Southern California Wheelchair Veterans Association Fake charity making robo calls... Lake Elsinore, California

I have been donating to Wheelchair Vets and buying trash bags for 7 or 8 years.  I have always received my order and never been asked to pay before receiving my order.  An invoice is included in the package.

I have also NOT been harassed by them.  They call perhaps twice a year and ask if I would like to make a donation by purchasing the bags.  If I say "No, I still have plenty", they politely mention the few other products they have, and when I decline they say thank-you and terminate the call.

Several years ago, I was concerned about whether they were a valid charity, as I had been reading several reports of charities for Vets that were either scams or had high administrative costs resulting in very little money going to Vets.  I actually looked up the phone number of a hospital that served Vets that had been referred to in the short speil on one of their calls.  I found the phone number through Information from the phone company, NOT from Wheelchair Vets.  I called the hospital and talked to a person at the hospital asking them if they knew anything about the SC Wheelchair Vets.  The lady on the phone just casually mentioned that yes, the SC Wheelchair Vets provided various things for the  vets at the hospital including BBQs and gettogethers as well as some equipment.  This confirmed for me that Wheelchair Vets was valid and providing the services they said they were.  I can't speak to the administrative overhead.  I don't have that information.

The bottom line is that I feel comfortable donating to Wheelchair Vets.  I get good quality kitchen trash bags.  Yes, they are cheaper at Costco, but I am able to give a little something back to these guys, many of whom were disabled in service to my country.  I also am able to itemize the deduction on my Income Taxes, as they are a registered non-profit and have a tax ID number.  I have been filing this with my other deductions for years.

I'm sorry to hear that some of you feel harassed by them or that they are a scam.  I suggest that you politely ask them to remove your number from the calling list.  I'm sure that a polite request will be taken care of.  Thanks for your concern about all the scams out there, but this is not one of them.

They sent trashbags to my 18-year old son without his permission, then called months later asking for money.  They refuse to mail us return postage.  (We still have the bags in the original mailed package, unopened - we don't use trashbags in our household.)  About a year after that, they made a nasty, harassing phone call demanding money.

Legitimate charities don't harass people.  This organization has spent a lot of money on telemarketers' wages - legitimate charities don't do that.  It is remotely possible this group might have bought the potato salad for some picnic or other one year, but that doesn't make them "nice people".  Avoid these people - if you can.  We did everything right - said no, didn't give out credit card/bank account numbers , didn't agree to anything, but we are still getting harassed.  These are not nice people!

And if you guys (Wheelchair Veterans) are reading this, the next time you call, my sons and I are going to string you along as much as we can, and keep you on the phone as long as we can, while giving you nothing.  You will never get a dime from us, and I figure we will be helping others by keeping you busy talking to us so you can't try to scam other people.  Sort of a civic duty kind of thing.

In the local yellow pages for Riverside County, which was a link i found while entering the number after getting two calls tonight , no message left and I screen all calls.

The  google search produced the following link:

http://www.phonesbook.com/049-CA-Los-Angeles-Riverside-Orange-County/KENVILLE/

and the info on the page was this:

KENVILLE, ANGELA 19415 OKEECHOBEE LN, LAKE ELSINORE, CA 92530 951-609-3165

 

I dont feel the address was correct because I also searched that and it was just sold last month so I went ahead and posted it here. My apologies if this was a no-no.  Even though the caller ID said the So Cal Wheelcha  ( didnt even finish word)

 

I called the number it was busy busy busy. When I screened  the calls it sounded like it was a very busy  background. My first thought was , is this a Bar???

 

ANyway, other  searches also put the name with this number, so  this may be the person who owns the phone line. I feel if the charity was indeed legit, they would leave a kindly message, since I am also on the do not call list, they may be legit in some ways, however if they were legit they would leave a message and  even mention they may call again. But Since they do follow all of the normal phone spammers MO  then I have to go with  the idea they are probably like the Airport fake nurses who hold the money cans... When i used to work at the ticket counter, I was in the restroom and heard and saw they two nurse look alikes dividing up their takes.  After doing some investigative work, I discovered that  these people take up to 95%  as administrative fees. So even though they sold the garbage bags, its important to know where the money goes and how much of it.

If you search online  some of the biggees in Disaster relief  and Hungry children charities will shock you when you see some huge names keep 75%.  SO do your homework, And there is nothing wrong with obtaining the Charity name and  pretending to these solicitors you are gonna give then  call the real  home offices the next day and send them the money directly.  I have experience in organizing huge fundraiser events, and  the organization I helped  was 100% legit,  but  the problems we had were that it was a public event with 10000 attendees typically, and it was $30 per person fee to  get in, that is a lot of cash  to handle , count and keep safe. We had  issues  with hands trying to  take before t ever went to the charity.  And so  its also as important to research who you volunteer for because one bad association could ever hurt your reputation even if  you are just a do gooder.

So I think you both are a little bit right about this place, and certainly anyone who calls do not call list people did not obtain their caller list from the proper sources. And its their own fault if they do not get donations or  sales because  anyuone who doesnt talk when a phone picks up , and calls right back again with no message  will never make any real money , so they waste their time and the charity  is now  getting a bad rep too, I would donate to a person who needs a wheel chair, but  in my experience the Police  in some cities will donate  wlakers wheel chairs and  motorized chairs as well as the Kiwanas and  the Lyons, at least they did in my city anyway. I have  seen sunglasses companys  who just replace any returned glasses  with new and then refurb the returns and donate them. Even as they were practically going broke, my neighbor  got paid in merchandise  a couple of times, but they donated thousands of  ofhuge name expensive designer sunglasses and frames. And then got bought by a bigger corp!  Hope this info is useful.

This charity is not a scam.  I have been donating to The Souther California Wheelchair Association since 2007.  I am 30 years old.  They asked if I would like to purchase a box of trash bags, or a first aid kit.  The money will be used to help get wheelchairs, cable, laptops for bed ridden veterans, and provide holiday cheer, especially around 4th of July, or Memorial Day.  I receive my first aide kit, or trash bags, with a tax receipt, and 501(c)(3) non-profit tax exempt number is present on their receipt.  I then get a charge for around 50 dollars, but send a little more in, just to be nice.  These people are doing good for our veterans, and anyone out there that slams them just because they don't like getting calls, is very wrong.  Giving and serving is what these men did for me, and I can do no less for them, even when I can barely make ends meet.  Thank you.  Yours Truly, Christyne W.

Once again "do not call lists" don't apply to non-profit orginizations. The Southern California Wheelchair Veterans Association does not ask for credit card, bank, or personal information over the phone. There are holiday bbqs, picnics and gift baskets through out the year for these disabled and paralyzed vets confined in the local VA hospitals. Much needed medical supplies and equipment is distributed to help keep them comfortable. They are not a scam.