The website Easyfundraising calls itself the UK’s “biggest charity shopping site”, raising millions of pounds for good causes across the country, from leading charities to friends’ groups to support local schools.
It says it has raised more than £50m for good causes since it was launched in 2005, describing itself on Facebook as a “charity organisation”.
Brands pay a commission on customers directed to them via the website, with Easyfundraising passing at least half to the good cause chosen by the buyer.
But its activities are now being examined the Charity Commission after a complaint from Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who founded the airline easyJet and has an “army of lawyers” to defend what he considers are infringements of the use of the easy brand.
The billionaire’s easyGroup launched legal action against Easyfundraising over the use of the word “easy”, with a trial concluding last June and judgment expected in the next few months. But his criticism of the company didn’t end there. His legal team cited concerns in court from user reviews that the operation, which is backed by the UK private equity firm Palatine, is using “a charity guise” for an affiliate money-making scheme.
Haji-Ioannou originally sent a complaint to the commission in March and has also now cited further evidence provided from the court case. He said it had emerged that only 13% of the good causes on the website are registered charities, and it was an “egregious misrepresentation” for the firm to be described on Facebook as a “charity organisation”.
Haji-Ioannou said: “I believe they can only make money by misleading the donating public that they are a charity – when in fact they are a very profitable company [backed] by private equity.”
Easyfundraising hit back this weekend, saying it is being targeted by what it considered were “mud-slinging tactics”; that users were clearly informed it was a private firm; and that it complies with all relevant charity and fundraising regulations. It says it is not a “typical fundraising organisation”, but is keen to ensure it meets the highest standard of best practice and clearly communicates that it is a company.
Easyfundraising has generally positive views on the review website Trustpilot, but some users complain of repeated notifications and some purchases not being eligible for donations. One user wrote: “I have been sent emails daily encouraging me to spend in order to donate. I have tried to unsubscribe several times.”
Alex Heasley, chief customer officer at Easyfundraising, said small good causes across the country, many of which are not registered as charities, were “the backbone” of the site. She said: “We don’t solicit donations. We provide a platform or technology for these donations to be raised. If people choose to shop via Easyfundraising, a donation can be raised for their cause.”
She said the company slogan promoting the UK’s “biggest charity shopping site” was not meant to be read in isolation, and users understood and were informed that they were visiting a company website. Heasley said Easyfundraising categorised itself as a “charity organisation” on Facebook because the social media site did not have a category of “fundraising” platform.
She added that users had control over any marketing emails or notifications.
The firm says that nine out of 10 of its reviews on Trustpilot are scored at four and five stars. It says a small proportion of purchases may not be eligible for donations, which may include those in which a discount voucher has also been used.
Company accounts for the Support Group (UK), whose main activity is providing staff and support services for Easyfundraising, reported turnover of £9.3m in the year to 31 December 2022, with payments of £578,431 to its directors. It reported a profit of £1.6m.
A letter sent to the firm by the Charity Commission in April stated: “The commission has reviewed the company’s website and whilst it does state at the bottom of the first page of its website that it is a for profit, private company, there are also statements which could be seen as misleading, including that Easyfundraising is the ‘UK’s biggest charity shopping site’.” The commission said last week its review of the case continues.
Haji-Ioannou is founder of easyGroup which owns the easy family of brands and donates most of its profits to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation.
The billionaire has embarked on a series of trademark battles against firms using the prefix “easy”, including a pressure washing company in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Easyfundraising said it was confident of a “positive outcome” in its legal dispute with easyGroup, and the most recent complaint to the Charity Commission was “part of a continued campaign” against Easyfundraising. It said it was proud of its technology that raises money for good causes, and was happy to answer any questions from the commission. Palatine declined to comment.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have received correspondence raising concerns about a fundraising platform called EasyFundraising. We are currently reviewing the information available to us to determine if there is a role for the commission. As part of this, we have written to Easyfundraising.”
Officials said they were assessing the most recent correspondence.
