Charity doorstep collection

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agrinnall
agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
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in Praise, vent & warnings
Do any of them actually do what they say they will?


I had a clear out of clothes a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have put them in bags provided by 3 different collectors, and put the bags out on the days they say they will collect, but not one of them has actually bothered to turn up. So all they're doing is shoving plastic through my letter box that ends up in landfill and the charity gets no benefit.


To name and shame, the 3 that have let me down are:


Treating Children with Cancer
Clothes Aid (for NSPCC)
Breast Cancer Research Aid
«134

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  • hollydays
    hollydays Posts: 19,812 Forumite
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    edited 17 May 2019 at 10:20PM
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    If they are the genuine bags, there are scammers who create bags and aren't the real charity.
    Would it be possible for you to drop directly to the charity, they make much more money that way.

    https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/12/13/how-spot-bogus-charity-bag-collection/

    http://www.charitybags.org.uk/treating_children_with_cancer_charity_tcwc.shtml

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/mobile/uk/7117646.stm

    http://breastcancerresearchaid.org.uk/clothing-collection/
  • LadyDee
    LadyDee Posts: 4,293 Forumite
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    Salvation Army did this to me - twice. After promising to send somebody after I phoned to complain they still never bothered.
  • giraffe69
    giraffe69 Posts: 3,558 Forumite
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    Around here they rarely turn up on the day suggested by their leaflets. On at least one occasion when someone has turned up later and been told the bag has gone in the bin they have got quite stroppy and then resentful/sulky when I say they have just guaranteed that I won't use their bags in future whatever.
  • tgon
    tgon Posts: 710 Forumite
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    I rarely put out filled charity bags because they are either not collected on the day or the full bag is just plain stolen. Charity bags that use 3rd party collection agents on the claim they donate a percentage the charity normally end up in my rubbish bin for kitchen waste because I don’t trust them and putting an unfilled bag out for reuse is never collected.

    I take charitable items directly to a locally registered address and cut out the middleman or chance of theft.
  • Trina90
    Trina90 Posts: 541 Forumite
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    They are often posted here and then never collected. More times they are left than collected.
    Mortgage started 2015: £150,000 2016: £130,000 2017: £116,000 2018: £105,000 2019: £88,000 2020: £69,000 2021: £51,195 2023: MORTGAGE FREE!
  • Silvertabby
    Silvertabby Posts: 9,023 Forumite
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    We usually donate to the British Heart Foundation, and our local collector is very good. We just have to ring him to arrange for a collection.

    Sadly, he told us that they are no longer doing ad hoc bag drop offs/door step collections any more due to the number of times 'men in an unmarked van' have got to the bags first.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,643 Forumite
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    I must be lucky! Bags here are always collected on the day stated.

    The only problem I've had is when I've put books in a clothes collection bag, which did state "we now take books" and it wasn't collected whereas neighbours' bags with clothes were collected. E-mailed collection firm who did collect a few days later. I assumed someone had neglected to tell the van driver that they now accepted books.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • Carrot007
    Carrot007 Posts: 4,534 Forumite
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    When do you put them out. Most of the colelctors around here come around 5am.


    I just use the bags they provide for rubbish.
  • sillygoose
    sillygoose Posts: 4,794 Forumite
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    tgon wrote: »
    I rarely put out filled charity bags because they are either not collected on the day or the full bag is just plain stolen. Charity bags that use 3rd party collection agents on the claim they donate a percentage the charity normally end up in my rubbish bin for kitchen waste because I don’t trust them and putting an unfilled bag out for reuse is never collected.

    I take charitable items directly to a locally registered address and cut out the middleman or chance of theft.

    Totally agree, my local charity shop gets the money for the items sold directly, they even email to say how much the stuff made and to say thanks. Most those collection bags are near a scam, charity get a pittance.
    European for 3 weeks in August, the rest of the year only British and proud.
  • elle_may
    elle_may Posts: 396 Forumite
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    I take the good ones to our local charity shop and fill the bags with the crap ones you can't resell. I was getting fed up with vans not from the charities collecting them first.
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