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Requests for donations from the elderly exceed harassment!

By Emelyn Morris-Sayre

Real Estate Agent with The Berkshire Group

October 06, 2011 11:55 AM

Requests for donations from the elderly exceed harassment. Having just returned from the second of two trips to visit my very sick and elderly mother, I feel I cannot go a moment longer without expressing my concern on this issue:

In a period of 14 days, my mother received over 100 (ONE HUNDRED) requests for charitable donations, many of which she had already contributed to within either several weeks or months! My mother has every right to contribute to whatever organizations and charities she wishes to, but it becomes harassment when a person receives not one, two, three, but multiple requests from the same organizations even after a contribution has been made.

My mother is dying and yet she spends hours at the table reading through all of this junk ( and I mean junk) mail asking her to send money, because she feels like she needs to respond. She then spends hours looking at her hand-written journal of whom she has given to and when. Her hours should be spent enjoying her friends, her family and whatever else she loves to do. We all agree that she can leave whatever she wishes to these organizations in her will.

I am asking for help in how to curb this excessive mail coming to our home. I know this is an issue for many people across the country. The post office should be charging extra fees for this commercial mail....many of these requests come from the same clearing house. Trying to contact these organizations to ask to be removed from their mailing lists is difficult, because most times they do not give a phone number, or email address to respond.

I would like very much to make this a viral communication as so many of our family and friends are inundated by these harrassing requests and many feel obligated to respond.

If you have resources, please share. If you can contact your representatives, even better. Thank you

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Sheila Anderson

Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ

The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Hi Emelyn. This is such a difficult story to read. OMG, this is scary. Perhaps you could call your Mom's congressman and see if he or she wouldn't be of some help. Clearly, even with the do not call lists, businesses violate the law. I guess they figure it is the cost of doing business, pay an occasional fine but make a killing on the others. I will write my congressman and wish you and your Mom well.

Oct 06, 2011 12:20 PM

Anonymous

Emelyn Morris-Sayre

I am also trying to do this as well. I am just want everyone to understand that this is going on everywhere and we need to have a national effort to make it stop. Thank you so much for responding and your comments. Please pass the word.

Oct 06, 2011 12:44 PM

Lee & Pamela St. Peter

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices YSU Realty: (919) 645-2522 - Raleigh, NC

Making Connections to Success in Real Estate

☔Emelyn, I just experienced a very similar thing last year while getting my folks settled into assisted living. I couldn't believe the amount of calls and mail they got asking for donations. It's really very sad to learn that some folks prey on our elderly parents and friends. just makes me sick! I like Sheila's idea. But unfortunately even putting them on the DNC list - charitable organizations are EXEMPT!
Pamela

Oct 06, 2011 11:09 PM

Anonymous

C. D.

Hi, Emelyn. In trying to get my 90-year-old mother-in-law (with dementia) off the mass mailings, my research turned up things others can use:

That one set of companies drives a large portion of her direct mailings that she's sending money

to: They are sending similar newsletters as The Douglass Report from the same Post Office Box 969 Frrederick, MD as of Jan-Aug 2012, despite the 2007 Fraud conviction listed in this news article, and their listing on Attempts to Extract Money From Elderly blog:http://sunshine-for-seniors.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

2007 SEC Fraud Lawsuit: http://briandeer.com/vaxgen/stansberry-fraud.htm
The Stansberry & Associates newsletter seems to be the same as the Douglass Report, and Stansberry is listed as associated to many other direct-mail efforts directed at senior, who probably don't realize it's all coming from the same place, under different names.

That the Direct Marketing Association, biggest driver of bulk mail lists, does offer a service to opt out to Caregivers, and to remove Deceased loved ones:https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/regist.action

That Paralyzed Veterans of America has a very low rating among charities.

That financial newsletters (around $300 each) from Jim Powell and Henry Madison (Mayberry) come from nearly identical Phoenix AZ post office boxes. Let me know if these items are useful, and what other venues I can share them in to help our elderly and their caregivers.

Aug 16, 2012 06:43 PM

Anonymous

C. D.

Good morning. I did run across another resource to (help) remove people from direct mail:
This may help a little bit: http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/finish.aspx

Stansberry's Better Business Bureau listing:
Look at all the alternate business names listed!
http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/publishers-periodical/agora-in-baltimore-md-211

Aug 16, 2012 07:06 PM

Anonymous

C. D.

Here is a more cohesive version that I shared on the AARP Facebook page. Maybe someone can submit it to Readers Digest Magazine, which is popular with mature readers?
In trying to get my 90-year-old mother-in-law (with dementia) off the ma

ss mailings (wrote to 48 so far to be removed), my research turned up things other Caregivers can use to reduce the direct mail solicitations that suck the time and money out of our elders’ lives:
1) That one set of companies drives a large portion of her direct mailings that she's been sending money to: Agora is sending pricey financial newsletters, one “The Douglass Report,” the other, “The Stansberry & Associates Resource Report” from the same Post Office Box 969 Frrederick, MD as of Jan-Aug 2012, despite the 2007 SEC Fraud conviction listed in this news article about the 2007 SEC Fraud Lawsuit: http://briandeer.com/vaxgen/stansberry-fraud.htm
2) The Stansberry & Associates newsletter seems to be the roughly the same as the Douglass Report, and Stansberry is listed as associated to many other direct-mail efforts directed at seniors, who probably don't realize solicitations are coming from the same place, under different names.
3) Agora/Stansberry is –not- accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but BBB lists the many, many Alternate Business Names they solicit under: http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/publishers-periodical/agora-in-baltimore-md-211
4) That the Direct Marketing Association, biggest driver of bulk mail lists, DOES offer a service to opt out to Caregivers, and to remove Deceased loved ones:https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/regist.action
5) That an outfit calling itself a “National Do-Not Mail List” does try to help opt-out: http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/finish.aspx
6) That Paralyzed Veterans of America has a very low rating among charities.
7) That two financial newsletters (around $300 each), the “Jim Powell’s Global Changes and Opportunities Report,” and from Henry Madison the “Richard J. Maybury Early Warning Report” come from nearly identical Phoenix AZ post office boxes.

Can we get this information published in the AARP Magazine? I am willing and able to write the article.

Please pass this along, and add your own tips that help reduce the burden on our elders.

Aug 16, 2012 10:37 PM

Anonymous

C. D.

I have refined my post to improve its accuracy, and provide reviews of two charities that are popular with seniors, but which have low, low ratings:

Would They Put Their Own Mom or Grandma On Their Direct Mail Lists?

In trying to get my 90-year-old mother-in-law (with dementia) off the mass mailings (wrote to 80 so far to be removed), my research turned up things other Caregivers can use to reduce the direct mail solicitations that suck the time and money out of our elders’ lives:

1) That one set of companies drives a large portion of her direct mailings that she's been sending money to: Agora is sending two (similar content) pricey financial newsletters, one “The Douglass Report,” the other, “The Stansberry & Associates Resource Report” from the same Post Office Box 969 Frederick, MD as of Jan-Aug 2012.

Subscribers should also be aware of Stansberry's 2007 SEC Fraud conviction listed in this news article about the 2007 SEC Fraud Lawsuit: http://briandeer.com/vaxgen/stansberry-fraud.htm

2) The Stansberry & Associates newsletter seems to be similar content as the Douglass Report, and Agora is listed as associated to many other direct-mail efforts directed at seniors, who probably don't realize solicitations are coming from the same parent company, under different company names.

3) Agora and Stansberry are –not- accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but BBB lists the many, many Alternate Business Names they solicit under: http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/publishers-periodical/agora-in-baltimore-md-211

4) That the Direct Marketing Association, biggest driver of bulk mail lists, DOES offer a service to opt out to Caregivers, and to remove Deceased loved ones: https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/regist.action

5) That an outfit calling itself a “National Do-Not Mail List” does try to help opt-out: http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/finish.aspx

6) That Paralyzed Veterans of America has a very low rating among charities:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4295

7) That Helping Hospitalized Veterans is rated as low as they can be rated:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/10/help-hospitalized-veterans-controversy_n_1763095.html

8) That two financial newsletters (around $300 each), the “Jim Powell’s Global Changes and Opportunities Report,” and from Henry Madison the “Richard J. Maybury Early Warning Report” come from nearly identical Phoenix AZ post office boxes.

Can we get this information published in the AARP Magazine? I am willing and able to write the article.

Please pass this along, and add your own tips that help reduce the burden on our elders.

Aug 23, 2012 08:22 PM

Anonymous

C. D.

At last, I found a Govt agency willing to help curb elder financial abuse by companies:

At last! Found a Govt agency that is supposed to help with elder financial abuse:

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/protecting-older-americans-from-financial-abuse/

They do have a Facebook page, too.

Sep 09, 2012 08:08 PM

Anonymous

Good morning, Emelyn, and thanks for keeping this going.

this morning, I turn over the rock to examine the customer complaints and business practices of The Swiss Colony.

I also updated some of my other blog information within previous posts.

http://www.cdbonner.net/category/elder-financial-abuse/

Regards,

Jul 30, 2013 09:50 PM

Anonymous

Report Health Scams to FDA Criminal Investigations

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dean Bonner

Just this week, we got two new health newsletters from Agora Financial subsidiary companies.

The first, from “Nutrition & Healing” addressed from PO Box 725 in Frederick, MD (as are many of their financial products), claims that standard prostate therapy is encouraging cancer and “turning men into women.”

On the other side of the newsletter is a headline Cancer cure discovered in “Moon Rocks.”

This is shameless, and potentially dangerous to the elders who buy this junk.

The other newsletter was called “Outlaw Medicine” claiming there are breakthrough cures that the medical establishment won’t tell you about. “Forbidden” answers to diabetes, cancer, arthritis, heart disease…..”

Their scare tactics are persuasive to elders with dementia or Alzheimers, who might believe “the mainstream is so desperate to keep these miracles from you.”

“Outlaw Medicine” comes from 702 Cathedral Street in Baltimore, the same address as “The Douglass Report” financial newsletter.

More on this group from the Sunshine for Seniors blog:
http://sunshine-for-seniors.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

But I’ve found that you can report such tripe to the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations that specializes on hokey claims.

Write to them (send them copies of the questionable materials with a cover letter), along with the original envelope showing the origin address:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
Ph. 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)

Their website:
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/CriminalInvestigations/ucm123062.htm

You can also try the Federal Trade Commission, which has considerable teeth itself.

It’s an uphill battled to keep ahead of such heartless predators.
But hang in there, and work together.

Aug 16, 2013 11:14 AM

#10

Anonymous

Intensity

I have been trying to contact through e-mail each organization that is overwhelming my Mother In Laws mailbox . She gets so much mail and has donated to them often. One of them has sent me back an email stating that if I want a name removed from their mailing list I need to send them Power Of Attorney!! This is crazy! It is for an organization in Montana called St. Labre Indian School. (Of course, I did not send the POA)

Oct 09, 2015 10:33 PM

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