We welcome your donations when we are open, but please can you call the shop you intend to take them to first. The shops, their opening times and telephone numbers can be found on our Find a shop page.

Please do not leave donations outside when we are shut. These donations generally either get stolen or damaged to the point where we need to throw them away. Most of our shops trade 6 days a week.

We welcome your donations all the time we are open, but it would help us greatly if they could be little and often. In addition, because of coronavirus we have to store donations for several days before we can use them. For this reason, we kindly ask you to phone the shop in advance to check whether the team are able to take your donations before making your journey. Visit our Find a shop page for opening times and telephone numbers.

As well as raising money through selling donated goods, we also strive to keep our costs down. One of these costs is the disposal of items that we cannot sell, as we have to pay for these to be taken away. There are a number of different things that we cannot accept for a variety of reasons. These include items that we cannot sell for legal and/or safety reasons and so have no choice but to decline them. We do not wish to cause offence to you should we decline your donation, but trust that you will understand our reasons for doing so. Items Not Accepted At Heart of Kent Hospice Shops: • Medication, solvents, used dentures, jewellery for pierced body-parts, used cosmetics and toiletries • Mains or bottled gas appliances, microwaves, electric fires, petrol, oil or diesel-fuelled items, batteries, computer hard drives • Electrical items that require a remote control device that is missing. • Prescription spectacles • Food or drink, poisonous, toxic or hazardous substances, tobacco • Ivory, bone or turtle shell products • Counterfeit or homemade films and music • Crash helmets, cycle helmets, hard hats or other protective headgear, buoyancy aids • Uniforms and clothing with company names • Toys, nightwear or upholstered furniture items that do not have the relevant safety labels • Used child car seats • Firearms, ammunition, weapons or realistic toy weapons, knives, blades or objects that could be used as weapons (this does not include kitchen knife sets).

We are happy to take electrical items as long as they are in working order and have no damage to the item, the cord or the plug. We PAT test any electrical items we are donated to ensure that the wiring is safe. Any damaged items are automatically disposed of.

We try our best to sell everything we are given. If this is not through our shops or Ebay, then we are able to sell certain items to third parties. This includes excess and damaged clothing; electrical items and excess homewares. Unfortunately there are instances where we need to dispose of items. As we have to pay for disposal, we try to keep this to a minimum, so will decline the offer of some donations if we believe we will need to dispose of them straightaway.

We have a dedicated furniture collection and delivery service which can be reached on 01622 791142. Understandably because of coronavirus restrictions, there are changes to how we operate. Our team will discuss the items you wish to donate and arrange a viewing of the item(s). If the item is suitable for resale then they may either pick up there and then or arrange a separate pick up date.

We cannot pick up upholstered furniture made after 1950 that do not have the appropriate fire safety labels attached as we are not allowed by law to sell these items. Also from time to time our furniture team may decline the offer of certain items if they do not feel that we can realistically sell them.

We do deliver furniture purchased from our shops. Delivery charges will vary depending on the shop the item was purchased from and the distance for delivery. Please enquire at our shops for delivery charges when considering a purchase of furniture. When purchasing a large item such as a wardrobe or sofa please make sure that it will fit into the delivery address beforehand. We recommend taking measurements of the item and checking access before committing to buy.

We try to price all of our item fairly so that they raise as much money as possible but still reflect great value for our customers.

We do not negotiate the price of any items that we have for sale. The price we charge is the minimum price we will accept. From time to time, if an item has not sold at the original price, our shop teams will review and reduce the price but this will never be as a result of a customer request.

As the vast majority of the items we sell are donated items, we advise our customers to check thoroughly before they buy the item. This includes trying the item on for size and suitability (all of our shops have a changing room available). Should you need to return an item we offer a credit note in return. This needs to be used within 28 days of the return date, but can be used in any of our shops.

If you’re a UK taxpayer, you can Gift Aid your donations whether they are gifts of money or your pre-loved possessions. As a charity, we receive 25p for each £1 donated under Gift Aid. This means, for instance, that every £10 raised from the sale of your donations becomes £12.50 – at no extra cost to you!

Please ask in store for a Gift Aid declaration form when you make your donation and the shop team will be happy to explain more.

You can sign up to Gift Aid with lots of different charities but you will need to sign a Gift Aid declaration form for each of them.