Who Called Us

Caller identified herself as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Foundation. I immediately hung up.
You should never give any telephone fundraisers money.

The caller is a FOR PROFIT SOLICITOR calling on behalf of their customer charities. This solicitor keeps on average 59% of what they get from you as their fee, the balance goes to the charity, and the charity in turn keeps much of the money. I have read that some call this type of business arrangement a scam charity but I don't know. Using the info below, you can do some Google searches and see some of their other charities who may also be calling you. The caller is: Associated Community Services, aka: A C Services, 29777 Telegraph Road, Suite 3000, Southfield, MI, 48034. phone:(248) 352-2600 fax: (248) 351-2124. Associated Community Services has been sued by several states for deceptive solicitation practices and have been barred from soliciting in some states. Google Associated Community Services lawsuit to see the lawsuits they have been involved in. The WA State Secretary of State has a good page on them, along with the charities they solicit for. The page indicates 41% of what A C Services collects goes to the charity they are soliciting for but click on each charity listed to see how much the charity actually gives to the people in need. Some of the charities A C Services solicits for provide as little as 3% to program expenses which means after you give them $10, A C Services keeps $5.90, the charity gets $4.10, and the charity spends only $0.12 of your original $10 donation, or 1.2%, on services to the people they are trying to help. Demand that the caller puts you on their Do Not Call list; they will make the excuse that they are a charity and can legally call you to solicit money. Charities are NOT bound to abide by the Do Not Call registry but this is not a charity calling you, it is a paid solicitor.... maybe a telemarketer is a better description..... so I don't know how they can call in violation of the DNC registry. Give A C Services a call at the MI number above and ask to be put on their corporate Do Not Call list; I did but it doesn't seem to work. File a BBB complaint against them. File FCC and FTC complaints against them. File Attorney general complaints against them in your state and in MI. Send a letter to their law firm. Interestingly, the lawfirm that represents A C Services appears to be the same firm that represents each of the charities A C Services solicits for.....huh. They are: Copilevitz and Cantor LLC, 310 W 20th Street, Suite 300, Kansas City MO, 64108, Phone (816) 472-9000, Fax (816) 472-5000

Go to the Charity Navigator website to see high rated charities where a high percentage of your money will go to those in need.

The caller is a FOR PROFIT SOLICITOR calling on behalf of their customer

Don't converse with 8XX numbers. Ignore them. Get caller id and block calls if you can. Whatever you do DO NOT DONATE!!!! Do not give them any of your financial information. Do not even verify your name. Very few of these calls are from legitmate organizations.

Got a call from this number saying they were A.C. Services supporting Breast Cancer victims. I asked how much went to the charity versus the service and she said 80% goes for admin and 20% goes to the charity!! Said I wasn't interested and hung up.

Just got a call from The Breast Cancer Support Foundation. After having just discovered I was scammed by Officer Down Foundation, I was a little leary of charity calls. So I asked how much of my contribution would go to the actual charity (the woman calling identified herself as being from a paid fundraising group) and she pretended to get a supervisor on the phone to answer that question and then proceeded to hang up on me. I can't say for sure but I'd say that was a pretty good sign that this is a SCAM!

we have told them not to call us but they keep on & on & on So now
we dont answer at all.

CLaimed to be Breast Cancer Support Foundation, cannot find info on web about them. they tried to get credit card info from me

So Anon, what's your answer to the complaints here and on other forums? They tell of hostile and pushy reps, impatient cursing from the same when resisted, hanging up before anyone can finish saying "Put me on your no-call list", sly efforts to obtain account numbers, attempts to con people into an "agreement" they never made .... and possibly a "charity" which is 100% for-profit.

Maybe, just some of the time, when call targets get upset, it's because your old employer started the problem and won't stop making it worse without a lawsuit. Maybe ACS is committing "death by a hundred cuts" and grinding down any hope of a civil response. I see your type of argument on almost every other discussion of annoying commercial fundraisers, and it's tiresome. "It's the only job in town, I was broke, I never did those bad things, the machine dialed and not me ...." That doesn't excuse the poor business model you helped maintain.

Now if you want to discuss what's "perfectly legal", here is the holy writ of FTC:

"... if a third-party telemarketer is calling on behalf of a charity, a consumer may ask not to receive any more calls from, or on behalf of, that specific charity. If a third-party telemarketer calls again on behalf of that charity, the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000."

We would not need a TCPA or other laws to control call centers if they would only learn their boundaries already.

I used to work at this place for over 2 years. Was a struggling college student taking care of myself with no help from anyone as my mother passed away and my father & I have always had a strained relationship since their divorce. I'm letting you all know this to humanize the people who you all speak to. I worked here to keep food on my table and a roof over my head. While I agree some of the company's practices are not right, they are unfortunately perfectly legal. I can understand you all being upset but keep in mind please that NO ONE aspires to be a telemarketer and you have to do, what you have to do. At the time, I.was living in Michigan and the economic climate is terrible. Jobs are hard to come by unfortunately, but ACS is the only option for lots of people. I have now graduated and am currently in graduate school and left acs, but i just wanted to let you know that we are people with real feelings. Why would you say twlemarketers need to die? Or answer the phone screaming and being rude to someone who was totally polite to you? There are many days I left work in tears and I always felt genuinely ashamed of what I was doing, but I felt I had no other choice. So, please. Have a.little mercy on the people you speak to if theyre nice. No one WANTS to interrupt your dinner or our kids' bedtime. The computer dials your number automatically, your info literally just pops onto our screen. In ky opinion, calls should stop at 730, but thy can legally call until 9.

Toll Free Call

Breast cancer research call. Dialed the number back and this one was not disconnected.

This "foundation" was calling non-stop months ago. I told them very nicely that I do not donate or provide any financial information over the phone. I offered them to send me their info. via postal mail. The woman grew angry and said they must get the info. over the phone. I said, "Well, I guess we're done. That won't happen...so good-bye and good day." I then hung up. An hour later the phone rings and the id displays the same phone number. I answer to "settle" it. The woman identified herself as a manager. She claimed to have just spoken to my husband. He had promised a donation, but the line was disconnected. It was wrong of him to do that. She would like the donation fufilled now because we were no obligated to fufill his promise. I asked her if she was certain that she spoke to my husband. She said yes and gave me his name (correct name. I asked her if she spoke to him from my number. She said, "I sure did." With great sarcasm I then told her my husband was at work all day and I have been home all day. Therefore, that was impossible. She just started saying, "um,um, and I then told her what she was doing was cheap, pathetic, and illegal (should be if not already) and I pity the poor seniors she fools with these tactics. I told her I was filing a complain and to NEVER call back again. The calls stopped until....today. The woman I spoke to this time called as I was truly one my way to get my child from school. I didn't even look at the caller-id. I told her I had to go, and if this is for a donation, don't bother calling back and hung up. I have reported them to the FCC. I guess they just have to stop calling for 60 days or something like that. Unbelievable. They can keep calling. They aren't getting anything from me.

This is just a scam. They have called several times; they use several different cancer-related names. This time a "Kathy House" called. It took some prodding to get her name, which is probably faked. After additional prodding, trying to get an address, she said they were in "Dearborn, Michigan, somewhere on Michigan Avenue". She said she didn't know the house number. I told her I'd wait while she found it. She hung up the phone. Each time they call they are reluctant to identify themselves, other than giving a name that sounds like a cancer-related charity. Probably this is just a phishing scam trying to collect credit card numbers. Several related variations on this scam are "press 1 to lower your interest rate", "automobile warranties", and "debt collectors". All of them are scams. NEVER give credit card numbers to anyone who calls you, even if the caller ID looks correct. (Caller ID is easily faked.) ALWAYS check out the phone number carefully and ONLY give your credit card number to legitimate businesses that YOU HAVE DIALED YOURSELF!!!

Caller posing as a cancer survivor soliciting donations for "Breast Cancer Support foundation" -- I googled while on the phone and found no such group except info about a scam. They referenced a group website called The Breast Cancer Charities, which as far as I can tell have no relationship with this group and provide very little if any direct assistance to victims. When I asked more questions, the caller hung up.

This is a call to a number that is and always has been on the Do Not Call list. This is not a legitimate enterprise, but it will probably, like George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, never be prosecuted, no matter what it does.

American as apple pie.

This is tied to calls from Michigan 248-351-6713. If you don't contribute, shortly after your receive this call you will get one from the Michigan number (Associated Community Services). Sounds a lot like ACORN doesn't it. Looks like they are raising money for their candidate.

I rec'd a call from this number today. I told the caller to hold for 30 seconds. After looking up the phone number on this site, I started reading the comments I found here to the caller. The caller promptly hung up on me. lol.

They have called numerous times over the last several months. One time I answered, out of curiosity, and when I told the rep I give generously to the ACS, she became very mean and belittling towards me. I told her that her attendance at that Dale Carnegie course was really paying off, and hung up. Now they are calling again. I answered to make sure it was them, and yes it was. So I refused to commit money, but told them to mail me information and I would consider it carefully after thoroughly researching the organization. My bet is that I won't get anything in the mail.

This scam uses a bunch of different phone numbers (all unidentified). No legitimate charity raises money like this. Don't give them a cent. Your money will go to the scam and will help no legitimate purpose.

have been getting these calls regularly and they are a nuisance maybe a lawsuit would stop all of this might answer and advise me of my intentions GL all who are receiving these

"Breast Cancer Support Foundation " = scam. They called again (at dinner time, of course!), despite our repeated requests that they take us off heir lists since we're on the Do Not Call Registry. Immediately filed complaints with the DNCR + FCC.

Nuisance....we are on no call, but that doesn't help. Lawmakers, where are you?

I agreeed to give to them one time, then did some online research. They have an "F" rating, meaning that most of their donations go to their COSTS and NOT to cancer patients. At the time, the only donation that could be found from them was for 6 small box fans to a hospice! DO NOT give! If you want to support cancer patients use the Am. Cancer Society!

Call numerous times a day and during the week. Leaves no message.

Didn't leave message, disconnected when I didn't answer by the third ring

DO NOT OFFER TO GIVE TO THIS FOUNDATION. I got a call from 866-825-2728, claiming to be from Breast Cancer Support Foundation. Asking to give any amt. to help women who can not afford mammograms. I told "him" I was giving to the local Amer. Cancer. Soc. He was very persistant (and said the their donations were going straight to breast cancer support). I asked that my name & number be taken off their registry - for the third time).

I see this is supposedly Breast Cancer Fund. Have received numerous calls from this same fund(to which I have never contributed) and the numbers are different. Never leave a message and call many times each day. Will NEVER contribute to any fund which uses these tactics!!

Let answering machine handle call. Left no message on machine.

High pressure sales pitch for donation. Keeps asking for you to agree to send money. Switches you to a "verification operator" but when you state that you need more information, they hang up. Seems like a sham operation to me. Be careful, and ask for plenty of information BEFORE you give your hard earned money. Beware.

Have never done business with this charity and have no idea how they go my number. We are on the Do Not Call list.

Answered the phone with my business name and she said, "I didn't mean to call your business line, mentioned my last name, then hung up on me!"

Received solicitation via phone. #866-825-2728 I was going to donate then saw a PO Box as return address and did not send. I will send donation to Susan K Gorman Foundation. If it is a legitimate charity sorry

They waited for the answering machine and then hung up. Reporting to Do Not Call.

Breast Cancer Support Foundation wanting donation.