The totally off-topic thread

[whatmeworry]

I was at home :shock:, enjoying the peace

How's the serenity!

I have a fault with a battery-powered alarm clock which I purchased through one of those deal-of-the-day websites. It's 9 months or so old now.

Do you think it is reasonable that such an appliance should work as intended for a minimum of 12 months?

[video=youtube_share;uE8BB-ioNRw]http://youtu.be/uE8BB-ioNRw[/video]

 

[markis10]

I have noticed it's getting harder and harder to walk without being pestered by charity collectors in the city these days. Always wondered what the take was for them and their employer, 25% apparently.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

 

[whatmeworry]

I have noticed it's getting harder and harder to walk without being pestered by charity collectors in the city these days. Always wondered what the take was for them and their employer, 25% apparently.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

Add this too one of the many reasons I don't donate to charities.

 

[drron]

No reason not to donate to charity just pick your charity.
I will not give to anyone who phones,knocks on the door or accosts me in the street.Nor will I add extra to a hotel,restaurant or store bill.I will however get rid of all my accumulared small foreign change on a plane.
Despite all that I still do donate.

 

[drron]

Watching a reality show on Scottish TV at the moment.They send an OCD Cleaner to the house of an OCD hoarder.
The classic is "germophobic" Tuesday who takes a swab and germ counter with her when she goes out.A bacterial count above 500 and off she goes.

 

[whatmeworry]

No reason not to donate to charity just pick your charity.
I will not give to anyone who phones,knocks on the door or accosts me in the street.Nor will I add extra to a hotel,restaurant or store bill.I will however get rid of all my accumulared small foreign change on a plane.
Despite all that I still do donate.

I sometimes donate, but considering how many of them waste the donations on admin costs, it makes me wary of donating to any of them unless I investigate them.

After my Mother survived colon cancer, Peter Mac Cancer Centre in Melbourne a year later kept sending her requests for donations. Seems the Western General Hospital freely shares that information.

 

[Mal]

Charities also use death notices and probate notices to target charity requests.....
Yes, they are scum in many instances

 

[medhead]

Charities also use death notices and probate notices to target charity requests.....
Yes, they are scum in many instances

Just on that, other general scammers use the same. A recent death in the family had people contacting the lawyer handling the will claiming to be a long lost relative who wanted travel expenses covered by the estate to attend the funeral.

A niece, in their 20s, of a 93 year old who was the youngest sibling just didn't seem right.

 

[markis10]

No reason not to donate to charity just pick your charity.
I will not give to anyone who phones,knocks on the door or accosts me in the street.Nor will I add extra to a hotel,restaurant or store bill.I will however get rid of all my accumulared small foreign change on a plane.
Despite all that I still do donate.

I have a very similar policy, if asked I will ask who they represent. I will then kindly tell them that I have a policy of only making unsolicited donations and that particular charity was now off the target list.

 

[OATEK]

I have noticed it's getting harder and harder to walk without being pestered by charity collectors in the city these days. Always wondered what the take was for them and their employer, 25% apparently.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

Sydney's Central Station is a hot-bed of charity collecting. It is a rare day that no one yells g'day and tries to shake your hand as you enter the concourse from Eddy Avenue. And if you approach across Belmore Park on the other side of Eddy Ave, chances are you have already run the gauntlet once. They try all the one liners, like "do you care about dying whales/children/forests...". Occasionally they make the mistake of stepping directly in front of me to halt my progress, but with me at 186CM and 98KGs, they usually scuttle aside before being run over.

And as whatmeworry said, once you donate online (eg to Red Cross after the Asian Tsunami) you then receive begging letters for some time to come. Of course the street collectors and mail outs must work, as they keep on coming on! But for some of us it is a permanent turn off.

 

[SeatBackForward]

And as whatmeworry said, once you donate online (eg to Red Cross after the Asian Tsunami) you then receive begging letters for some time to come. Of course the street collectors and mail outs must work, as they keep on coming on! But for some of us it is a permanent turn off.

Or that one off donation you made for work colleagues event they were participating in, and the three emails per week you now receive...the problem is that there is no real cost associated with bulk emailing, so there is no incentive to "manage" the active subscription list to cull those who do not continue to use their service.

 

[medhead]

I rant at the greenpeace/environment collectors for being against cancer treatments. That usually shuts them up. If they dare question me, I just ask if greenpeace/organisation is opposed to nuclear reactors.

 

[Buzzard]

I rarely donate to any organisation, much prefer micro lending which I do via an organisation called Kiva.

I would much rather help somebody who is not holding their hand out for charity but is asking for help via a small loan.

 

[docjames]

I have noticed it's getting harder and harder to walk without being pestered by charity collectors in the city these days. Always wondered what the take was for them and their employer, 25% apparently.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

And if they meet targets it can rise to 33 or even 50 percent.

I write a cheque to head office or donate direct via website.

I won't give via bucket any more. I can also donate more that way (due to deductibility with receipt). A bit sad for smaller charities but again if wanting to support them I usually find a way to "go direct".

 

[rogerkambah]

What I find most annoying is that charities use their exemption to call at meal times. Multiple calls from the same organisation in a week, asking if I can help them are also annoying.

I'm not sure as to how I would be able to help them, as I'm not going to give out my cc details to anyone via the phone, whose bona fides can't establish.

Have a similar problem too with some companies I deal with who call me, ask if I'm me, and then want me to give my details so they can establish I'm me. The call ends when I say I can't establish who they are, so can't give out my details. Maybe I'm being paranoid.

 

[penegal]

I donate a sizeable amount of money every year to a charitable organisation called the Australian Taxation Office...

---

Charity is an interesting beast. There are numerous academic economic reasons why one shouldn't donate to charity at all.

I never give to street collectors, door knockers, or beggars. Giving to these people encourages them to continue the same behaviour. However clearly enough people do give, which is fuelling the "Chugger" boom.

Maybe I should quit my day job and collect pennies on street corners - it could prove to be more lucrative - and no "homework".

 

[bass_ke]

I tend to go direct, I also share a coffee occasionally with a couple of the local homeless fellows of they're hanging about, a few pieces of fruit or a loaf of bread doesn't go astray if I'm walking by either.

Some of these folk have interesting stories. Richard whom I've not seen for a while around OOL was always well presented and had an M series aussie passport in his shirt pocket. He was always beautifully spoken and seemed only recently homeless

 

[drross]

Have a similar problem too with some companies I deal with who call me, ask if I'm me, and then want me to give my details so they can establish I'm me. The call ends when I say I can't establish who they are, so can't give out my details. Maybe I'm being paranoid.

I'm with you on that one. Nothing wrong with a healthy dose of paranoia

 

[Hvr]

I don't engage with charity collectors, the one time I did they weren't happy with me.

I asked a Salvation Army collector if they saved wicked women. And could they please save one for me.

They were not amused.

 

[amaroo]

Given up donating via mail, phone, buckets or door knocks.

Apart from the ATO we sponsor two kids in Bangladesh and open the wallet when a significant calamity strikes somewhere in the world......also school fundraising activities.