A funny thing about charity shop donations - The Bear and Badger

davyK

I will from time to time throw a bag of clothes and other odddments into a charity shop. I recently went to the bother of filling a form in so they can claim tax relief on what they make on it. Good old me.

Got an email with this little snippet.....

Marie Curie wrote:

One of the requirements of HM Revenue and Customs is that we write to you every time we make a claim for Gift Aid.
This means that, if we sell any more of the goods you kindly donated, then I will have to write to you again.
Sorry if this seems a waste of paper, time and resources. However it is a HM Revenue and Customs rule and is the only
way to reclaim an extra 25% on your donations.

We are pleased to say that your goods have so far raised Â£24.75. If you wish to donate this money to Marie Curie
Cancer Care, you need do nothing further.

If you wish to reclaim the proceeds from the sale, (less our commission fee of 5.00% of the sale value) please contact
us in writing at the address below within 21 days of the date of this letter stating your donor ID number.

Marie Curie Cancer Care,
Unit 1 Enterprise House,
Cheney Manor Industrial Estate,
Swindon,
Wilts,
SN2 2YZ

If we do not hear from you, we will assume you wish to donate the money to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Isn't that odd? Does this mean I can use a charity shop as an outlet to sell my crap? Surely I am mistaken!

regmcfly

yeah, but fucksake.

davyK

law is a funny thing to an uninformed dolt like myself. Must be to do with how shops and suppliers work together I suppose.

Bollockoff

How good is that price though? Considering what you donated, is that pretty good?

No I am not getting ideas.

JonB

Bollockoff wrote:

How good is that price though? Considering what you donated, is that pretty good?

Yeah, I mean that's less commission than ebay, hmm.

Bollockoff

Extortion of the needy. Well, someone has to hold the poverty line.

mistercrayon

Nobody expects to pay good money in a chazza though so any returns are likely to be shit.

adkm1979

I've got a Red Cross shop across the way. Â I regularly give them stuff, they've had a real mix from me, from crappy trinkets somebody might like, through to two hi-fis in great nick, to pristine tailored suits, and loads of stuff in between. Â A bongo drum and a didgeridoo were, no doubt, a joy for them to price.

Anyways, the point I was going to make is this; the stuff is handed in anonymously. Â I don't mean that I wear a ski-mask, I just mean that I hand it over in a black bin liner, and they clearly keep no record of who is handing in what. Â I've certainly never filled in a form. Â I've never heard of anyone being asked to fill in a form. Â I've never, ever seen a charity shop where they had any way of identifying different previous owners from what's on display.

So, this thread leaves me MASSIVELY confused.

davyK

linky

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/30/gift-aid-hidden-catch

FranticPea

Yeh, we've given probably 15 Bin bags full of baby stuff to the charity shop and never been asked to fill anything in.

Webbins

I have a kitchen cupboard stuffed full of those charity bags that get shoved through the letterbox. They ask you to leave it out full or otherwise, but I'm fairly sure they just drive-by and stop for only those that are filled. We get literally 2-4 on an average week from both genuine charities and those that claim to be so but really aren't.

Mod74

We use them as bin bags, in a pinch.

Webbins

Just so long as you remember to put them in the bin and not out the front of Help the Aged.

[Deleted User]

Webbins wrote:

I have a kitchen cupboard stuffed full of those charity bags that get shoved through the letterbox. They ask you to leave it out full or otherwise, but I'm fairly sure they just drive-by and stop for only those that are filled. We get literally 2-4 on an average week from both genuine charities and those that claim to be so but really aren't.

I am all for giving to charity (I do my bit) but these bags annoy the hell out of me. Â We get 5 or 6 posted through our letterbox every week.

Webbins

I have a bin bag by the door full of clothes (mainly the missus'), but it will be going to a local charity shop rather than some spiv in a Transit.

[Deleted User]

The use of 'Spiv' in a sentence always makes me giggle.

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