RSPCA and other charities accused of 'cold calling' relatives of dead donators

The RSPCA said legacies in wills pay for one in two animals

Cold calling can be stressful and inconvenient (AFP/Getty)

A prominent charity has come under criticism for sending a grieving daughter a letter checking whether her father was still alive.

The RSPCA is one of several charities which chase up bequests from dead donators several months after they have passed away, The Times has reported.

Now a woman has said the RSPCA wrote to her after her mother died, asking whether the charity was due a donation since it had been promised £500 "in the event that her husband did not survive her."

The letter ended: "We should be grateful if you would confirm whether the information we have received is correct."

The woman wrote back to the charity saying her father was still alive and that she did not want the charity to contact her again.

Such practices by the RSPCA, whose patron is the Queen, show a "lack of sensitivity", one Conservative MP told The Times.

Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for funerals and bereavement, said charities should not be upsetting relatives.

"It does seem to be showing a lack of sensitivity to people who have suffered from the loss of a loved one," he said.

"Grief lasts longer for some than for others. You couldn't say there was a safe priod after which they would be able to make an approach."

Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for funerals and bereavement, has said he might start an inquiry into charity practices (Rex Features)

Mr Pawsey said he was considering a parliamentary inquiry if evidence emerged that many people were upset in this way.

Several major charities including World Wildlife Fund and Age UK follow up on donations made in wills, employing an agency called Smee and Ford to alert them to mentions so they can collect donations.

The RSPCA, which depends primarily on donations, said such legacies pay for half of all the animals they saved and were crucial to their work.

"We were sorry to hear that his lady was upset to be contacted four months after her mother's death," the RSPCA said in a statement.

The charity added that the will was a public document and staff had waited three months after receiving it.

"We believe our correspondence was appropriately respectful and compassionate and we are very grateful her mother had considered the work of the RSPCA to have been worthy of such practical support,” said the RSPCA in a statement.