I lost my Mum 3 weeks ago and have been trying to sort out her house. Quite a bit of stuff has gone to charity shops but I have two 3 piece suites and 2 double beds (all in excellent condition) that no one will take because they don't have the required labels on.
Ridiculous, according to one shop they could lose their trading licens if they tooki manything wihtout approriate fire safety stickers - surely people should be allowed to make a decision for themselves!!!!!
Anyway, anyone like a double bed or 3 piece, completely free just need to pick them up
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Some of the stuff I was able to sell through an auction house, but they were very picky about what they would and would not take.
This may help, but there may be a community scheme close to you. We used a local community scheme which collected the furniture and then it goes into a warehouse where people on piddling income or have severe health problems can buy furniture cheaply. Some of them also employ local people who can't find work, to repair renovate and sell on etc. Condolences on the loss of your Mum.
Thanks to all for their condolenses and advice - just tried freecycle but it will not accept my e-mail address
Mum has been in hospital very ill for 4 weeks, been called in twice with "expect the worst" but she has fought on. Released from hospital at 3pm yesterday and taken back in at 6pm ! I found the house is subsiding last week and as i have power of attorney its down to me to get the house issues sorted, find a care home, sort ot the cash. She wont be able to live upastairs again (down stairs all sorted) so we might as well start geting ride of all the furniture etc up stairs.
Its her 85th birthday today,and even tho she was very ill last wek first thing she said to me on "saturday was how did charlton get on?"
There's freecycle:
http://www.uk.freecycle.org
Or perhaps the good old card in a few local newsagent's windows?
Alternatively google for a house clearance company, they will however charge you to take the stuff away, but that will save you a trip to the dump.
I would agree ebay looks your best option and you may even end up with some cash from it, which in this climate and with other things I'm sure you will being pay out for it can be no bad thing.
Just to set you straight on a few of the other things though – firstly there is no such thing a thing as a ‘trading licence’. The charity shop should have procedures in place to ensure that all goods sold (toys, electrical goods and upholstered furniture, etc) are safe. Primarily because it’s the right thing to do but also because they can be prosecuted and subject to civil action should they sell unsafe goods like any other trader. In this case they’ve made a decision that he only way to ensure the furniture meets the current safety standards is to look for the appropriate labels and reject if if not. BTW have you checked underneath and under each cushion as sometimes they are quite well hidden? They shouldn’t need to worry about it not having the paper display labels (the green square one) it’s the permanent one that’s important.
The thing with upholstered furniture is that the older stuff is lethal in the event of a fire. Deaths have dropped dramatically since the introduction of the regs and if you’ve ever seen one of them go up in the flesh you’d be shocked, so I can’t really agree that it’s a case of letting people make a decision for themselves. Particularly when the danger is hidden. Pre 1950’s furniture is exempt by the way.
Anyway, I genuinely don’t intend this as lecture in furniture safety, it’s just that it doesn’t seem like anyone you’ve spoken too so far has explained it very well hence your frustration I think.
Once again, very sorry to hear of your loss.
Same goes for electricals...
Freecycle will take any email address. Worth trying again i say.
It's community based and you get to choose who gets what, sort out someone else who's desperate. Some people can be grabby, but you choose. No contracts so no hassle from the legal/commitment point of view.
Good luck with everything.