Need help with this moral dilemma

[emkana]

Hello all,
I received a pack of Xmas cards and a pocket calendar by the Foot and Mouth painting artists through the post. It said that they were sent without obligation, but that they would be delighted if you decided to buy them, for £ 5.45. It doesn't say anything anywhere about sending them back if you don't want them, but there is an address, but no return envelope or anything.
Now I don't want to spend this much on these cards, and while I do want to give money to charity, it's other things I want to give money to.
What do I do? Send them back? Use them? Throw them out? Pay for them?

Are they a registered charity

Think that's charity mugging and makes me mad in principle no matter how valid the charity

Personally I would not send money, I would donate them to a charity shop instead

what's the organisation called?

Send them back. Then the group may possibly be able to send them to someone who does want to pay for them.

I'd keep them. Presumably they are relying on some people actually wanting them and ordering a larger batch, after all one pack is hardly going to be enough to satisfy most people's christmas card requirements.

I think its ok to throw them out if you don't want to buy them. I'm sure they allow for a lot of people doing just that when they work out the finances of it.

In reality I would dither about this for a few days, mean to do something worthy, but end up not doing anything til after Christmas. Sorry, I'm no help.

Hi emkana, i received some of those a few weeks back and i thought i remembered it saying that you had to send them back if you didn't want them otherwise they were charging £5.45? I didn't get any pre-paid envelope or anything and thought it was really cheeky. I always donate to charities and have regular payments taken out the bank for cancer research but i do object to being put on a guilt trip in this way. Don't feel bad, you can't help everyone. My nanna sent a donation once to a charity and then ever after she was receiving these sorts of letters from all sorts of charities asking for help, she had hardly any money and then felt guilty she couldn't help, it annoys me

I think they're very naughty doing this and I've always thrown them in the bin.
Legally you are under no obligation to send them back. The same organisation does this in other European countries, I agree, it's charity mugging - doesn't make them look reputable at all.

So did you send them back, doziduck?
The accompanying letter was written by Alison Lepper, the woman who was in Child of our Time.
Shame that they feel they need to resort to these tactics.
I does say that you are under no obligation.

Agree I don't like charities that do this - how much of their money must they use up printing & posting these cards ? I also don;t like the charities that keep sending you biros to fill out forms -another waste of their money which people have donated to help the cause not pay for unwanted biros !
(Rant over !)
I agree with Twiglett & would donate them to a charity you do want to support and/or make a donation

Emkana - I got a packet of foot and mouth cards also - I didn't order them -where do they get our addresses from. Aren't they cheeky just to send them and tell us the price. When I tried to return them its almost the same price to post them back as to buy them. Absolute cheek !!

Last year I ran out of cards so used a couple (and didn't pay) Got another pack this year and saw my mum and dad did as well.

I think maybe I need to put this in the don't care thread!

I've still got the pack they sent me last year. un-paid for and now minus the envelopes.

I'll be expecting this years pack soon then and probably won't send them back/pay for them either.

They shouldn't send them like this if they want the money.

I hate this too, it is so cheeky and underhand. A charity shouldn't do this. We got the same pack last year, emkana. Dh decided to keep the envelopes and throw the cards in the bin.

I know how irritating the biros are but surprisingly it does give a better response ? people are more likely to open the envelope if there's something you can feel inside, even if it's only a cheap biro. Everyone complains about the chuggers who stop you on the High Street as well, but it's the only way to get younger people donating. Your typical charity donor is actually middle aged to elderly and young people as a group just won't put their hands in their pockets - using young people in the street is a tactic that works.*
Fewer people are donating less money to charities so they resort to ever more desperate measures to persuade us. Sad but true.

• Footnote: of course there are young people who give to charity, not having a go at individuals, but as a demographic, young people are much less likely to give to charity than the elderly.

This tactic really annoys me-I think the foot & mouth charity (if its the one I think it is) is a worthwhile one.But I refuse on principle to donate to any charity who does this sort of thing.I'd give them to a charity shop.

I got these too, and will probably do nothing with them.
As for the biros - am I the only one who just pops them out through the envelope without even opening it? I keep the pen and throw away the envelope

We got these cards for several years running. The year before last I crossed through our name and address, put "not known at this address, return to sender" across it & stuck it back in the post. None arrived last year!!

Makes me really cross. If I want charity cards I will choose the ones I want to support, thank you very much. Begging letters of any description put me off donating at all.

actually i hate the pen thing. i must get two letters from different charities every day and feel guilty that i cant afford to send them anything. (cus if i sent to one then id feel i had to send to lots) i feel like if i throw the pen away im wasting money they could be using and if i keep it i feel guilty for not sending them anything! daft i know but its how i feel. i also dislike the way the only option they seem to give you is a monthly donation, i would perhaps send a one off but that would be it and the direct debit form really puts me off. i do put in charity boxes, buy small badges etc and gives lots of things to charity shops, i just dont like the letters they keep sending. the only good form ive seen was one i received today from a well known charity that gives you the option of helping in other ways. that to me is a much better idea for people who would help but cant afford it?

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one annoyed... Many years ago I bought the cards from that charity, and for five years they kept on sending cards, calendars, etc which I didn't want to keep and was really fed up with returning them. Then we moved to this country and get the same here. I sent the postcards to the rubish, I'm tired of returning things with them not even bothering in removing me from their mailing list. Besides, I noticed that the name of the majority of the artists who made the cards were different from those who are supposed to be in the group (see the attached letter). I think this is a business rather than a charity. Charities normally do things for other people, this one is the only one I know that does it for themselves. Besides, though I understand their difficulties, I believe there are lots of people who do not receive any money from other sources and really need our help more than these persons.