Is this a crime?

Stat Brother · Jun 4, 2013

No it's not me, or anyone I know, just a story told to me about someone I knew.

What if someone were to drive around all the local charity shops, on a Sunday.
Pick up all the stuff that's been left outside, usually next to the sign saying 'don't leave stuff outside'.

Take the bounty home and sort it into 3 piles:-

- For me.
- For ebay.
- Back to the charity shop.

Then Sunday evening return the unwanted clobber back to the pavement outside said shop.

Sure it's morally reprehensible, but is it actually illegal?

halbpro · Jun 4, 2013

There are gangs that do exactly this and make a good chunk. Raid the clothes bins you see as well. Can't remember if it's actively illegal, but at the very least I think the police take a dim view.

DavidinSouthampton · Jun 4, 2013

Why? Were you thinking of doing it.

And I would think, probably, yes, it would be illegal because, even if the stuff was left outside, it would be clear what it was intended for.

But I am not a lawyer.

Ulloa's Soul Patch · Jun 4, 2013

No, It's not illegal. Morally wrong yes, but technically as they left it in the street and not on the property of the charity shop.
Could you steal a wheelie bin though?

Poyetry In Motion · Jun 4, 2013

Theft by finding? As in, it was found by the charity shop that it was clearly meant for. Just guessing of course

midnight_rendezvous · Jun 4, 2013

I'm actually a manager at a charity shop and it is legal. However, you're basically taking money away from good causes and putting it into your own pocket. So if you do that, speaking from a charity workers POV, you're a dick. No offence

Poyetry In Motion · Jun 4, 2013

Thinking about it, is it not the same as raiding the clothing/shoe banks, taking what you want and then returning the unwanted back to the clothing bank?

The Andy Naylor Fan Club · Jun 4, 2013

It happens more often than you may think. Whenever I pass a charity shop and see someone going through the donations left outside I give the thieving b@stards the evil eye. To me the goods are left as donations for the charity shop to raise funds for their particular cause and not for scallywags that have other intentions. :angry:

mattpenfold · Jun 4, 2013

It is clear the property is not abandoned, so yes, it would be theft since the person taking it has no legal claim to ownership. It is the same reason why you can leave your bike chained up to some railings, and no one is legally allowed to take it.

Stat Brother · Jun 4, 2013

***READ THE FIRST LINE, CHAPS***

T'is a pretty scummy thing to do, but with at least 4 charity shops in our pretty affluent village, I'd image they make quite a haul.
The more I thought about it, and my moral outrage had cleared, I needed the obvious question answered, hence the thread.

KZNSeagull · Jun 4, 2013

I have been to a market in this country, where a stall sells reject clothes from Jeep, Boomerang etc. Word on the street is that these are clothes that have been sent over specifically to give to the poor - not to be sold on. The people selling them claim to be poor, but are not. Now that is morally reprehensible - they have been reported but I doubt that they will be prosecuted.

Baldseagull · Jun 4, 2013

It is theft, and pretty low too, it might be difficult to prove in court, but if it isn't yours and you take it it's stealing, that includes stuff in skips and at the dump.

Stat Brother · Jun 4, 2013

Baldseagull said:
It is theft, and pretty low too, it might be difficult to prove in court, but if it isn't yours and you take it it's stealing, that includes stuff in skips and at the dump.

Isn't there something about the contents of skips being owned by the skip owner?

Justice · Jun 4, 2013

You have to watch some of these lesser known charity shops as only part of the profit goes to the charity, so basically they are getting free stock and turning a tidy profit.

edna krabappel · Jun 4, 2013

There is a criminal offence of theft by finding, so yes, you could potentially be in trouble for doing it.

That said, the police, if it was reported, would tend to speak to the charity shop and decide what their views are. If it was someone stealing clothes to keep their kids warm, they might not mind. Other stuff, they might well do.

Either way, it's not a nice thing to do, and it could land you in court.

turienzo's lovechild · Jun 4, 2013

charity shops are there to fund the charities that they belong to and they rely on stock donations....taking stock that was intended for them, that they could then sell on to help fund their projects is pretty low in my view.....especially if you're selling them for personal profit

dejavuatbtn · Jun 4, 2013

And there are shops, posing as Charity or "Aid" Shops, that take stuff from donations for free and sell them for profit. All done legally, because they don't actually state that they are a charity.

turienzo's lovechild · Jun 4, 2013

alternatively, if you want to do something worthwhile with your old clothes then i'd highly recommend donating them to st. peters church...who give them to the homeless. Same goes for sleeping bags, blankets, tents etc.

of course there are other venues that do the same

MattBackHome · Jun 4, 2013

Isn't that why charity shops say "Don't leave stuff outside - please just drop it in" - it must happen alot more than people realise?

I think it's morally REPREHENSIBLE.

Deleted member 2719 · Jun 4, 2013

I had a dream but a unnamed man in his 40's stole the dream by giving it to bald pasty boy, was that theft or Charity?

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