A furious Blackfen mum has expressed her shock after a man claiming to be selling hand towels for charity began spouting disgusting insults at her when she politely refused to buy.
Romaine Brace, 42 and of the Park Mead area, told News Shopper of the concerning incident which occurred on Thursday, March 21, while she was at home with her five-year-old son after which the supposed salesman then threw his wares at the house and kicked her door out of frustration.
She explained that the man had presented himself as an ex-convict working on behalf of a charity called Helping Hands, saying that they provide him with homeware products for him to sell on commission.
However when Ms Brace politely refused, she claims the man became extremely irate and began swearing at her, calling her "a f***ing southern b**ch."
"I initially gave him the benefit of the doubt and listened to him.
"But all the products he carried had 'As Seen On TV' stickers, like the ones you get in shops.
"I just told him that I couldn't talk to him and had to attend to my son but he just went ballistic.
"This wasn't a very nice situation," she said.
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Ms Brace said that she then searched for the Helping Hands charity online, but found forums claiming that this type of behaviour has been a regular occurrence in many neighbourhoods.
"They said that in this area that this is happening loads and when people say no, they’re getting very aggressive."
She also believes that this individual was not working for any charity and was just looking to scam charitable residents.
"It kind of worries me that someone who that doesn’t have their wits about them or mental tenacity to just shut the door could be duped.
"It’s really awful for these charities who do help people," she said.
A number of charities within the UK currently operate under the name Helping Hands, however according to Ms Brace the man who knocked on her door claimed to represent a Helping Hands charity in the north of England.
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When contacted for clarification, a spokesman for the Helping Hands Community Trust in Leicester said that their charity does not provide this service or opportunity to ex-offenders and said that the centre has received a number of calls relating to this.
This has prompted the trust to leave a warning on their website which reads: "We have been made aware that some residents have been approached by individuals selling household items door to door claiming that proceeds support Helping Hands. Can we be clear that this is not connected to this Trust and we suggest that any services are refused."
When approached by this reporter, a spokesman for the Helping Hands Community Project in Warwickshire said that they also have no connection with these incidents and have asked any affected residents to not encourage this behaviour and to notify police of these incidents.
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