Appaled at Vinnies

[wholehog]

We rang St Vincent De Pauls and arranged for them to pick up an old rocking chair that belonged to my wifes Pop.The deal was leave it out the front door and we will call after 8 to pick it up.
Well apparently there are no "needy" people on the Central Coast of NSW,because when i come home from work the chair is still there with a note saying     
"while we appreciate the thought we do not have the facilities to repair furniture,therefore it becomes a liability to use as we then have to dispose of the goods"
Well,let me tell u fellow swaggers,I SEEN RED,There are 2 minor things wrong with the chair
1. A small tear about 2 cm long in the back of the headrest 
2.One of the arms needs some PVA glue to secure it into its socket.

You would think i was selling it to them and asking top dollar the way they carry on.....Still shaking my head in disgust.......But feel better now i have vented

[DaveR]

Put an Add on Gumtree, easy. May even get some $ for it.
We have done some voluntary work with charities, can you believe folk have complained about the condition of the stuff they were given from nice charities, so work place health and safety type thinking has taken over. Dog Pounds now can't take old mattresses for the dogs, etc etc.
It is a bad reflection on our society today.

[areyonga]

Try the Salvoes, I have always had a better response from them and they are grateful for the donations

[scarps]

Most op shops these days have to run as a commercial operation and abide by all the rules of any Aust business, including Fair Work employment, OHS&W, and Retail Consumer Laws.  This would include not passing on or selling faulty or broken items for fear of being sued by the end user.

You also only have to look at the amount of 'junk' that our fellow human beings just dump outside of OP shops all over the country.

Not disputing your disappointment and can easily understand your offence, but maybe also have understand that there is a cost to fix and dispose of items unable to be sold etc. 

[Beatle]

Yeah, the Charities nowadays mostly sell items to convert to cash, then use the cash to do their (good) work. They don't just pass on used goods to those in need.

I put an old lounge out with a FREE sign on it.  Still there a week later.  Put a sign on it FOR SALE $100 NEG and it was 'stolen' by the time I went home at lunch............

[Homer_Jay]

The 'needy' in this country are not that needy mate.

[krisandkev]

There are the needy and then there are the needy.  The good ones would appreciate that chair.  Then there are the others, and they outnumber the good ones. The bad ones know how to play the system and they are the ones that organisations and governments pander to.  Ever noticed that leading up to winter and the blanket appear that the same families need the blankets, while we just get our old blankets out of the cupboard. So why they don’t they look after the blankets and use them each year?  Like the argument about homeless people.  How many make the choice to live like that?  I know, some have no choice, but I have found that the majority have a choice.  Kevin

[Beachman]

I know how you feel as I went through the same thing last year when we moved house. I had a couple of office chairs, coffee table, book case and single bed frame. All in very good condition.

I went to our local charity which is a big store and the manger came out, looked and said they didn’t want it and I should just dump it. I was shocked as this store was half empty and the furniture they did have was crap.

On the way home I drove past another charity which works out of a small shop. Manager comes out to inspect what I had and he was so grateful to receive my goods. He was surprised I didn’t sell them items myself on Gumtree seeing all items were in such good condition. 

Also during the Brisbane floods 3 years ago I took our pram, cot, change table, stroller, baby swing to a charity (all in very good condition) and was refused as told they are unable to accept 2nd baby items. Took them home and sold them on Gumtree for $500. 

[muzza01]

Here is a write up from last Saturdays Cairns Post. Some grubs up here treat the Salvo Bins as a place to dump the broken crap. Real shame as it costs them big $$$ to take this to the dump.

[doc evil]

Take it to the local church or retirement home. The church will pass on to someone needy and I'd say the retirement home would appreciate it as well..........

[Mrs smith]

Here is a write up from last Saturdays Cairns Post. Some grubs up here treat the Salvo Bins as a place to dump the broken crap. Real shame as it costs them big $$$ to take this to the dump.

Think you'll find this is those neeedy people's idea of trading up.

[Goose]

Their reluctance to take the chair may be due to it being a "rocking chair". See the comments above about liability and being sued etc. You never know what obscure policies these places have.

On top of that, whilst I'm sure it's a good chair, its not a modern style and that may have played a part too. The charities want furniture that they can quickly on-sell or give away to needy families. Not something that will sit in a shop for years taking up space and going stale. A lot of younger people would turn their nose up at a chair like that i'm sorry - just based on color fabric and shape.

The nursing home is the best option - some old granny or grandpa would love a chair like that to sit on and rock and they won't care about the style or the little tear.

Otherwise leave it out front for a few days and if all else fails, firewood.

[Homer_Jay]

On top of that, whilst I'm sure it's a good chair, its not a modern style and that may have played a part too. The charities want furniture that they can quickly on-sell or give away to needy families. Not something that will sit in a shop for years taking up space and going stale. A lot of younger people would turn their nose up at a chair like that i'm sorry - just based on color fabric and shape.

My point exactly..... The needy are NOT needy in this country.
If I needed a chair, I would not give a rats a$se about the colour/style or anything else. It's clean and does the job.

[HKB Electronics]

I stopped giving items to the various organisations years ago.

I was going to give a lot of near new and unopened clothing to a
charity shop. I gave them to my mother who knew someone that worked their to drop
of for me.

She said not to do it as the person she new who worked there also ran a stall at market
on the weekend and she used to keep all the good items for sale at her stall.

I was disgusted and that was the end of that, granted this may be a one off but I know the local op
now only accepts new or near new items as they only sell them they don't pass onto the needy as such.

Then you get the traffic collectors who get paid, and the call centres the same.

When I donate now its only to charities that I know get all the money I donate to use
with the needy.

Leigh

[austastar]

Hi,
  some time ago we upgraded to a flat screen digital.


Not one charity shop wanted an analogue TV in good working order, even with several years of analogue signal still to go.


Guess they have a higher standard of clientele these days.


cheers

[briann532]

With government benefits so easy to come by for those that know the system, there is no need for such charity.

People who actually need it are extremely grateful for what they get.

I know people who get stuff from charity then sell it on ebay or gumtree.......

There is a distinct difference between the needy and the lazy.

Welfare was never intended to be a lifestyle.............

At least you had the heart to try donate the chair. You know the saying, its the thought that counts. Good on you for trying. Sorry you discovered the sad truth about our society.

Chin up,
Brian

[Bunyip]

My wife works for a waste management facility and the other day one fo the major charities dumped a whole heap of new clothing that they had no use for.

Believe it or not if they have surplus stock they do not give it to one another, they dump it.

I thought they sold clothing as industrial rags, but apparently they have enough of them as well.

How wasteful, good on the guys though, they rescued the clothes and rang another charity who gratefully came and picked up the items.

Bunyip

[wholehog]

Told a mate of mine about the above scenario and he couldn't get to mine to pick it up fast enough.....even offered me some beers which i declined,but any way..... it is going to get used in a good home....charities...Pfffttttt...
I emailed the head office and they sent me a reply saying to ring this number and we can work something out,blah,blah,blah regarding picking up......i replied and said to late....merry christmas....

[Patr80l]

Every weekend our local Op Shop (Vietnam Veterans) has a pile of old junk on the footpath outside the shop.   Right under the sign that says "Do not leave old electronic gear and TV's because we can't use it and it costs us money to dispose of."   
It's slowed down a bit since they used one of those old analogue TV's to set up closed circuit monitoring.   People don't dump when they can see themselves on TV!

[evans52]

I rang our the Salvos quite a few years back to give away a double bed. It had been my Grandmothers (all 60kg's of her) which she slept on for 5 years from new until she passed away. I dragged it outside as they requested and leant it up against the house. Went to work, came home - still there. I rang the next day to query and was told because a protector on one of the corners was missing and one of the casters had fallen off they wouldn't take it. I questioned him and said surely there's someone who needs it? he actually said "I'm sure there is, but we can't take it as it's damaged". I called him an idiot and hung up.

That night I took the 3 casters off and cut up an ice cream container in the same shape as the corner protector. Painted them all black and screwed them on. I rang the Salvos back a few days later and told them I had a bed to give away and gave my address. Leaned it up against the side of the house and went to work. Came home - gone.

[Nomad]

Some of the wealthiest people I have met are "directors" of charities. It seems as you get to the top of the pyramid that some provide very very lucrative and clever salaries.

Plus free labour......free stock.......how can you really go wrong. 

[scarps]

Some of the wealthiest people I have met are "directors" of charities. It seems as you get to the top of the pyramid that some provide very very lucrative and clever salaries.

Plus free labour......free stock.......how can you really go wrong. 

Yep, agree

[HKB Electronics]

From memory if you work for a charity you don't pay income tax
and I believe someone told me you get interest free house loans.

[ozbogwam]

Some of the wealthiest people I have met are "directors" of charities. It seems as you get to the top of the pyramid that some provide very very lucrative and clever salaries.

Plus free labour......free stock.......how can you really go wrong. 

Directors of charities are very rarely ever paid for the director roles. They have earns their money working in other businesses and serve as directors for free

[Top.ender]

We rang St Vincent De Pauls and arranged for them to pick up an old rocking chair that belonged to my wifes Pop.The deal was leave it out the front door and we will call after 8 to pick it up.
Well apparently there are no "needy" people on the Central Coast of NSW,because when i come home from work the chair is still there with a note saying     
"while we appreciate the thought we do not have the facilities to repair furniture,therefore it becomes a liability to use as we then have to dispose of the goods"
Well,let me tell u fellow swaggers,I SEEN RED,There are 2 minor things wrong with the chair
1. A small tear about 2 cm long in the back of the headrest 
2.One of the arms needs some PVA glue to secure it into its socket.

You would think i was selling it to them and asking top dollar the way they carry on.....Still shaking my head in disgust.......But feel better now i have vented

While I understand your frustration ...liability is unfortunately here to stay ....I,m about to throw out 700 perfectly good chairs from a mine camp instead of giving them away due to do liability