Give me my money back........please

Hello. This dropped in my email box recently. I don't know the exact answer to the readers questions, so perhaps you could help me. I can only write as I see it, I am not the encyclopedia of all knowledge, ha ha.
Edited to include the key points. Text speak removed and replaced.

Hi ilona
I write to ask if you could answer some questions re returns as you covered this in one post.

I have bought a number of items from charity shops including clothes, electrical,  dvds. When things don't work eg a dvd wont play, an electrical item fault, zip broke on clothing first time worn.

I have a number of charity shops refusing to refund money even with proof of purchase for these things. What would you do in these circumstances and do you know if there is a right to refund the same as High Street shops?

I am frustrated by this I have lost money. I have also bought boots from a charity shop but the buckle broke on first use and not fixable. They were for formal occasions so cant wear them broken. Should charities refund?

Charities also differ in their guarantees on electrics. Some say they tested them themselves so wont hear of a fault and refund, some say 28 days if faulty,  other 6 months. I thought by law you automatically got 1 yr guarantee. Or does this differ on second hand goods?

Finally, the receipt does not specify the exact item. Eg it will just say 'electrical', not iron or hairdryer etc. I've had High Street shops refuse refunds saying 'I could have bought the item anywhere' and they cant identify it as theirs, so refuse refund. What would you do here? Money scare and I need refunds !

Is unopened food refundable? Eg tins of tomatoes over bought from supermarket if have receipt?
Thanks for your help.

Hi Anon.
My own personal view on this is that if I had checked the goods I was buying at the shop and all seemed in order, and the price was right, and I found that something was wrong with it when I got it home, I would take it back to the shop if it was more than a couple of quid, and expect a refund. If it was a cheapo purchase I would give it back to the charity shop as a donation.

The trouble with returning faulty goods is that they may not believe your story. If they left the shop in good order, how did they become faulty. It might be an idea to get them to plug in an electrical item before you leave the shop so you can see that it works. Zips in clothing do break, but shouldn't with normal handling. I think I have only had a couple of zips break on me in thirty odd years.

I can't comment on guarantees, best to ask at the counter at the time of buying. Make a mental note of the person who served you so you can mention them when you go back.

About your boots. It depends how much they cost, are they fashion boots, did you walk a long way in them, and could you take them to a cobbler for repair? Electrical items from a charity shop should work because it is the law that they should be PAT tested.

I am pretty sure a shop doesn't have to give a refund if you have bought too many tins of tomatoes, and there is nothing wrong with them. Put them in the cupboard they will get used eventually. Next time you food shop make a list before you go so you don't overbuy.

I think to be successful at getting refunds is down to being polite, but firm. Not storming in, plonking something on the counter, and demanding money back. Attitude plays a big part in this. Give the assistant as much information as you can. What exactly happened, describe the circumstances leading up to the failure of said item doing what it is supposed to do.

Whether you take something back or not is between you and your conscience. Neglect on the shops side should result in a refund, neglect on the customers side (talking about me), I would cut my losses and chalk it up to experience. I would take responsibility and say I messed up, I couldn't lie to gain a refund.

There is a lot of information out there on charity shop refunds, it is discussed a lot on forums. I think the short answer is that they do have to give refunds on faulty goods, the same as an ordinary shop. But they may impose time restrictions, so that if you have been using something for six months and it finally breaks they can question you on how often the item was used during that time.

I've found these links for you.
Which consumer rights on second hand clothes. 
NetMums. Taking an item back to a charity shop
MSE Forum. Charity shop returns
Gov UK giving refunds.
Age UK. Shopping on the High street. Your rights. 
Choose. Buying second hand.
Charity Retail Association

That's some reading to be going on with. If anyone else has any views on returning goods to charity shops. please post a comment. Summing up, it looks like they do legally have to give a refund, but it's not always clear cut. A lot depends on the shops own refund policy, which should be made clear at the time of purchase.

Thanks for popping in, I have stuff to do. We'll catch up soon.
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Tour of Britain stage 3. The start at Normanby Hall

Hello. Green bicycles have been appearing all over North Lincolnshire over the past few weeks. The flags are out, the balloons are out, and today we host stage three of the Tour of Britain cycle race. Excitement has been building up towards the big day. People have been studying the route which takes in just about all the villages, to find the best vantage point to see the action. It passed the end of my road, but as it's only half a mile to the start, I decided to go there and soak up the atmosphere.  

I arrived at Normanby Hall Country Park at 10.20am. It was due to start at 11am, and the grounds were full of people who had come to support the event. It was a massive operation which would have taken a lot of planning. Roads were closed, no parking signs were put out, and special car parks were set up, to accommodate everyone. The police were getting ready to perform their duties of keeping everyone safe by clearing the way.

Checking the bikes over, making sure the blue lights were working.

Lots and lots of police bikers in attendance.

The support cars loaded up with bicycles were lined up ready to leave. It was a fantastic idea to start the race here in the beautiful grounds of Normanby Hall.

I mingled with the crowds to see what was going on. It was like a party atmosphere.

They had a race for youngsters first. Here they are excitedly waiting to get off.

The compare was doing his stuff, talking about the different teams taking part.

Aha, look who I have spied, David Burns from BBC Radio Humberside. Also known as Burnsy. I said hello and he had to think for a few minutes, who is this woman, ha ha. He was busy working, but after a minute or two he said, Ilona. Yes, Burnsy, you remembered. I have been in the studio with you.

His young assistant took our photo.

Now they are getting the teams up on the stage to introduce them to the crowds. Everyone was cheering.

Some of them have come a long way to take part in this race.

At about five to eleven I made my way up towards the big gates where they would join the road. The escort cars are getting ready.

And here they come, about 200 riders all eager to start the race.

Then they were gone, heading towards the first village of Thealby.

The backup cars followed them out

So that was it, they were gone. But wait a minute, I had a second chance to get more photo's. I walked back towards my village, the cyclists would be coming towards me at some stage. This part of the route was a loop, they went round in a circle and came past Normanby again. Are they coming yet? Nope, walk a bit further.

Just as I came into my village the tension mounted, it wouldn't be long now. They were going at a rate of knots, the whole course of 110 miles would only take them just under four and a half hours.

Not long now, the camera is poised and ready. Don't want to miss them.

 YES, here they are. Wow, they are really flying.

Next the support cars, then it was all over. I chatted to a few people who had come out to see them. All agreed, it was quite exciting. It will be a long time before anything like this happens again in our North Lincolnshire sleepy villages.

Now all we have to do is take all the green bikes back to the council tip, who said they will recycle them and make new bikes. I hope they do.

I've been listening on the radio and they all reached the finishing point at Central Park in Scunthorpe at around 3.20pm. Now they pack everything up and move on to the next stage. If you want to keep up with them, see where they are going next, there are videos and maps on the Tour of Britain web site. 

This is your roving reporter signing off. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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The Christmas tree is up

Hello. Life is a game, I don't take it too seriously. If I want to put a Christmas tree up in September, I will do so. I have a scruffy corner at the back of the house. The nettles grow tall and strong, I let them because they help mask the scruffy window of the shed/outhouse. It's a little room which houses stuff I don't want in the house. Tools, bicycle, cat litter, tables, and other bits and bobs. 

The nettles are dying down now ready for the winter, this is the time I usually clear them away. Nothing much else would grow there as the ground is hard. I have a plan. 

The six foot tree fits in there nicely, just the job, and it hides a bit more of the window. I'm glad they wanted to get rid of it. I don't want a Christmas tree in the house, but in the garden, yeah, I will go with that.

Thanks for popping in, enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I'm off out to inspect the skip, who knows what I will find next, ha ha.
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Walk interrupted by skip diving

I've set off to do my walk three times today, and each time I've been interrupted. Tonight I finally finished it. I went out this morning, got to Janet's house round the corner and saw her new car in the driveway so I stopped to have a look. She invited me in for coffee and a natter. Then it was time for lunch so I went home.

I set off again just after lunch, and a bit further on past Janet's I saw a skip parked on the driveway at Karen's house. Wow some interesting stuff in there so I knocked the door to ask if I could take some things. She said, take anything you like. They are moving from a big four bed detached to a small cottage. I sorted through it and stacked some things on the side and went to get my car. Straight back home, and set off again to do my walk. 

I got a bit further the next time, and blow me down, found another skip. It was full of garden waste, looked like they had removed some decking. On the top was a large brown ceramic table lamp. I got it out and could see that the people were in the living room. I was going to knock on the window to ask if it works, and ask if I could have it. When I got close  I noticed that the two people in the room were sprawled out on the sofa fast asleep. I decided not to disturb them so just took the lamp. 

It was a bit bulky to carry and I didn't know if it worked, so I called in to Christine's house to ask if she had a bulb to fit it to test it. Yes, it did work, so I scrounged a carrier bag off her to make it a bit easier to carry. I decided to cut my walk short and went straight home. Tonight I have been out again to finish the walk, in doing so I had another look in Karen's skip and found a few more things. She said they have the skip for a week, so I shall be going back again, it's on my walking route. 

Anyway, this is what I found. There isn't much that I will be keeping, most of it will be donated to our cat stall, and to charity shops. The big round table lamp I shall be jazzing up with some colourful crochet. 

There are seven new box files, an old Italian sewing machine which doesn't have a cable with it to plug it in. I was hoping it would be a hand one. A machine for polishing the car. A new  electric drill, I will keep that. There is a bag of all sorts of small items. It would have taken too long to sort them out so I have brought the whole lot home. There is a 6ft artificial Christmas tree, a clothes dryer. Dumbells, head torch, chess set, two jackets, a kite, a basket, little footballers, and perfume, 

So I've got my work cut out with that lot. It needs sorting and cleaning and new homes finding.

Thank you all for logging your walking miles. It's brilliant that people are still keen to carry on. If you haven't yet clocked in you can go back to that post any time.

Just a little note about the search facility on the side bar. If you want to see if I have written about a particular subject in the past you can put a few key words into the box and it will come up with a selection of posts.

That's all for tonight. I'm going to wind down, all this excitement of skip diving has tired me out, ha ha. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Have a nice Sunday.
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Check in time for the Walking Group

Hello. Here we are folks, the first day of September, the ninth month of our Walking Challenge, and it's a lovely sunny morning in North Lincolnshire. This is the time we all report in with our mileage. I thought I would dig out an old picture of my walking boots from about ten years ago. I was skint and couldn't afford proper boots, so I bought these from a car boot sale. Great big clodhoppers they are, so so heavy, but they did the job and I used them for day walks. They have steel toecaps so they are more suited as work boots. I still have them, but only use them for local walks in the winter. They are great for keeping my feet dry in the snow and rain. 

As this is mainly a money saving blog, I was thinking about the connections between walking and money saving. There are many good reasons to walk, exercise is the main one, to keep our bodies in tip top condition. As well as looking after our physical health, it's also good for the mind as well. Anytime you are fed up, bored, or upset about something, the best thing you can do is go out for a walk.Sitting around procrastinating is not good. A brisk walk in the fresh air, switching off from negative stuff and giving your senses new sights and sounds to absorb will help to put things into perspective. The mind and body works as one when exercising.

So how is that money saving? I see things in a simple way. If I am ill, I can go to the doctor. I might need medication. I am lucky that I don't have to pay for it because I am a pensioner. If I don't need to go to the doctor, it saves the NHS money. But if you are younger than pensionable age, whatever that is I have lost track, you have to pay for prescriptions. Tablets, lotions and potions will cost you money. So to save money, if you look after your health, you keep the cash in your purse.

It needn't cost anything to go for a walk. Any old pair of boots or trainers will do. Step out of your door and set yourself a time limit, say half an hour, or an hour. You can build that into your daily activities, like the two ladies I met at 6.30am this week, they walk every day before going to work. If I am busy during the day, I might fit an hour in there, or I might leave it until 9pm at night. The streets around me are lit up, the roads are quiet, and it gets me in the right frame of mind before I go to bed.

If you go to work, can you walk in your lunch break? Is there a park nearby? Can you walk to work if it isn't too far? If you don't like walking alone can you find a friend to accompany you? The only good reason for not walking is that you have a physical disability, which makes it impossible to walk. But hey, I read about people who have lost limbs, who learn to walk again with a prosthetic leg, how good is that. An inspiration to us all.

So, did you make an effort in August, and ask yourself, are you going to make an effort in September? I've picked out a few comments from the previous check in on the 1st of August.

613 so far off on town park walking group later which is an organized walk i do twice a week keep it up everyone its great

I have only been walking for 5 weeks but have managed to walk 154.50 miles and have lost 14 lb,

I walked 105 miles in July, which is more than I expected because we had some very hot and some very wet days.

Very slow recovery from knee problem but total mileage now 540 miles , hoping to make up the lost 40 miles

My total for July is 151 miles-quite pleased with myself!

I did 71 miles for July, not bad considering I was poorly for most of 1 week.

July 129 miles. Best month so far as had a week's holiday walking everywhere. 

Very wet and windy but still I'm out with the dogs walking drenched but loving it 

I was not able to increase my mileage as hoped in June and July due to some illness and some awful weather, but I'm pleased with the increase in my stamina

So there you are, lots of inspiration from our Walking Group members. It's working for them, now let's see how everyone is getting on. Check in on this post at any time during the month of September. 

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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