The daughter of an 87-year-old dementia sufferer says charities have been hounding her mother for donations after discovering the pensioner had forked out hundreds of dollars.
The elderly woman, from Kaiaia, south of Auckland, mistook the letters for unpaid bills after a drive by the SPCA to ramp up donations included a copy of their power bill.
Jan Moore, the woman's daughter, told Fairfax her mother had become so distressed she called her in a panic one morning at 6am.
"I am the one who usually calls her, so that was the first shock," said Moore. "She sounded distressed, absolutely panic-struck. I actually thought someone had died."
The charities include the Cancer Society and SPCA. Moore immediately asked the charities to remove her mother from their mailing lists, Fairfax reported.
"The trouble is once someone gives them money they just bombard you with requests and appeals. I have no idea how much she has paid so far," she said. "The Cancer Society was the worse, they kept sending her letters even when I asked them to stop."
Moore, who lives in Auckland, said her mother had been sent a letter from the SPCA with a power bill inside to show how much their costs have risen.
"It looked like a genuine bill. I mean at first even I was confused as to why mum had a $5900 bill," she told Fairfax.
It turned out the bill was for a promotional campaign, but Moore said her mother struggled to understand the concept.
The donations had been happening for about two months, she said.
Her mother had donated at least $200 in just one week, but Moore is unsure of what other payments were made to the charities.
The chief executive of the Auckland Northland division of the Cancer Society, John Loof, would not discuss individual donors.
"It is very important our supporters have a positive experience," he told Fairfax. "In the event they have concerns, we would encourage them to contact us directly."
Amanda Midgen, chief executive of the SPCA, also confirmed that the elderly woman had been immediately removed from their mailing list when the charity was notified.
"We empathise with this family and in a case like this our policy is to always take all appropriate steps to make sure the situation is resolved."
