British Heart Foundation

I have given items to BHF as a worthwhile charity and the items given are nearly new , all that the staff in the shops seem interested in is to get you to gift aid your items, this entails passing over private details and then being relentlessly mailed stuff by them. If you say no to gift aid the staff turn their nose up at you and barely thank you for your donation ! Why have charity shops volunteers become sales people I don't like the way charities operate nowadays and their chief execs are on a packet.

I won't stop giving because of the cause but I wish they'd change back to a less corporate set up.

For 5 years I have lived in Kelso, a small town in the Scottish Borders and, when I first came here, I gave numerous black bags of donations on numerous occasions to this charity shop. I am now 70 years of age and, at no time did any of the staff offer to help carry the bags in from my car, I was instructed where to place the bags in the shop and a thank you was not always guaranteed. Indeed, I got the impression that they believe they're doing you a favour by taking the stuff from you. Because of this I stopped donating to the BHF and now give to another charity. However, the other day I was in Kelso and had a small bag of clothing so decided to just drop it off at the BHF charity shop. What a mistake. No words were spoken to me by the staff but a young man indicated with his hand where I should put the bag. No "thank you" was received and I left the shop without a word being exchanged. How rude and how very ungrateful. I will never donate to the BHF again.

I am writing this review with great sadness really. Being an avid supporter of charities all my adult life; i can honestly say that this is one charity that will never get a contribution of any sort from me. I have also told all my family and relations and they too will never donate or buy from this organization. My defining moment in deciding to write this scathing review came recently on a day trip to Carmarthen - West Wales. Myself and my wife were visiting this town for the day. My wife, being an avid charity supporter, chose to visit numerous charity shops in the town. Having had acceptable visits to all up to this point; we decided to end our day by paying a visit to the British Heart Foundation shop in Guildhall Square, Carmarthen. Now, i realise it was a little before five pm,and maybe close to closing time, but to have the door slammed shut and bolted in our faces was completely unacceptable. My wife was very upset and it ruined the day out completely. We tried talking to the woman through the door,saying we wanted to contribute to the charity; only to be ignored as if invisible. This shop missed out on the £20 we were going to give in cash. If these charities really want the support of the public, they really shpould vet their staff much more vigilantly. They must employ honest and kind staff and root out the harridans like we met that day; if they want to survive that is.

Have you thought where your donations go to BHF, they go to sponsoring the torture of animals in the name of science.

A recent report has shown they are the biggest supplier of funds to research centers where pregnant sheep are opened up and their unborn lambs removed then have tubes put in their legs after which the mothers head is covered and suffocated to see the effects of lack of oxygen in the lamb.

In other tests dogs and rabbits have their main artery tied off to create a heart attack. yet although this has been going on for years no drugs or worthwhile results have come from these barbaric tests.

BHF may say they do not carry out these tests directly, but they are the biggest financier so it makes them just as guilty. So next time you make your donation think where your money is going. in these days there is no need for these grotesque tests on animals.