Frequently Asked Questions

 

The FPS is run by the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Fundraising Regulator runs the FPS so that people can request to stop receiving direct marketing communications from charities registered in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. You can find out more on the Fundraising Regulator's website.

If you are unable to complete your request using the FPS website, you can use our telephone helpline instead by calling 0300 3033 517.

Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than calls to local or national rate numbers (01 or 02) and must be included in inclusive minutes in the same way. Costs depend on a number of factors such as individual calling plans and time of day. For more information visit the Ofcom website.

The FPS can stop direct marketing communications from charities registered with the Charity Commissions for England and Wales or Northern Ireland. Direct marketing is any contact that contains a fundraising ask, such as a request for a donation. The FPS can stop:

  • addressed letters
  • emails
  • phone calls
  • text messages

You can choose these separately or choose all of them.

Please note, there may be circumstances where a charity needs to contact 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 the charity, such as a magazine subscription.

These reasons for getting in touch are not direct marketing, so the FPS will not stop this type of contact. You should speak directly to a charity if you do not wish to receive communications from them that are not about fundraising.

The FPS will stop direct marketing through addressed mail, emails, phone calls and text messages from a specified charity. It cannot stop:

  • People who come to your door to fundraise
  • People who are fundraising on the street
  • Delivery of charity bags to your address; or
  • Mail that does not have your name on it, but instead is addressed to 'a householder'.

This is because this sort of fundraising is not targeting you specifically; charities have simply chosen your area or postcode to fundraise in.

The FPS will also not stop communications from organisations that are not registered charities. For example, commercial companies who want to sell you goods and services. You may be able to stop unsolicited communications like these through other services such as the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Mailing Preference Service (MPS). More information about this is below.

The FPS will also not stop any direct debit donations that you have already consented to. To stop these, you must contact the charity directly.

No. You do not need a username and password to use the FPS.

Every time you submit a request through the FPS, you will be asked to enter your contact details so that charities can find you on their database/s and suppress your details from their direct marketing send lists. We will also ask you to provide us with an email address or phone number so the FPS can send you a reference code to confirm your request has been received.

If you want to follow up an FPS request you have made previously, you will need to enter this reference code on the follow up page of the FPS website. If you are unable to find your reference code, you can ask for a reminder on the follow up page.

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

If you would like to stop communications with more than 10 charities, you need to submit a new FPS request. For each visit, you will be asked to enter your contact details so that charities can find you on their database/s and suppress your details from their direct marketing lists.

Alternatively, you can stop contact from up to 20 charities by calling 0300 3033 517.

The FPS needs to collect personal data from you so that we can administer the service and so that charities can find you on their database/s and suppress your details from their direct marketing lists.

The charities you select will access your data through the secure FPS charity portal. The data will only be used by them for the purposes of matching the details you provide against their database/s. For further information, please refer to the FPS privacy policy.

No. When your FPS request has been submitted you are unable to change the information provided. Please make an additional FPS request if you would like to submit additional personal information or end contact with more charities.

It may take up to 21 days for a charity to stop contacting you. This is because many charities plan their communications in advance and may be unable to remove your details if a communication has already been fulfilled.

If you continue to receive direct marketing communications more than 21 days after submitting an FPS request, you can make a follow up request. Visit the follow up page on the FPS website and enter your reference code. We will send a further notification to the charity concerned to let them know that you have continued to receive direct marketing communications from them.

If you continue to receive further communications after making a follow up request, you can make a complaint about the charity to the Fundraising Regulator. More information about this is below.

When you make an FPS request, we send you a reference code by email or text to confirm your request was received. If you are unable to find your reference code, you can ask for a reminder on the follow up page.

Yes. You may want to use the FPS on behalf of a friend, relative, someone you care for or someone who has died. You will be asked to:

  • Provide the contact details of the person you are making the request on behalf of, including their full name, address and the method(s) of communication they wish to stop such as an email address or phone number.
  • Provide your name, contact details and information about your relationship to the person concerned. We need your contact details to send you a reference code and confirm the FPS request has been made.

When using FPS on behalf of a living person you will need to confirm that you have the authority to act on their behalf. We will send a letter by post to the person you are acting on behalf of to let them know that their details have been entered on the FPS system. If you do not wish for a letter to be sent to the person you are acting on behalf of, we will ask for proof that you have power of attorney. Call us on 0300 3033 517 if you wish to do this.

If you are making a request on behalf of someone who has died, we will not send a confirmation letter to this person.

If a charity contacts you and you believe they should not have your details because you have not been in touch with them in the past, you should contact the charity in the first instance with your concerns so that they can look into it. If you remain unhappy with the charity's response, you can get in touch with the Fundraising Regulator via its complaints form. You may also find it helpful to raise your complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, as the lead regulator for data.

About a charity I am continuing to receive communications from after making an FPS request

  1. Please wait 21 days from the date of your FPS request for the charity to update their records.
  2. If you are still being contacted, make a follow up request using your reference code.
  3. If you continue to receive direct marketing communications from the charity and you wish to make a complaint about the charity concerned, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator using this complaints form.

About the Fundraising Preference Service

If you wish to complain about the FPS, email fps@fundraisingregulator.org.uk or call 0300 3033 517. If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, you should follow the Fundraising Regulator's 'complain about us' process.

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

The FPS is designed to help people manage communications from charities registered in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Fundraising regulation in Scotland is different to the system in place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. People 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 about the fundraising practices of charities registered only in Scotland, please contact the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel.

The FPS is unable to stop all forms of contact from charities or stop commercial companies from getting in contact with you.

People who come to your door

The FPS will not stop people who come to your door to fundraise. You may be able to stop some contact by placing a sign on the front door of your house that says, ‘no cold calling’, ‘no charity fundraisers’ or similar. For information on ‘no cold calling zones’ or ‘nominated neighbour schemes’, contact your local authority.

Items delivered to your house

The FPS will not stop the delivery of charity bags, as this sort of fundraising is not addressed to you specifically. If you do not want charity bags, you can display a sign on your front door that says ‘no charity bags’, ‘no clothing bags’ or similar. Also contact the charity directly to ask them to record your address on their ‘no delivery’ list. See the Fundraising Regulator’s charity bags advice for the public for more information.

You may be able to stop other mailings by placing a sign that says ‘no junk mail’ or similar on your front door. These other services may also be able to help:

  • Mail Preference Service (MPS): a free service which enables you to have your name and home address removed from direct mail lists used by businesses. Visit the MPS website or call 0207 291 3310 for more information.
  • Royal Mail Door to Door opt out: a free service which stops all unaddressed items from being delivered by the Royal Mail. This service does not cover any other unaddressed mail distributors and the Royal Mail is still obliged to deliver all addressed mail, including mail generically addressed ‘to the occupier’ or ‘the homeowner’. Visit the Royal Mail Personal Customers Help Centre or call 0345 266 0858 for more information.
  • Deceased Preference Service: is a free service operated by the Co-op Group. Visit the Deceased Preference Service website or call 0800 068 4433 for more information.

Stopping phone contact

These other services may be able to help you:

  • 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 TPS website or call 0345 070 0707 for more information.
  • BT Call Protect service: a free service for BT customers to combat nuisance calls. Visit the BT website or dial 0800 328 1572 and follow the instructions.

The Fundraising Regulator runs the FPS. If you have a question that is not answered above, please contact us by:

Email: FPS@fundraisingregulator.org.uk
Phone: 0300 3033 517
Post: Fundraising Preference Service, Eagle House, 167 City Road, London, EC1V 1AW


Last updated 28th February 2023