectors

Waterford  Hospice has issued a warning to householders advising them against bogus charity callers claiming to be from the organisation.

Following claims of a number of reported fraudulent callers, Waterford Hospice confirmed it does not and will not be collecting door-to-door donations.

A number of emails and calls were made to the charity claiming a young man with a Waterford accent had called to houses on the Cork Road looking for money and had shown householders a white card with “hospice” written on the front.

It is also thought the suspect may have attempted the scam at a number of other locations in the city including Rice Park. Chairwoman of Waterford Hospice, Danette Connolly, advised residents to be vigilant.

“When somebody knocks on the door you have every right to refuse to give them money. If you are in any doubt at all we would say to people don’t hand over any money,” she said.

If met with somebody claiming to be from Waterford Hospice, or any charity, Ms Connolly stressed the importance of asking for appropriate identification.

“The advice we would give to people for anybody knocking on their door would be to ask for ID, particularly if you are unsure of somebody. You should ask for ID.”

She also said it is important to inform the gardaí.

“If you are in any doubt at all refuse them and notify the guards.

“We don’t operate door- to-door here so we seldom come across these things unless it’s a bogus caller so we would advise people to refer the issue to the guards in their local areas as well,” she said.

It currently costs the not-for-profit organisation about €588,000 annually to provide its palliative care services. 63% of this amount has to be raised through donations and local fundraising. The HSE provides the remaining 37%.