A veterans’ fundraising outfit has been rapped after some fundraisers were accused of confusing donors and acting aggressively.

We R Blighty, a Kent-based group, has been caught breaking fundraising rules, a charity watchdog has revealed.

The company, based in Broadstairs, was also found not to have the correct permission to fundraise on the street.

A spokesperson for the firm questioned the allegations of aggression but stressed it has “implemented clearer training standards, updated oversight procedures, and a renewed focus on ethical and transparent fundraising”.

In Wednesday’s report, the Fundraising Regulator found: “It was more likely than not that donors could have been misled by confusing messaging or fundraising materials.

“This includes materials suggesting a link with a well-known national veterans’ charity, which the Community Interest Company (CIC) has since confirmed it does not work with.”

“We were also concerned about the costings in some of the fundraising materials that the CIC could not show good enough evidence for.”

The probe concluded, on balance, that “some fundraisers acted in an aggressive and unprofessional way towards both potential donors and public officials”.

We R Blighty, based in Millennium Way and originally set up in 2022, admitted six charges of illegal street trading across London and the South East at City of London Magistrates' Court in June.

It included three counts of unauthorised street trading and three counts of collecting money or selling articles without a proper permit.

Speaking at the time, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s licensing committee, John Fletcher, said: “The persistent unlawful nature of We R Blighty’s money collection and sale of articles for private gain without the pre-requisite authorisations is totally unacceptable.”

Speaking on today’s findings, Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, stated its recent investigation had "uncovered serious breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice, including inappropriate fundraiser behaviour, an inadequate complaints process, and misleading the public".

The regulator found nine breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice, and concluded that the organisation has been fundraising in public without the correct permissions.

Ben Mills, head of operations at We R Blighty and a former pupil of Hartsdown Technology College in Margate, says the firm has changed the way it fundraises, selling its own magazine instead of asking for donations.

In a public statement, the company says it “remains fully committed to collaborating with the Fundraising Regulator and other oversight bodies”.

Doing so, it adds, will “help improve sector-wide understanding of how modern, ethical fundraising models operate”.