Who Called Us

The message below should say "We are a member of GuideStar" not the BBB.

As the marketing communications manager for Childrens Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF)*, I am both dismayed and disturbed to hear that individuals are using our children with cancer to prey on well-meaning donors. Phone scams, whether real or suspected hurt legitimate charities like ours. Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation raises funds for its programs through a telemarketing company. However, it is entirely possible that there is a phony telemarketing scheme using our name. We are a member of the Better Business Bureau, and we have earned the GuideStar Exchange Seal. Every donation helps us advance our mission. If you are at all concerned that the call you’re receiving is a scam, please call our office at 1 (800) 238-6479 or e-mail us at childrens@cancerrecovery.org. Feel free to use our online donation system at childrenscancerrecovery.org.

I am the marketing communications manager for Childrens Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF). Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) uses telemarketing to raise funds for its programs. We instruct the telemarketing team to explain that CCRF gives financial aid to families with children living with cancer, and we also donate toys and games to help making living with childhood cancer more bearable. When contacting potential donors, telemarketers working with CCRF are directed to ask for credit card or personal information and to only call 3 times per year. If the person does not answer, they are rolled back in to the calling system. We recognize the importance for telemarketers to respect potential donors and those on the National Do Not Call List. Please be advised that telemarketers should not be able to call your phone number once it has been on the National Do Not Call List for 31 days.

We apologize sincerely if the call you received did not conform to our standards. If you have any questions or concerns now or in the future, please write to us at childrens@cancerrecovery.org or call us in our office at 1 (800) 238-6479 so that we can make sure our telemarketers are representing us in the best light possible.

When they called, wanted a credit card or debit to have me give 30 dollars' I told them to send me something in mail and I got a request for money in the mail. wont contribute because I'm not sure if this is a scam.

I've been contacted on several occassions by this company claiming to be Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation. They have asked for a donation for a campaign that has expired, yet they continue to call. I've researched them on the internet and can only find what looks like a generic website with a cover page. I've also seen scam warnings. It's a shame that they're disguising themselves as a charitable organization raising money for children with cancer. Just another note, they really press you to do a payment over the phone. I asked them to send me information about the organization and the fundraising to a p.o. box. The letter that they mailed have them listed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with Fed Id# 33-0418563, and Douglas Runkle as the Executive Director. Sounds legitimate, but can't tell given all the bad comments on the web and the fact that they're labeled as a scam.

Received a phone call from this number yesterday. We let the answering machine pick it up, but no message was left. "Toll Free Call" on our ID. We are on the DO NOT CALL LIST!

Better do some research yourself, Max. The sarcastic rep Lynx quoted was rude but correct. The DNC registry is for telemarketers, meaning sales. Charities are exempt as they are not included in the FTC definition of ''telemarketing''. This was not kept secret when you registered your numbers.

It's likely the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. Commercial fundraisers sneak in as Do-Not-Call exemptions but do not share the same protection as their clients. The FTC rules say: ''... 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.''

The call center is also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

What else to do? File complaints with the FTC and attorneys general, and the charity group doing the hiring. When the boiler room calls, try getting on a master ''no-call'' list for all of that firm's charity clients. (See more discussion under this number: 9018819984 ) If a given commercial fundraiser seems deaf to your demands, and/or merely renews its pestering with the next campaign, turn up your volume on paper. Send a cease-comm notice via USPS Certified with return card. It need not say more than to stop calling and writing whatever numbers and addresses you want protected.

A charity call campaign must usually be cleared through some agency or regulator in your state, and many states make activity reports available online. They often reveal a specified period of weeks or months in which the group is permitted to solicit, sometimes tracking well with the observations on these call forums. Find those reports and you'll find one more desk to advise of your displeasure.

This scam company, Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation, has been calling me for the last 12 days. I called this number and got their name. Do research and you'll find out for yourself. I'm reporting them to the FTC site for DNC.

cancerrecovery.org.

They may be a legitimate organization, but how they obtained my phone number is a bit frustrating.

Called twice in short period. Hung up when answering machine answered. Probable SCAM.

they asked for me by name..I refused to confirm who I was..asked who THEY were..she said we are from the Childrens Cancer Society..I said no you aren't..and you are a scam..also told them to remove my name from their system as I am on the DNC list..and that I was reporting them..she sarcastically says 'go ahead, they can't touch us'..sheesh!

Rang 3 times, when I answered, they were already gone.

This number has called our house 7 times in 2 days! I have blocked the number after researching it on the internet. We are on the do not call list.It doesn't matter.Why would a charity make so many persistant phone calls to one number?

Said they were calling from Charity for childrens' cancer. I hung up.

Keep getting calls from this number on a daily basis. Since it comes up "Toll Free Call" we don't answer because we know it has to be from a telemarketer.