Captain Tom's daughter

[Sneezeless]

Who would have thought it?

Right from the very start I was very cynical about this not because I thought they were taking money out of the charity which is very disgusting, but because I believe they had a lot of association with the Conservatives which it turns out there is some sort of network that the family had because it was taken away from what we believe was going on at the time with the conservative trying to make this a good news story.

When I said I was really cynical though and I didn’t buy into this the amount of abuse u got for saying that at the time was unreal but it’s been proven. I have been right..
But it seems to me that interesting at the same time this was going on. A few lads were doing something like camping in the garden. I can’t remember what they were doing for charity but they never ever managed to get any traction.
But as it happens, we now realise that the family were in PR so that makes a lot of sense

This.

Shameful behaviour. Will they pass any of the £1.5 million profit from book sales on.....
The other money donated seems to be used by the too, swimming pool, extension etc.

Greedy vile woman

Is it wrong that I kind of want to see the brochure?

Same. Never liked her and felt ot was a scam.

@Darker I don't expect anyone to be paid peanuts and I don't believe transparency on salaries should be reserved for the charity sector either. Ideally, all employers should disclose pay, it would hugely benefit employees and customers - allowing them to make informed decisions where they spend their money. I am a business owner myself and fully transparent on finances. If you have nothing to hide, why fear it?

And the UK charity commission has been highly criticised (often rightly) for failing to investigate misconduct - including Captain Tom saga.

Camila Batmanghelidjh? this is not an isolated case

that was all very odd.

Does anybody remember the Bargain Basement Tom? A lady who ran up and down stairs for charity?

Thank you. I look for the Living Wage accreditation, which shows that employers are paying their own staff and that they are working with suppliers that do the same

Oh God you're right..

I rolled my eyes at the whole thing, as it was a cliche of feel-good tick boxes...

1. War "hero" (although I gather he only spent 5 years in the army, and much of that was either being trained or being a trainer)
2. Seemingly sweet elderly person. Awww.
3. Raising funds "for the NHS" (although he was actually raising money for NHS charities so so many people seemed to think he was raising money for the NHS itself)

If he hadn't ticked those boxes, and had a pushy daughter with PR knowledge and links, it wouldn't have gained traction.

He was walking around his garden as part of his physio plan post hip surgery from what I understand and I think they saw it as a money-making venture and capitalised on his Army background and age. I don't think he was exploited by his daughter, I think he wanted his 15mins of fame (like he did when he was on Blankety Blank 🙄). He was a salesman and businessman, his daughter similar, so their personalities are likely money driven. He only became a national treasure because of great advertising, great PR, the right contacts, and huge media backing.

Jeez....

@Youngatheart00 yes- the husband appears to have got off awfully lightly

@Oreyt Christian ethos charity -

Captain Tom branded holidays! The mind boggles. Do you family take you somewhere in the hope that you'll pop your clogs? Or maybe you get to walk up and down a field all day long while listening to Michael Ball?

They’ve just been saying on the radio that it’s not criminal what they’ve done. The charity commission is saying it’s not criminal why is it not criminal because apparently the initial 38 million whatever they raise for the foundation did go to charity it was after that it was then when they did Captain Tom‘s book And it was the disingenuous about how much was going to charity etc

I think it skims a very fine line between illegal and unethical.

I had no real issue with the initial fundraiser, I just think they’ve let the 5 min fame-by-association go to their heads and thought they could bankroll this for life.

I thought it was very sad she was so exuberant about the brand aspirations so soon after losing her father.

Hopefully they will disappear quietly now and readjust their expectations and morals.

That's because she was the one always hovering over him

@roastiepotato front of camera, yes, but I just got a sense of something different when I did meet them in person.

Can totally see it

A private company is an entirely different thing.

An example of wages would be I employ two salesmen. One is brilliant and turns a sale on nearly every deal, the other has a success rate of 50%. It is not unreasonable for that good salesman to negotiate a better wage, and that be nobody elses business.

You, as my customer an look at the product and decide if it is for you at the price advertised. You really don't need to know my profit/loss.

But a charity asking for money for 'good causes' should be totally transparent, and looking at this shower of conmen and their charity/company returns, they appear to be feathering their own nest way before any good cause sees a penny.

Surely that would be considered some form of punishment. They could market it to the justice minister as a replacement to prison, stop overcrowding. 😂

Not in the slightest bit surprised sadly. I didn’t donate at the time as I had a bad feeling about the whole set up. She’s a total grifter who should go to prison. One of the saddest things is the fact many people will be put off donating to charity in the future for fear of something like this.

There are key legal differences between a Ltd Company and a Registered Charity.

One of which is that a Ltd companies purpose is to deliver a return for its shareholders.

A charity looks to deliver maximum value to the stated cause. That is after deducting operating expenses, but there is a gray area around what level of operating expenses are ‘correct’, and can be open to manipulation if there are huge salaries, ‘consultancy fees’ etc. It’s reasonable for a charity to make a surplus to ensure it’s financially sustainable, but money leaking out to the controlling parties and the charity status being used in vein for planning applications etc is just an abuse of the charitable status and the tax breaks etc they get, this is why they’ve been closed down, and rightly so.

I work for a charity and get a salary package based on my skills and experience. They could replace me with someone cheaper and give the balance to cover more ‘direct’ costs but it wouldn’t be much of a saving if in the long term I was able to give much better value. A good accountant or fundraiser or project manager will cost more but will also save time and resources and know how to make the charity more sustainable and effective.
This goes x 10 for a good CEO. You won’t be able to tell if they are worth it from salary disclosures in the accounts. It’s the trustees job to worry about that - and big charities invest a lot on getting the right people on their board and in their Senior Leadership positions.