Stunned residents in Harborough have been charged a £9 transaction fee after donating £200 to back NHS staff through Virgin Money Giving

Generous residents in Market Harborough were stunned to be charged £9 after donating £200 to back NHS staff through Virgin Money Giving.

Burnmill Farm Action Group handed over the cash to NHS Charities Together to support brave health service workers battling the coronavirus.

But the furious band of public-spirited neighbours have hit out after being forced to pay a £9 transaction fee.

An angry spokesman for the group said: “We can’t believe that we’ve been charged this fee – it beggars belief.”

He said they’d acted after having £190.03 left after raising cash to pay for expert advice about the David Wilson Homes estate being built nearby.

“So we decided to donate the money left over to the NHS Charities.

“The actual amount was rounded up to £200.

“The only two ways to donate were by credit card and PayPal.

“We had no credit card facility so I made the donation using my own card,” said the local campaigner.

“To my astonishment Virgin Money Giving which operated the charity’s fundraising account charged £9 as a ‘Transaction Fee’.

“This seems unbelievable in the present crisis with so many giving so much and so many sacrifices being made.

“How could Virgin Money make such a charge for an electronic transaction that would have cost them virtually nothing?

“This should be highlighted in the hope they can be persuaded by public opinion to themselves donate the money they have charged to the NHS.”

A Virgin Money spokeswoman insisted the giant UK fundraising hub was a not-for-profit organisation.

“We are proud to play our part in helping the nation support our NHS heroes and we’ve been blown away by everyone’s amazing efforts.

“Virgin Money Giving doesn’t ever make a profit on donations.

“The small fee covers the cost of running the service and there’s a processing fee charged by card providers,” she said.

“Recognising the fantastic work of our NHS heroes in this extraordinary time, Virgin Money CEO David Duffy has donated a portion of his salary to enable us to remove our platform fee for the NHS campaign.”