To be angry at this??

[Yummymummyyobe1]

So I sorted out the family wardrobes and placed the items in various carefully selected charity bags and placed them outside the front of the house. On coming back into the lounge there is a women stood in my front garden pilfering items from the bags (mainly baby clothes and bits). Anyway I go out and ask her what she on earth she thinks she is up to and to return said items as what she was doing was theft and trespass. She reluctantly handed the items back and I said I was more than happy for her to purchase the items and then money go to the charities in question.

She asked how much an item and I said 20p for the vests, 30p for the babygrows (there were some still with the labels on) and a £1 for everything else (about 60% had the labels on and cost a lot more than a £1). She walked off muttering.

WIU to refuse to let her take the items for free as they were things we no longer wanted. I felt that it was paramount to theft from the charities we had chosen not to mention from us.

Actually I think this is awful. There are certain charities I support. Some of these will collect if asked, so I frequently leave bags out with the charity name on them. If I caught someone not from the charity going through them I would be livid. Not only would they have trespassed, and stolen from me and potentially the charity but they would have wasted one of the charity workers time and petrol.

Sadly in our area we are encouraged not to use the labelled bags that come through the door as there have been many incidents where the bags have been stolen, taken to a local park sorted through and dumped.

This is not done by people who have no other options and are desperate, or by people who a looking for a few bits to sell on ebay, it is been done by organised gangs.

If I don?t care what someone intends to do with something I put it on freecycle, they can use sell scrap it for all I care but if I have items that I know may make some extra cash for a charity be it through them reselling it or by selling it for rags that is my choice and is a charitable act

We left a washing machine out in our front garden once for the council to collect. A man knocke don the door and asked if he could have it. We said yes and he took it. I cancelled the council collection and saved myself £30 !!

Now we always just leave stuff we dont want in the front garden and someone nearly always just takes it !

Hmm maybe its the area we live in.

But back to the OP, I would have just let her take them to be honest.

Would you like to walk us through the different brands, amount and approximate values of the clothes you were givng out OP?

which is, after all, the entire point of the thread

charlottehere if she had knocked I would have happily let her take them over a tea and a natter.

Ithinkitsjustme thank you for clearing that up I though you had to ask.

badtasteflump thank you I can't see the point in loosing my temper (it gives you wrinkles ) It was very cheeky indeed.

MrsKeithRichards there was a program about it not so long ago and how people are even faking charity bags to rip people off.

bronze thanks I have sat and thought about it and thought perhaps I was being.

Justme23 thank you and step away from the Juke

honeytea she didn't look pg but it could be early days perhaps I should have questioned a little more. On the other hand £1 is nothing for baby clothes.

charlottehere angry may have been the wrong word to use perhaps.

catgirl2012 they do the pick up between them (saves on running costs)

YANBU if the lady had knocked on your door and asked you about the charity bags that would be different.Common courtesy really.

Goodness, its like a witch hunt on here sometimes - it doesn't matter if the clothes were designer one offs worth 500 quid each, it makes no moral difference to the situation

I think it's up to the OP what she wants to do with her unwanted items. V cheeky of the woman to just go searching through the bags. For all we know she could have been planning to sell them on for profit herself.

Clytaemnestra I guess people have different morals in life.

Morning Flisspaps oh I'm being cherry picked. I would have happily sold the items to her.

Ismeyes thank you I think I might have felt differently had she rung the door bell and asked.

TantrumsAndOlympicGoldBalloons What's wrong? I'm getting there slowly and trying to relax more and shop less LOL.

EarnestDullard not a problem. If she looked PG then I would have let her have some of them for free.

McKayz trust me vanilla does not change the smell of a dirty nappy.

at catgirl

It wouldn't have hurt to ring the bell and ask before rummaging through the bags but actually, it isn't the crime of the century either and I don't think I'd waste real anger over this.

But OP definitely isn't a troll although sadly, almost all her posts are riddled with designer names, reminders of how much she spends and more than a whiff of "considerably richer than yow" which (probably unfairly) makes me less sympathetic for starters.

Charity, my dear, begins at home. Even if it does have to stretch to letting common people make off with your Emile et Rose vests or put their grubby hands into your vanilla scented binbags.

It is a bit of a witch hunt which isn't nice to watch.

Hi op, hope your doing good! I remember you and glad your taking it easy.

I don't blame you being annoyed that stuff is for charity. And I bet they will be glad of it too (with your penchant for shopping bet it a good haul )

This happened to a friend of mind recently, she's left the things outside for a charity to collect. She chased them off with a brolly.

cansu there are plenty of people out there who are more than happy to steal charity donation bags for their own profit. here for example. Just because you would never do that unless desperate doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of people who would.

Woman could have been intending to nick them and flog them on ebay for all we know. [cynical emoticon from 8 years in police]

yummy just life in general :(

Glad you are doing ok.

Hi yummy! Nice to see you.

I think it's greats your taking it easy and have sorted done stuff for charity. I know you love to shop so I bet it's lovely stuff.

That woman was rude and yanbu. This happened to a friend a while back and she chased them off with her brolly.

monicamary my point exactly

Thank you Ismeyes & dontcallmehon

Pandemoniaa I think angry was the wrong word [surprise] is probably a better word. I would have allowed her to have the items if she had just asked and a £1 is really insignificant for an item of clothing. Charity does indeed begin at home and sending them to the charity shop support this.

MrsKeithRichards I'm not easily upset I ask people for their opinions and that's what they offer. As the French put it C'est la vie

I 100 percent agree with Nigel. And op could have ebayed these things to make money but instead will benefit charities.

Good for her.

were they in charity shop bags? i do this, the bags come through the door, i fill them up and then put them at the front of my garden ready for collection, its what all my neighbours do as well and i have never once seen anyone rummage through to take stuff, how bloody rude!

and the poster isnt a troll, but has had some issues with anxiety etc if i remember rightly, there was another thread a while back.

My friend had this. She has a glass porch and put some bags there for when she went to the car and took them to the charity shop. A neighbour saw a woman open the porch door help herself to the bags AND the shoes on the shoe rack .

PicklesThePottyMouthedParrot I'm doing much better thank you and how are you. My shopping has slowed down (I ran out of space under the eaves) Perhaps I need a cast iron umbrella stand for the chasing umbrellas

OhDearNigel thank you

antrumsAndOlympicGoldBalloons life is hard with a baby that is fr sure

5madthings they were in charity bags with the items wrapped in bin liners (as charity bags are always so thin) How are you? I'm better than I have been that's for sure.

Groovee I'm flabbergasted that was more than a little cheeky.

I'm packing to move and so sorting things out too!

Poor old tantrums has teenagers. That can do death-stares!

to those suggesting the op was not charitable to the thieving woman (who may or may not be poor and needy or just fucking cheeky) - is stealing ok if you are poor now? And what level of stealing is ok now? How far on to your property can someone come and how poor do they have to be to make it ok? Means tested crime?

That's why I hide at work pickle I can't take 2 teenagers at home all day.

One won't get dressed and the other won't get out of the bathroom.

Is this your 4 month old's things you are giving away? Shops will often take things back with tags on with no receipt for store credit btw.

We ignore all doorstep collection bags and go direct to the shop to donate, not only because they are 'support a 3 legged mouse' type ones but to rule out the curb-side stealing that can happen (was it crime watch that showed someone who hired a white van and just helped themselves, collecting as if they were the charity?)

PicklesThePottyMouthedParrot I'm never ever moving ever again and not at 8 months pg. Although it means a good tidy (hence making more room for new things ) When do you move?

We still have teenage years to come (wonder if DS can stay under 13 for ever)