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.

You can read the current full terms and conditions here: hokh.info/retailgiftaid

When you sign up to Gift Aid you can optionally choose to receive other updates from us, for example about fundraising events in your area, or news about our work in the community helping terminally ill people. If you do not opt into these then we won't send them. As part of the rules of operating a retail gift aid scheme, we are required to tell you how much your items have raised each tax year. We currently do this once a year by email or letter.

Heart of Kent Hospice will ensure all Annual Statements are sent to donors by 31 May each year following the end of the tax year on 5 April. We are also introducing a new regulation which means we will only contact our supporters each tax year once their net sales have reached £20, or every three years, whichever comes first. This introduction has been made to reduce the administrative costs associated with the Retail Gift Aid scheme which will save Heart of Kent Hospice funds. Our supporters are able to request to continue to receive annual statement regardless of net sales values. Please contact us at gift.aid@hokh.co.uk to arrange this.

No. As long as you are a UK taxpayer, and have paid enough income tax to cover the amount of gift aid we claim, adding Retail Gift Aid to your donation won't cost you anything.

Our shops are grateful for every donation. All shops accept men's, women's, and children's clothing and accessories. They also accept good quality homewares, linens, books, CDs, DVDs and more. Please contact your local shop to arrange a time to drop off your donation. For a list of items we cannot accept, please visit: hokh.info/thingsyoucantdonate Please check with your local shop before donating furniture or electrical items. Find your nearest shop at: www.hokh.info/findashop Read more about donating items to us at: www.hokh.org/support-us/support-our-shops

Don't worry, we can still add Retail Gift Aid to your items. When you donate, tell the shop team you're already registered for Retail Gift Aid and they'll take some details to allow them to match your items to your Retail Gift Aid account.

When you sign up to Retail Gift Aid, we create an account in our till system that lets us match you to your items. Every item you donate is then labelled with a reference number, which is scanned when they get sold.

Unfortunately, you'll need to be at least a basic rate UK taxpayer to be able to add Gift Aid to your donation. If your circumstances change and you no longer pay tax, please contact us at your earliest convenience to let us know. If you have paid insufficient tax to meet the Gift Aid claimed by Heart of Kent Hospice, HMRC may seek to recover this sum from your directly, as it is your responsibility to pay any difference.

You can send your Retail Gift Aid enquiries to gift.aid@hokh.co.uk or call our Fundraising Team at 01622 790195.

The principle is the same but, as there are additional agency terms and conditions for Retail Gift Aid, the two are operated separately. If you've previously added gift aid to a cash donation or sponsorship form, for example, you'll also need to sign up to Retail Gift Aid for us to be able to claim gift aid on your donated items.

Yes. Each charity will have their own Agency Terms and Conditions, so it's important you're aware of these when you make a new Retail Gift Aid declaration.

If you have a query about our Retail Gift Aid scheme, please email gift.aid@hokh.co.uk or call our Fundraising Team at 01622 790195. For information about Gift Aid in general, you can also visit the HMRC website at: www.gov.uk