NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Charities accused of 'hounding' elderly Auckland dementia sufferer for cash

NZ Herald
18 Sep, 2016 08:20 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The daughter of an 87-year-old dementia sufferer says charities have been hounding her mother for donations. Photo: www.123rf.com

The daughter of an 87-year-old dementia sufferer says charities have been hounding her mother for donations. Photo: www.123rf.com

Charities that solicit donations from the elderly have ethical responsibilities and should desist immediately if asked by concerned family members, Age Concern warns.

It follows revelations that an 87-year-old dementia sufferer gave hundreds of dollars to two high profile charities in recent months, becoming confused and distressed.

Meanwhile, several other concerned families have contacted the Herald saying their elderly parents have also been harassed by charities seeking cash.

The elderly woman's daughter, Jan Moore, says the charities hounded her mother for money, one of them even after being asked to stop.

Her mother, from Kaiaia, south of Auckland, mistook the letters for unpaid bills after a drive by the SPCA to ramp up donations included a copy of their power bill.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Moore told Fairfax her mother had become so distressed she called her in a panic one morning at 6am.

"I am the one who usually calls her, so that was the first shock," said Moore. "She sounded distressed, absolutely panic-struck. I actually thought someone had died."

The charities include the Cancer Society and SPCA. Both said they immediately stopped the letters once informed of the situation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Cancer Society added, "We don't want to take donations from those who didn't intend or genuinely want to donate to us. If anybody has concerns about any matter with the Cancer Society, you can contact us and we will work with you to rectify."

Moore immediately asked the charities to remove her mother from their mailing lists, Fairfax reported.

"The trouble is once someone gives them money they just bombard you with requests and appeals. I have no idea how much she has paid so far," she said. "The Cancer Society was the worse, they kept sending her letters even when I asked them to stop."

Moore, who lives in Auckland, said her mother had been sent a letter from the SPCA with a power bill inside to show how much their costs have risen.

"It looked like a genuine bill. I mean at first even I was confused as to why mum had a $5900 bill," she told Fairfax.

It turned out the bill was for a promotional campaign, but Moore said her mother struggled to understand the concept.

The donations had been happening for about two months, she said.

Her mother had donated at least $200 in just one week, but Moore is unsure of what other payments were made to the charities.

Age Concern national president Peter Oettli told the Herald that it was hard for charity organisations to know people's mental well being when they send out requests.

However, once informed they should cease with their requests immediately, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I think that any organisation that solicits for funds has a responsibility to make sure that they receive them ethically. It clearly is impossible for an organisation that circularises a section of the population to know who has dementia and who doesn't. But if they are advised that somebody is no longer able to make decisions about how to dispose of their assets they must immediately stop."

Oettli advised elderly people who became confused or unsure about making donations to ask a "trusted person" for advice. Age Concern would also be happy to help, he said.

Meanwhile, Greypower national president Tom O'Connor says the persistent targeting of elderly people for money is a form of elder abuse.

He said he had heard of other similar cases where elderly, vulnerable, people had been targeted by charities.

"Some charities have become almost predatory in their drive for more money and while they usually work for good causes this can be a form of elder abuse."

O'Connor said while most people get regular unsolicited advertising and begging letters in their mail and most know how to deal with them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Some are genuine charities, others are scams under the title of surveys or bogus lotteries," he said.

The chief executive of the Auckland Northland division of the Cancer Society, John Loof, would not discuss individual donors for privacy reasons, but said the organisation did not 'hound' anyone for money.

"The Cancer Society only wants to accept donations that are genuinely intended to help fund cancer research and patient support. We are in the business of helping people, people are at the heart of what we do, and it's in our interests to ensure people get the best experience from us, be they a donor, volunteer or patient."

Amanda Midgen, chief executive of the SPCA, also confirmed that the elderly woman had been immediately removed from their mailing list when the charity was notified.

"We empathise with this family and in a case like this our policy is to always take all appropriate steps to make sure the situation is resolved."

The actions of the charities have been no surprise to some Herald readers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One Auckland woman says her 88-year-old mother lives alone and is constantly getting phone calls from charities asking for donations.

"She has real trouble saying no to them. I can't believe how she has ended up on these databases as we don't get any. She is of the opinion that everyone gets these calls."

Another woman, whose mother lived in rural Southland, said she had a similar experience in the early 2000s when her mother was repeatedly called on Sunday mornings asking for more donations.

She said her mother understood it to be a one-time donation.

"They persisted in calling, repeatedly, when my mother had no idea why she had been singled out, except that as she had been singled out, she was somehow obliged. It took some very strong language to bring these people to desist."

An Auckland woman felt for Jan Moore as she had been shocked at the number of requests her 89-year-old father received from high profile charities after she moved in with him.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"My father was aged 89 at the time I moved in and was rapidly losing his eyesight, so paying attention to details such as the date of his last donation was difficult. He has given to charities all his life but I believe that he had no idea that the same charities were asking him for money again and again, often in the space of only a few weeks."

"It seemed that no sooner had my father put a donation in the mail than another request would arrive ... I believe elderly people are particularly vulnerable to getting on to mailing lists in this way, as they are more often home during the day to receive these calls."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Council mistakenly sends one ratepayer's bill to up to 1000 people

04 Jul 04:25 AM
Construction

'A substantial breach': Builder's work under scrutiny after installing leaky gazebo

04 Jul 04:00 AM
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: Which fish is most commonly farmed in New Zealand aquaculture?

04 Jul 03:57 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Council mistakenly sends one ratepayer's bill to up to 1000 people

Council mistakenly sends one ratepayer's bill to up to 1000 people

04 Jul 04:25 AM

'I’d urge anyone who received it to protect the person’s privacy.'

MetService National weather 4-5 July

MetService National weather 4-5 July

'A substantial breach': Builder's work under scrutiny after installing leaky gazebo

'A substantial breach': Builder's work under scrutiny after installing leaky gazebo

04 Jul 04:00 AM
Afternoon quiz: Which fish is most commonly farmed in New Zealand aquaculture?

Afternoon quiz: Which fish is most commonly farmed in New Zealand aquaculture?

04 Jul 03:57 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP