Plastic Bags Charities Put Through Letterboxes.

A question about : Plastic Bags Charities Put Through Letterboxes.

We have had several of these over the years & usually I don't have anything to donate, but one charity put a bag in the letterbox three weeks ago & as I had just sorted out a load of clothing I could no longer wear, I filled the bag I had, plus two neighbours bags, with my clothing items.
The day came for them to be collected, no collector, so 2 days later I rang the number on the bag, probably at great expense as I believe it is a premium rate one.
The lady on the phone was very appologetic, said she would get the man to collect & he would ring me before arrival. Nothing since!
The bags are still in the front porch, Hubby is getting fed up with them being there & I shall certainly not bother to fill another charity bag put through the door.
I will shortly take the clothing to a local charity shop, so the original charity has dipped out.

Best answers:

• I find that 9 out of 10 of the ones I get through my door (get a lot of them!) are not even for 'proper' charities. It amazes me that these companies are allowed to get away with this! I bring my unwanted items to the charity shop...at least that way I know I'm not lining the pockets of some company to sell the items on!
• It is a well known charity, AlwaysWorking & not a flybynight one, unfortunately we don't have a branch of that particular charity within a reasonable traveling distance, which seems strange when there are so many others.
• Even some of the 'regular' charities use collection agencies, which means that the clothes are not necessarily going direct to the charity shop.
• AlwaysWorking is the name of the poster the OP is responding to!!!
  I get so many (some legit & some not) that I'd just wait until I got another legit one through the door and transfer the stuff to that bag. I don't drive so its hard for me to take much of any bulk to a shop directly, though that is the safest way as the bags aren't always picked up by who they should be. I am usually at home during the day so I keep an eye out for the vans and make sure they have a logo or the collectors have some ID.
• Id give the clothes to a charity eg 1 on the high street
• I've recently put a 'no charity bags' sign on my door as my street has had at least 2-3 charity bags/leaflets per week for the last 2 years. The final straw came when I got FOUR of them in one day, three of them collecting on the following Wednesday!
  This may sound mean but I NEVER use them as I prefer to donate to the charity shop (of my choice) instead as that way I know it gets to them directly - it's hard to tell, especially with the leaflets, if they are genuine.
  Also, as Savvy Sue says, delivery firms understandably get a 'cut' of the profits.
  I don't have transport myself so it is abit more effort but I prefer to do it this way.
  One thing that does bemuse me though is the 'big fuss' for people to stop using plastic carrier bags, yet charity bags must be as big a problem and never get a mention?
• We have one in particular where we live which puts a bag through the door and it says on it if you have nothing keep the bag till next time. The only thing is they keep putting new ones through the door and I end up throwing them out, what a waste...
• I never ever put anything in the charity bags, I'm wary of them. Quite often when you read the small print most or even all of the clothing isn't actually going to charity. The bag will say something like "clothing for developing countries" but the small print says SOME of the clothing will GET SOLD TO developing countries! Loads of them are a scam and I don't risk any of them....I just use the bags instead of bin liners.
• I haven't bought bin bags for months......we only put one bag of rubbish out a week and I've got so many 'charity bags' I'll probably never have to buy bin bags ever again! I do donate to charity - but directly, not with those bags.
• Charities allow there name to be used for an agreed monthly percentage of whatever the individual collects and sells to the rag man.
  In my area there are many man and van that travel the country putting out bags one day and collect 3 days later. I was speaking to one such guy the other day who said he earns about Ј1200 a week and pays the charity 5% for use of there charity name and number
  My advice would be to take your unwanted items to your preferred charity shop and cut out the misleading Con.
• if you have stuff to get rid of its always worth checking with your local schools, we do a bags2school collection and would love more contributions !! we get paid xx per tonne and its worth our time !
• [QUOTE=escapee;35174125]Then you are not a very environmentally conscious person , I quite happily take any donation bags that come through my door as they make fantastic bin liners.
  I totally agree with escapee. The bags make great bin bags and unwanted clothes can be taken to the charity shop or where I live left out for the bin men to take and sort. Haven't bought a bin bag for years.
• Please don't use these bloody bags! They make me so angry! The charity s get a poor amount, i know it is alot more time consuming and inconvenient but please try and take them to the charity shops x
• Just to add some charity shops can collect if you ask them
• Most bags don't come from charity shops, but from commercial organisations "collecting on behalf of xxxxxx charity" or " donating Јyyyy to xxxxxx charity".