James went into Radio Shack determined to make a purchase without getting stung by the forced $1 Livestrong donation some customers say they’re finding on their receipts. He even joked with the clerk about the phenomenon. Then when he looked at his receipt, sure enough he found out he was an unwilling donor. [More]
donations
Homeless Charity Revealed As A Fraud
By 11.24.09
If you live anywhere in the NYC area, you’ve probably seen a “United Homeless Organization” table on the sidewalk, staffed by a volunteer who looks homeless himself. (If you don’t live here, imagine a year-round, homeless Salvation Army Santa.) If you thought the set-ups looked a little sketchy, you were right: the UHO is a “sham,” according to NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. [More]
Radio Shack Employees Say They Can't Force Donations
By 11.24.09 — Updated: 2.4.16
Responding to the post about a customer who thinks Radio Shack forced him to donate a dollar to Livestrong, a couple Radio Shack employees wrote in and said that cashiers lack the ability to force such charges. [More]
Making A Donation? Ask For Details First
By 11.18.09
This is the time of year when retailers like to give back to the community by getting you to do it for them when you’re buying stuff. It might feel nice to help out a good cause, but make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for before you hand over any cash. Dominick, for example, just bought a Jack in the Box antenna ball when he thought he was straight-up donating to a non-Jack charity.
Google Offering Temporary Free WiFi Access At 47 Airports
By 11.10.09
From now until January 15th, 2010, Google will offer free WiFi access at 47 airports around the country. As part of the promotion, they’ll be collecting donations through Google Checkout for three non-profit organizations and will provide matching funds up to $250,000. But whether you donate or not, there’s a much better chance now that you’ll be able to go online while waiting for your flight. Imagine all the airline tips you can send to us!
Why You Shouldn't Let Telemarketers Help You Donate
By 10.10.09
Earlier this week we posted a warning to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. Today an alleged former employee—who says he quit after two days of training and one day of seeing what it was really like on the call center floor—wrote in to tell us a little more about how a company on the other side of that phone call works.
Don't Donate Money To Public Safety Organizations Over The Phone
By 10.5.09
The website Consumer Affairs (which is not related to us or our owners in any way) is warning people in Oregon to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. It’s a good reminder to everyone that telephone solicitations should be ignored: “At best, the solicitor will probably take the lion’s share of your donation. At worst, the caller is an outright fraud,” the site reports.
Reader Wants To Convert Retailer's Billing Mistake Into Charitable Act
By 8.19.09
Here’s a good rule of thumb for determining whether something is a charitable act: if you have to steal money to do it, and you’re not Robin Hood, it’s probably not gonna count as a good deed.
Is The NRA Trying To Trick Its Members Into Paying For This DVD?
By 7.7.09
Arthur, a member of the NRA, received a promotional DVD out of the blue about six months ago. As we’ve discussed before and as Arthur points out, if you’re sent something that you never ordered, you don’t have to pay for it, return it, or acknowledge it. The NRA said as much in their letter to Arthur.
Don't Give Money To Strangers Online
By 6.16.09
Becca Beushausen, a 26-year-old woman who went by “April’s Mom” online, scammed gullible readers out of money to help pay for a fake pregnancy. Then she accidentally screwed up her scam by posting a photo of the supposed baby last week. “‘It wasn’t a photo of a baby at all,’ said Elizabeth Russell, a mother and maker of lifelike Reborn Dolls, ‘It was a doll. I have that same doll.'”
By 4.29.09
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Woohoo cheap ice cream! Tonight from 5 to 10pm at participating Baskin Robbins, small scoops of ice cream are 31 cents each plus tax (limit three scoops per person). Besides the publicity boost, the promo is an opportunity to get people to voluntarily donate money to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and the National Junior Firefighter Program. [Baskin Robbins] (Thanks to CD!)
Woman Who Missed Obama's Inauguration Starts $10,000 AmEx Chargeback
By 3.26.09
American Express has given her an “interim” refund in full, pending a review that will involve the credit card company presenting to PIC officials all of Blessman’s documentation on the services she feels she was denied.
By 10.7.08
../../../..//2008/10/07/if-radiohead-can-do-it/
“If Radiohead can do it, so can we,” writes GOOD on their subscription page. They’ve temporarily changed their subscription model from $20 annually to pay-what-you-can, as long as it’s at least one dollar. If you’re on a restricted budget but want the hard copy version of GOOD, here’s your chance. [GOOD]
Nashville Electric Service Donates To Charity With Customers' Money, But Not Their Permission
By 10.6.08
Nashville Electric Service (NES) decided it would be a good idea to round up each customer’s bill to the nearest dollar, then take that extra change to donate to charity. It’s a great idea, and since the total amount donated per year can’t exceed $11.88, it’s not a hardship on most people. But there are a few problems. First, NES chooses the charities, if that matters to you. What’s more troublesome is that NES plans to opt-in every customer when the program begins on January 2009 without asking for explicit permission—if you pay your electricity bill through NES, you’ll donate to their charities next year, thank you very much.
Woman Donates Cellphone To Charity, But It Ends Up On Ebay With Personal Info Intact
By 9.15.08
People! Always wipe your cell phone before you sell it, give it away, or trade it in. Do not assume or expect that someone else will do this for you! This was just one of the mistakes that led to Rachel Swanson being called by strangers several weeks after she thought she donated her old phone to charity. But the store that handled the donation, and the company responsible for actually processing the donated phones, screwed up their parts, too. Here’s how it was supposed to have work, and what you should always do before donating your phone to any organization.
Former Theater Employee Confirms: There Are Better Ways To Donate Than Via Usher
By 6.10.08
At the last place I worked, we unfortunately encouraged ushers to do whatever they could to get as much money as they could. Why? Because the theaters that collect the most get special bonuses, or some other sort of incentives (I forget what exactly). So, some of our staff became quite aggressive with the customers in asking for their coin. They’d make remarks behind the backs of people who didn’t give, for instance, or otherwise attempt to make non-givers feel guilty in some way.
Regal Cinemas: Can You Ask Your Ushers To Stop Panhandling?
By 6.4.08
Everyone likes to help the less fortunate—at least, that’s what we’re going to go with publicly for the sake of this argument. That said, is it really appropriate to be asked to pony up donation money when you’re sitting in a theater waiting for your movie to begin? You’ve already paid more than you probably wanted to for the tickets, not to mention any refreshments—shouldn’t that ticket price also include an implied guarantee that you won’t be asked to tithe?
How To Say No To Charities
By 5.19.08
Trent at The Simple Dollar blog has a post about how to say no, especially to charitable requests. One of his readers describes the problem:
