A SINGLE mum has hit out at a charity which increased her monthly direct debit donation without her permission.
Laura Harrison, 26, agreed to give the British Red Cross £5 every month from March last year.
Four months later staff asked her to raise her monthly donation to £7, which she declined.
However, it wasn’t until a fortnight ago that she realised the charity had instructed her bank to increase her donation.
The Red Cross has since apologised but Laura has admitted the experience had put her off giving to charity.
Laura, who lives on Ashworth Street, Failsworth, with her two-year-old son Levi, said: "I’ve always believed in helping others out by donating to charity, dipping into my purse when I see a worthwhile collection at the supermarket.
"But the Red Cross have always been a favourite of mine because they don’t discriminate about who they help by age, sex or where they are in the world.
"When I was approached at my door to donate by direct debit I was really struggling with money as I only work two days a week and £5 was all I could afford.
"Then in July I was contacted again by a man asking me to give more. I explained to him I couldn’t afford it and he kept saying it was only £2 per month.
"I felt offended and warned him that I could cancel my direct debit. He told me the Red Cross were grateful for my donations, but it didn’t feel like it."
When Laura finally realised what had happened she tried in vain for two weeks to contact the charity for an explanation.
"I was fuming. It’s really put me off donating to charity and makes me concerned how many others this been done to?"
Jo Georgiou, from British Red Cross, said it was investigating the complaint.
"We are confident that this is a one-off misunderstanding, and would like to assure other regular donors that the British Red Cross takes every precaution to ensure that all verbal agreements are confirmed in writing, with an opportunity to amend or cancel.
"The British Red Cross has contacted Laura Harrison to apologise and has offered to refund the payments taken without authority in accordance with the terms set out in the direct debit guarantee. But Mrs Harrison has very kindly allowed us to keep the money and to use it in furtherance of our work."
