To think this charity shop was ridiculous?

[EmptyTheFrickingBins]

Have a fridge, freezer and new double mattress to donate to charity. The mattress is genuinely brand new and has never been slept on because I bought it and then was given a new orthopedic one which was more suitable for my poor bad back! I think I laid on it for less than an hour total.

They've just been and I've never had such an awful experience - they refused the fridge and freezer because "the door seals have gone" (they haven't - I've been using both up until last weekend and never had an issue. The freezer is also missing a couple of drawers (movers dropped and broke them but it's never been an issue)

He then called me a liar over saying the mattress is brand new - because unfortunately I snagged it on the door strip getting it out of the bedroom and it has a few small clicks on the cover.

It has really put me off ever trying to donate anything ever again. I don't have much money and could have sold them in Facebook. The fridge and freezer are a few years old so don't look brand new but do work perfectly well. The way he spoke to me made me feel really small and stupid and I hate being called a liar (I'm ND and not being believed is a massive thing for me.)

If anyone wants to know the charity name I'll share it via PM but it is a big name in the town where I live.

@TheCompactPussycat

I could see myself buying the mattress.
I've owned three charity shop mattresses in my life. All previously used. I had a luxury king size one for years and I've had at least another 2 or 3 for shorter term (whilst moving and renovating house) or occasional use (single guest bed).

I will never, ever spend £1500 on a mattress when I can get the same thing for £150. Each to their own.

It's absolutely not dirty! 🤬 Both were cleaned extremely well.

@QueenCamilla I guess different charity shops have different requirements. They probably know their customers best.

Because a freezer missing drawers is a freezer they may eventually have to pay someone to dispose of.

It may end up a net financial loss to them.

They're not a disposal.service.

Tbf, the photos show that they are both rusty/damaged along the bottom edge which people may be thinking is dirt. That sort of damage/wear will mean that the seals are no longer working to the standard they should be.

I think you need to face the fact that this was a subpar freezer.

Yes, you've been using it. Yes, you can stack food on the shelves.

No, that's not great, and there's a risk the charity shop might not be able to sell it.

But it is slightly ripped - it does have signs of wear.

They have to choose between your statement that it hasn't been used, on the one hand, and on the other, the fact that it has some snags.

They don't know you. They do know what they are looking at.

They have very likely seen a hundred other mattresses that nobody has ever slept on.

ok.so "charity" you OFFER they collect(with plan to sell-support organisation)
THEY know what they deem acceptable.
leave you with original items.
if theyd av went "thhanks love"and landfilled whatchu sold\deem serviceable.would you feel any better?

Do you not think that the fact OP was able to find new homes for her items so quickly shows that there is a demand for such things? UK charities sound like idiots to me.

Off topic I know. But I thought the word click for little snags on fabric or carpets was in common use. I'd use it for example when the cat catches a claw in the duvet cover.

Do you not think the OP is being super duper defensive and to take some of her claims with a pinch of salt?

There might be a demand for these things (however small/niche it is or isn't) but the point is that the charity shop is under no obligation to take the items if their business model doesn't cover them catering to that demand. That is to say, if they don't have the room to store things for when one bloke with low freezer standards eventually comes in with enough cash, then why should they? The person that bought the freezer was probably actively searching online groups so could filter and find it pretty quickly - the shop might not get so lucky with the perfect customer.

Plenty of PPs on this thread have said it more eloquently, but just because charity shops rely on donations, it doesn't mean they don't also have a business model. If they thought they could make more.money taking these kind of items, then they would.

So on a thread where I'm upset about being called a liar you've decided to also call me a liar?

Charming.

Which things do you think I'm lying about?

I can find absolutely nothing on the wide internet that connects damaging fabric with “click,”

I can’t believe people are telling OP she didn’t mean the regional word she used! It’s hard to google this because so many websites include the word “click’ in its internet meaning but I had a go. If you Google ‘clicked my tights” “clicks in the fabric” and similar in quotes, you’ll find people using it. Often on selling sites to describe items.

Just because a word is onomatopoeic doesn’t mean it can’t have other uses (although I think snagging fabric can make a little clicking sound, especially tights).

They simply don't have the space to take every single damaged item that people might want. It's surely not difficult to understand.

They simply don't have the space to take every single damaged item that people mightwant. It's surely not difficult to understand.

You'd think so, wouldn't you. But ask anyone who volunteers in a charity shop and they will have heard donors making statements about "someone getting use our of it" whether it be a pair of boots with the soles hanging off or chipped mugs and plates. People get emotionally attached to their things and don't like the idea of throwing them in the bin, so kid themselves that there is still life in that old chipped mug from 1999 and "someone" might be able to use it. So they donate it, we take one look, and chuck it in the bin. But that costs money because charity shops pay commercial rates for disposing of waste.

With white goods it's even more expensive because there is a recycling fee for things like fridges and freezers because of the chemicals used in the refrigeration. Mattresses do have to be absolutely pristine because they are bulky and awkward to store and with experience, charities will know that they are a hard sell when they have signs of wear.

OP says she got £10 per item as if this is "proof" that the charities are deluded and have just diddled themselves out of cash by refusing her amazing donation. What she's not thinking about is that in the time/fuel the two people spent coming to her house, they could have been at another house up the road picking up 6 boxes of other goods which were much more valuable. It's a numbers game.

Are you always so rude, or is it a new thing you're trying out hun? 🤨🙄

Here's a boot so you can really give the op a good kicking 🥾🥾🥾

The person who booked the collection obviously thought the goods were worth taking!

@IloveAslan .No- it is fabulous her items were put to use somewhere. Tough as it sounds refusingpotentil "stock"they know isnt at standard required is part of their job.
tough.
Idiot would be to draw aconclusion on entire uk charity based on 1 experience.probably

Rude? OK then.

I think we're seeing why the OP was so offended by the refusal to take her fridge/freezer and mattress. It is NOT RUDE to say that actually, this item is not something we will make money on, and we'll leave it with you.

But that wasn't what they said, was it? If the op was so upset she was shaking then they must have been pretty awful.

The person who booked the collection obviously thought the goods were worth taking!

Did that person see the items?

There is absolutely nothing rude in that post.

I think the collection people handled it wrongly and should have politely turned the items down but there's nothing wrong with turning down broken items.

In future put them on your towns local for free group, they’ll be gone in no time without questions. People working for charities on minimum wage like that aren’t going to be the best rounded individuals alas

I suppose charities get a lot of people trying to get them to take away subpar items just so they can avoid disposal charges. So they are naturally fussy to prevent having to pay themselves to get rid of them later.

If the guy was just a subcontracted man and van type, then surely he would just unquestioningly take whatever it was he was told to take? It sounds more like he was a representative from the charity itself. I agree it's odd as they look like they do in the photos presumably. Does the charity explicitly say they accept white goods and beds/bedding? I guess most people wouldn't choose to buy a mattress from a charity, but they do furnish people's homes when they are broke, just released from prison, care leaver's flats etc.
I'd make a complaint about the tone of the guy. He's putting the charity in a bad light. Glad you sold the stuff though! Lesson learned I guess.

I guess most people wouldn't choose to buy a mattress from a charity, but they do furnish people's homes when they are broke, just released from prison, care leaver's flats etc.

Very true - there are charities which do exactly that, I can think of a couple in the city where I live. But OP does not name the charity. If it was - for example - British Heart Foundation or Cancer Research, that is not their remit, they sell things to raise money for scientific research. It's not their job to then get on the phone to other charities trying to pass on stuff they can't make money on.