Charity Commission releases data on public complaints
Three of the UK’s most popular causes were also the most complained about charities last year, recently released figures show.
Figures obtained from England and Wales’ Charity Commission following a Freedom of Information request show the biggest organisations took the most flak.
The regulator investigated 15 complaint cases against the RSPCA in 2016, with seven complaints opened against the National Trust and the Royal British Legion each.
Six complaints each were taken against Macmillan Cancer Support and the Canal & River Trust while the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK were the subject of five complaint cases each.
A spokesman for the Charity Commission said the regulator opened 1,024 cases to address concerns about charities in 2014/15.
| Most complained about charities 2016 | Number of complaints opened |
|---|---|
| RSPCA | 15 |
| The National Trust | 7 |
| The British Legion | 7 |
| Macmilllan Cancer Support | 6 |
| Canal and River Trust | 6 |
| British Heat Foundation | 5 |
| Cancer Research UK | 5 |
"If we receive complaints about a charity, this does not necessarily mean the organisation has acted wrongly or contrary to its charitable purpose," he said.
"Similarly, a charity might be subject to a serious compliance case or investigation and not be reflected in complaints statistics.
"We assess every complaint received against our risk framework and, where we don’t identify regulatory concerns, we will take no action."
The RSPCA also topped complaints in 2015.
A spokeswoman for the charity said: "The RSPCA receives more than one million calls for help and investigates more than 150,000 complaints of alleged cruelty every year. Given the highly emotive and complex nature of our work, there will inevitably be some people who are dissatisfied.
"Although we are never complacent and regard any complaint as one too many, the 15 complaints amount to 0.1 per cent of the alleged cruelty investigations undertaken. The RSPCA sets high standards for our staff and we are proud these are being met in the vast majority of cases."
A spokeswoman for the Royal British Legion said: "We greatly value input from our supporters and take every complaint extremely seriously. It is important that members of the public are able to voice their concerns to the Charity Commission.
"When they are passed to us, we will fully investigate each complaint and, where appropriate, take action to resolve them."
