Bogus ‘Air Ambulance Service’ taking vital funds from life-saving charity

Organisations claiming to represent the air ambulance service have targeted local residents in a campaign which is taking much needed funds away from the genuine life-saving charity, according to an investigation by Trading Standards.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance and Suffolk Trading Standards have been made aware of a number of leaflets being circulated around the county by organisations representing themselves as the ‘Air Ambulance Service’.

The leaflets claim that unwanted items are urgently needed in order for them to ‘financially assist to cover or reduce the cost of ground air ambulance medical transportation for patients caught in difficult medical circumstances’.

Nigel Howlett, Senior Fair Trading Officer for Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “We’ve had a number of concerned residents from across the county call us to say they’ve had these leaflets through their door and are worried that someone is trying to make money off the back of a well respected charity.

“The leaflets are very confusing as people picking them up may automatically think they are donating to the East Anglian Air Ambulance.  They are not.  In fact, in the small print it says they are not associated to any local helicopter emergency medical service, but very few people are likely to read this information.

“The key sign for the public that this is a scam is that the website they publicise on the leaflet does not work.  If anyone wishes to donate their items to a charity which has put a leaflet through their door then we would always advise that you do a little research on where your items will be going before leaving them outside your front door.”

Things to look out for:

• The website given www.airambulanceservice.org.uk doesn’t open
• Ensuring there is a registered charity number, this can be checked  via the charity commission.

Steve Whitby, Deputy Chief Executive of East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: “We have two charity shops across the region that sell items donated to us and they are tremendously well served by the people of Suffolk who make sure we have a good supply of good quality items to sell.

“It’s a real shame to hear that fraudulent organisations are trying to cash in on people’s generosity and leave a charity without the funds it needs to continue saving lives around the East of England.

“The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates a number of fundraising initiatives across the four counties we cover and I’d just like to remind people that anything from us would be clearly branded.  If people are in any doubt about where their donation is going they should give us a call to clarify that the donation they wish to make will come directly to us.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance is a charity which receives no direct government funding and therefore relies solely on donations.  Those in any doubt about where their donation is going should check the charity’s website at www.eaaa.org.uk and look for your local area fundraising office or contact Head Office on 08450 669 999.