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13
Aug
Devastated family of Harrogate shopkeeper speak out over scam funeral fundraiser
The family of a Harrogate shopkeeper who died this year have been left devastated after a scam fundraiser left them with no money to pay for the funeral.
Claire Lewis, who ran the Number One Shop on Electric Avenue, died suddenly on May 6.
Bunches of flowers and cards paying tribute to Claire were left outside the shop following news of her death.
A few days later, an online fundraising appeal to raise £2,000 to pay for the funeral was set-up.
However, Callum Naisbett, Claire’s nephew, told the Stray Ferret the family has not received any money from the appeal and a bill for his auntie’s funeral remains outstanding.
‘Malicious’ fundraiser
After Claire’s death, a GoFundMe fundraiser was set up and was posted anonymously in the Harrogate Grumbler Facebook group.
Mr Naisbett said he contacted the organiser asking him to keep the family up-to-date and to arrange for the funds to be transferred once a funeral date was arranged.
He received an email response from a woman, who claimed to be the daughter of a man who was behind the appeal.
She told Mr Naisbett she set up the fundraiser on her father’s behalf and that the man frequently visited Number One Shop.
The pair communicated via emails, which have been seen by the Stray Ferret, until May 11 — eight days before Claire’s funeral.
Mr Naisbett said she then did not respond to repeated requests for an update on the funds until June 20, when she said her father had died on June 7 and she was unable to access his accounts.
The woman has not responded to any family emails since.
Claire Lewis, pictured outside her shop in August 2025.
Mr Naisbett told the Stray Ferret that none of Claire’s friends, regular customers or those who donated to the fundraiser could recall a man with the organiser's name attending the shop.
The Stray Ferret understands police have told the family they have been unable to confirm whether a man with the name of the organiser died in June or lived in the Electric Avenue area of Harrogate.
We tried to contact the woman to ask for an explanation about why the family had not received any money from the fundraiser and why she had not responded to family emails since June.
She said she had been unable to contact the family due to having a new phone.
We also tried to call a number, which was provided to us by GoFundMe for the organiser for an interview on May 11, but no one picked up.
‘Someone is still taking advantage of her’
Mr Naisbett said that the past two months have been “saddening” and that Claire was still being taken advantage of when she is not here.
He said:
It’s really saddening. My auntie Claire did everything for me, I would not be here without her. She was like a second mum to me. She had time for everyone and now someone is still taking advantage of her while she is not here.
Mr Naisbett has since taken to social media to urge those who donated to the fundraiser to contact GoFundMe to request a refund.
He said he believed the appeal was “malicious” and a means of making money from Claire’s death.
He said:
Claire was a selfless soul and I will not have someone using her death as a cause to gain money.
The family reported the fundraiser to Report Fraud, formerly Action Fraud which deals with reports of cyber crime, on police advice. However, the organisation said there were “insufficient lines of enquiry” to investigate.
It said:
A fraud or cyber crime, having been recorded, has not been allocated for investigation because the assessment process has determined there are insufficient lines of enquiry to warrant such dissemination. We continually assess the content of individual and linked crime reports. If, due to new information the situation changes, we will provide an update.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe told us that it investigated the fundraiser and removed it as part of its due “diligence process”.
They said:
As part of our standard due diligence process, our trust and safety team investigated this fundraiser and took action to remove it. Any donor wishing to request a refund can do so, in line with our GoFundMe Giving Guarantee, which protects donor contributions.
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