Frequently Asked Questions - Fundraising Preference Service

 

If you need help to complete the online form, there is a telephone helpline service.

Please call 0300 3033 517 to make your request over the phone.*

*Calls cost no more than calls to geographic (01 and 02) numbers and must be included in inclusive minutes and discount schemes in the same way. Calls from landlines are typically charged up to 10p per minute; calls from mobiles typically cost between 3p and 40p per minute. Calls from landlines and mobiles are included in free call packages.

The FPS will stop:

  • Addressed letters
  • Emails
  • Text message
  • Phone calls

You can either choose these separately or choose all.

There may be circumstances where a charity needs to be in touch with you for other reasons, such as:

  • to process or administer an existing gift or standing order
  • to fulfil a purchase of a ticket or other retail purchase
  • where you have some other form of membership or subscription connected with charity, such as a magazine subscription

No username and password is required to use the service. Each time you submit a request through the FPS, you will be asked to enter your personal information. Charities can then search their database and remove you from their direct marketing campaigns as requested.

You can select up to 10 charities in any one visit.

If you would like to stop communications with more than 10 charities, you need to submit a new request. For each visit, you will be asked to enter core personal information so that the selected charities can search their database and remove you. Alternatively you can stop upto 20 charities at once by calling 0300 3033 517

The service needs to capture core personal information in order to match you on the charity/ies database/s. Your personal information will be sent securely to the named charity and will only be used by them for the purposes of matching you against their database. For further information, please refer to our data privacy statement.

If you are unable to locate the confirmation email or text message with your reference code, please click here and navigate to "I've lost my reference code".

It may take up to 21 days to stop all communications from a charity.

If you continue to receive communications more than 21 days after submitting an FPS request, you can let us know by revisiting the FPS website using your reference code. A further message will be sent to the charity clearly highlighting that you have continued to receive direct marketing communications.

If you continue to receive further communications and/or wish to complain, please refer to FAQ 10a.

Any changes/additions to your personal information will require a new request to be submitted.

  1. About a charity I am continuing to receive communications from following an FPS request

    Please allow 21 days for the charity to update their records.

    If you continue to receive communications from the charity and you wish to make a complaint, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator using the Fundraising Regulator's Complaints Form.

  2. About the Fundraising Preference Service

    If you wish to complain about the FPS website, please contact the FPS Contract Manager, fps@fundraisingregulator.org.uk and mark the subject ‘FPS COMPLAINT’ or call 0300 999 3418.

    If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, you should follow the Fundraising Regulator’s general procedure to escalate the complaint.

    Please find details on the Fundraising Regulator website

In some cases, you may wish to submit an FPS request on behalf of a relative or someone you care for.

You will be asked to:

  • Confirm that you have the authority to act on behalf of the individual concerned

  • Provide the core personal information of the individual concerned, including their full name, address and the method of communication they wish to stop, e.g. phone number

  • Provide your name and contact details, and indicate your relationship to the individual concerned

Once this information has been submitted, the FPS request will be processed with a reference code sent to the email or mobile number you have provided. A communication will also be sent by post to the person you are acting on behalf of to let them know that their details have been entered on the system.

Yes, you will need to contact each charity directly to confirm you now give them your consent to send communications. With this confirmation, the FPS request will no longer be in effect and the charity will have the right to resume communications.

The FPS will stop telephone, email, text message and/or addressed post communications from a specified charity/ies. The FPS will not stop direct debit donations.

It cannot stop:

  • People who come to your door fundraising

  • People who are fundraising in the street asking you to support their charity

  • Delivery of charity bags

  • Mail that does not have your name on it, but instead is addressed to ‘a householder’

  • Communications from other organisations that are not charities, for example commercial companies who want to sell you goods and services.

This is because this sort of fundraising is not targeting you specifically as an individual person, charities have just chosen your area (or postcode) to fundraise.

You can stop some of these types of unsolicited communications through the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and the Mailing Preference Service (MPS).

The FPS is designed to help members of the public manage communications from charities based in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Donors living in Scotland can use the FPS to stop communications from charities registered in England, Wales or Northern Ireland that fundraise in Scotland.

For concerns regarding the fundraising practices of charities registered in Scotland, please contact the Scottish charity fundraising complaints hub, run by SCVO:

You may also prefer to notify charities based outside of England, Wales or Northern Ireland directly of their obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998, which also apply to organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Fundraising Preference Service will stop communications from the selected charity but is unable to stop all forms of communication from charities or stop commercial companies. The following information provides a summary of other services available that you may find helpful.

  • Telephone Preference Service (TPS) - a free service which enables you to join the official register to opt out of unsolicited sales and marketing calls. Visit the website www.tpsonline.org.uk or call 0345 070 0707

  • Mail Preference Service (MPS) - a free service to enable members of the public to have their names and home addresses removed from lists used by the industry. Visit the website www.mpsonline.org.uk or call 0207 291 3310

  • Royal Mail's Door-to-Door Opt-Out - a free service that will stop unsolicited, unaddressed mail delivered by the postman. View the online form or call 0345 266 0858

  • BT Call Protect service - a free service for all BT customers to combat nuisance calls. Visit the website or dial 0800 328 1572 from your home phone and follow the instructions

The Fundraising Regulator manages the Fundraising Preference Service. If your query is not answered above, please contact the team using the following details:.

Fundraising Regulator
Eagle House 167 City Rd, London EC1V 1AW
E: FPS@fundraisingregulator.org.uk
T: 03003000517


Last updated 6th February 2019