Country Coach Owners Forum

Yahoo Message Number: 64975 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/64975)

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Many members of CCI recently received unsolicited s and were concerned that the CCI office had given out e-mail addresses of members. Following is the response from Sherry Fanning, CCI Club Manager. Ted Wright, Past President L041 October 29, 2010

Just a reminder that your member information is proprietary to this organization and is used for Club business purposes only.
There was a recent unsolicited email sent from Heritage Motor Coach Resort and Marina to CCI Members. I learned of this first from a member who called in and then forwarded the email to the club's email address.
On Wednesday, October 27, I contacted the resort via the email address provided on the Heritage Motor Coach Resort & Marina email. Mr. Jim Howard responded that he apologized for "catching the club off guard" and that he "thought that there was some value in offering the club members a special rental deal of three nights for the price of one...."
I forwarded my email correspondence with Heritage Motor Coach Resort & Marina to the club president, and also shared with President Hoadley all members' concerns as received at the CCI office. I have copied the president on each response I have made to inquiring members.
You may recall that on March 10, 2010 Davis Cabinets also sent an unsolicited email to the CCI Club Members. At that time members also immediately contacted the Club office. Just as I have done in this recent instance, I immediately contacted Davis Cabinets who at that time let me know that they'd gotten the directory from a member. I strongly cautioned Davis Cabinets at that time also that our members' privacy is a pledge CCI and its office staff do take very seriously. I also forwarded the correspondence to then president Ted Wright.
Should you have further questions, the Club office can be reached Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm at 800-537-0622.

As always,
Sherry Fanning
Club Manager

COUNTRY COACH INTERNATIONAL

Yahoo Message Number: 74064 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/74064)

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prey on patriotism

By Jennifer McDermott (http://www.theday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/personalia?ID=j.mcdermott) Publication: The Day

Published 08/14/2011 12:00 AM
Updated 08/14/2011 02:46 AM
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(http://www.theday.com/Images/speechcloud.gif) COMMENTS (10)


When he saw a man soliciting donations at a table decorated with pictures (http://www.theday.com/article/20110814/NWS09/308149942/1018#) of veterans outside a Manchester grocery store recently, Rusty Meek suspected a scam.
The man had no insignia for the Veterans of Foreign Wars nor the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans or Marine Corps League. As a past commander of the Connecticut VFW, Meek knows all the local veterans' groups.
"I went and said, 'What veterans' organization are you with?' even though I knew he wasn't with any, and 'How much of this do you keep?'" Meek said.
Obscure groups claiming to support veterans have sprung up with tin cans and tables in front of Stop & Shops and other retailers across the state in the past two years.
Meek reported the solicitor to the store manager, who told the man to leave.
But most people walking out of a supermarket with spare change don't ask questions. It's a small amount of money, not enough to bother with a tax write-off, and besides, it's helping veterans.
These scams prey on people's patriotism and support for the troops, both of which are at high levels. The collections can be lucrative: Legitimate veterans' organizations have told the state they can collect as much as $6,000 in a weekend.
"Veterans need and deserve this support. The good news is that Americans are ready to provide it, but those generous motives also bring out the worst in the con artists," U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. "And the better the cause, the more trusting people tend to be about the person soliciting."

'Hurt the cause'
Veterans are furious that these solicitors are coming into their communities since they think the scams hurt legitimate veterans' causes.
"We've got guys that have given arms, legs, their lives," said Jay Freeto, a VFW member who served in the Marine Corps. "And for these people to do this, it pisses people off, especially us."
Sometimes the way the suspect groups "support" veterans is by hiring a veteran for a day to collect the donations, not by giving to any veterans' causes. Other times the solicitors aren't even veterans.
When veterans collect donations for an organization, they typically don their service cap. The VFW gives away poppies, Disabled American Veterans hand out forget-me-nots.
Often the other solicitors wear camouflage or fatigues they've picked up at an Army-Navy shop, with a ball cap. They hand out flags or flag lapel pins (http://www.theday.com/article/20110814/NWS09/308149942/1018#) and implore people to "support Connecticut's veterans."
If he weren't in the VFW, Freeto said, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"No way," he said. "Even my 7-year-old son would want to donate to these guys because it's going to the veterans."
John Niekrash, president of Work Vessels for Veterans, said these groups "hurt the cause of all of us and in turn, hurt the vets."
"It is very damaging and despicable," said Niekrash, whose Noank-based charitable organization (http://www.theday.com/article/20110814/NWS09/308149942/1018#) provides deserving veterans the equipment they need to work as civilians.
Veterans' groups, including the VFW and American Legion, turned to the state's veterans' affairs commissioner, Linda Schwartz. A Pawcatuck resident, Schwartz encountered the solicitors locally and received reports of them in Groton and Mystic.
One had the audacity to tell Schwartz the donations would be given to the veterans' home in Rocky Hill. She runs the home, and she knew that wasn't true.
"A lot of good folks are well-meaning and give generously but really do not ending up helping veterans," she said. "It has become a business."

Verifying is important
The state Department of Consumer Protection has received a steady stream of complaints about these groups in the past two years.
Five were summoned to the department for meetings, said Stephen Eaton, of the department's Public Charities Unit.
"People don't write checks to them. They dig into their pockets and throw five bucks or a buck into the bucket," he said. "It's difficult then for any regulatory organization to keep track of what happens to that cash. But we have watched these groups carefully."
He suspects all five are still soliciting. Sometimes they find people to man their tables by going to homeless shelters and asking if anyone wants to work for a day, Eaton said.
"The best we can do, I think, is to offer some public education so that people will know what questions to ask," he said. "And I don't want to say be wary, but be skeptical."
A solicitor should be able to explain to a potential donor how the money will be spent.
A "verify a license" section on the state Department of Consumer Protection's website will tell if the group is registered.
Charities that want to solicit funds must provide their name, address and other basic information to the Consumer Protection Department. They have to file a form with the Internal Revenue Service showing how their money is spent to maintain their tax-exempt status and give a copy of that form to the department.
Some of the suspect veterans' charities are registered in other states, such as Rhode Island and New York, or not at all. They get around the IRS requirement by changing their name slightly before filing for a subsequent year, Schwartz said.

Stronger laws needed
In a joint letter last week, Schwartz, the consumer protection commissioner, and the state attorney general advised stores to make sure a charitable organization is registered by looking on the Department of Consumer Protection's website before allowing them to solicit.
"We sent the letter to retail merchants because they are the gatekeepers," Schwartz said. "They decide who can be on their property."
Both Schwartz and Attorney General George Jepsen said in interviews that raising awareness will help address the problem, not solve it.
Under current law, the state cannot limit the amount of money that can be spent on the administrative costs of fundraising or even rate the effectiveness of charities, although there are private groups that rate them.
"We found out that there's really no law that could be enforced if you took 98 percent of the money you collected and only gave 2 percent to veterans," Schwartz said.
Jepsen said the General Assembly "should certainly consider" giving the Department of Consumer Protection power to "draw a line between a charity that's effectively promoting their cause and one that's essentially lining their own pockets."
State Sen. Carlo Leone, D- Stamford, Senate chairman of the General Assembly's Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the committee could perhaps draft legislation to require that a percentage of donations be given to veterans and devise a list of legitimate veterans' charities.
Blumenthal said he would consult the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs and Federal Trade Commission about stronger laws to protect against scams.
Blumenthal likened the scams to those that flowered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and more recently the Japanese tsunami, which took advantage of people's desire to help the victims.
"Some of the best and highest causes," he said, "tragically also elicit some of the worst scams."

j.mcdermott@... (j.mcdermott@...)