Reply to: Charity begins at death.

[Lucifer Box]

Some of those stories are horrific. Did they consider reporting the charity to the charities commission, the local MP etc etc? I am sure even the media and programmes such as Money Box on R4 would be interested to hear that story. Bad publicity could do the charity damage. No doubt the scumbag who pursuaded the old geezer to sign over his farm/house is now parading around all full of himself and being admired by colleagues.

They wrote to their MP, but as the old boy's solicitor is backing up the charity worker's story, that went nowhere. I think as they have pretty much resigned themselves to getting no recourse through the legal system trying to get some publicity might help. Then again, I think they are now just sick of the whole thing and have resigned themselves to basically having to start their lives all over again at the age of 40-odd.

[TGAOTU]

Rather strange that we've been talking about death, found out tonight that a good friend of mine fell in the canal last night and died. He was found this morning. We've just been having a couple of pints at the pub in his memory.

He was 41 years old, just payed off his mortgage and was in the process of fitting a new bathroom - I helped him carry his old bath down the stairs a few days ago, those cast-iron bastards are bloody heavy!

Ah well, here's to you whizzy!

[mcquiggd]

Talking of charities, I see Greenpeace screwed up today and deducted 100 times more than they should from many peoples accounts - ah, the joys of direct debits... wonder if the interest earnt on all that dosh will cover their costs in refunds..?

[threaded]

Did you know there was a reality TV show in America called "The Will"? The premise was someone popped their clogs and then the family were filmed and interviewed as pieces of the last will and testament were read.

Weirdly enough it was pulled after the first show because of "bad taste". Never!

How come it was ever started in the first place is one of those little mysteries of TV I guess.

Never did find out who got left the farm though.

[Fungus]

Agreed. Seeing the guy on the front page of local paper battered and bruised, being reported as the victim of a random attack, might be the best satisfaction they can hope for.

I say exactly the same to my parents when they talk about what to do with their money: "spend it on having a good time, you can't take it with you". The trick is to make sure you have spent it down to the threshold (£8k??) just at the point where you lose your marbles and get taken into care. There must be nothing worse than your hard-earned going to the local council to pay care workers for the priviledge of abusing you and knicking what few valuables you have left.

There's the rub. If you squander your money on having a good time, then when your marbles go, and you get carted off to a home, the council pay. If on the other hand you worked hard, never claimed benefits, and paid off a mortgage on a nice house, when you get carted off to a home, the council take your home to pay the fees. Oh and if you have a nice pension due to your foresight, they take all but a small weekly allowance.

Seems to me that the government are discouraging people from taking responsibility for their own lives, and encouraging a spend now and scrounge from the state attitude.

Fungus

[Fungus]

Some of those stories are horrific. Did they consider reporting the charity to the charities commission, the local MP etc etc? I am sure even the media and programmes such as Money Box on R4 would be interested to hear that story. Bad publicity could do the charity damage. No doubt the scumbag who pursuaded the old geezer to sign over his farm/house is now parading around all full of himself and being admired by colleagues.

Fortunately not all charities are so nasty. The RSPB do ask to be remembered in wills, but they also point out that you should look after nearest and dearest first, and only then leave something to them. I've never been harassed/pestered by them. My late mother left £5K to a charity which I thought was fine. I donate to Oxfam, but I've seriously considered cancelling donation because they are seriously pushy, with regular phone calls from pushy gits to get me to increase the contributions. It gets right up my nose, and anyway who is paying these pushy gets? Yes, my donations are paying them rather than going to the needy. I wrote to complain as I was getting pissed off. I also get huge amounts of junk mail from charities and I do wonder of Oxfam pass on my details. Gits!

IMO it is worth giving to a good cause, but avoid the nasty/pushy ones.

Fungus

[Lucifer Box]

Agreed. Seeing the guy on the front page of local paper battered and bruised, being reported as the victim of a random attack, might be the best satisfaction they can hope for.

I say exactly the same to my parents when they talk about what to do with their money: "spend it on having a good time, you can't take it with you". The trick is to make sure you have spent it down to the threshold (£8k??) just at the point where you lose your marbles and get taken into care. There must be nothing worse than your hard-earned going to the local council to pay care workers for the priviledge of abusing you and knicking what few valuables you have left.

[threaded]

Appears to be the kind of situation where one should seek the services of some thug down the pub to give the solicitor a right good kickin. I very much doubt you'll ever get the money back in such a situation, but you will feel a little better about losing it.

I have advised my aged Ps to blow as much as possible partying before they go and leave whatever is left to a charity. All us kids have done really well so don't need it, and find the prospect of any of it going to the government, frankly, quite insulting.

[Lucifer Box]

That's the kicker. The old boy's family solicitor had the power of attorney and it was to him the charity worker took the fellow to get the will changed. The solicitor corroborated the worker's story (even though the old boy was deaf, partially blind and largely senile, and clearly could not really have known what he was signing). The family suspect, although do not know and cannot prove (and may be just being paranoid), that the solicitor took a kickback of some sort.

[OwlHoot]

Exactly the same happened to Mrs Lucifer's family, mcquiggd. Her great uncle, who was virtually blind, deaf and somewhat senile was the registered owner of the family farm. He lived there with his brother's kids who ran the farm and took care of him. Some charity type worker "befriended" him and persuaded him (unbeknownst to everyone else) to change his will and leave his entire estate to some cancer charity (neither he nor anyone he knew had ever had cancer). He popped his cork about a fortnight later.

When the will was read, his brother's kids were mortified. They contacted the charity and explained it all to them, that they were running a working farm, had lived there for 30 odd years and all the rest of it. The charity replied and told them they had 30 days to vacate the charity's property or the police would be called. They didn't budge and sure enough the police forcibly evicted them a month later. This was two years ago. They are still fighting the case but their brief is now advising them to give up. The farm has been left empty for that time and has essentially gone to wrack and ruin. The charity even declined an offer from the kids to buy the farm back as they said they were waiting for "a more appropriate buyer".

W@nkers.

God, that's an object lesson in what happens when these parasites are able to insinuate themselves into someone's affairs. I'd never give or bequeath anything to charity, especially given the tax levels as they are - It's just giving the Government an easy ride, and more scope to waste more money in other (intrusive) ways.

Mrs Lucifer's family must have had a crap lawyer though, if the situation was how you describe. Hadn't the old boy granted some trusted person power of attorney, the family lawyer perhaps? (And what did _[s]he_ have to say about it?)

[Lucifer Box]

Theres a lot of money to be made in the charity business... when my dad explained he was 66, had had 2 heart attacks, was the last surviving member of the immediate family, had no transport and asked the charities to at least allow him to buy his brothers car at a fair price, all 3 replied via their solicitors - no doubt used repeatedly and costing a fortune - to the extent that he should 'feck off'.

Exactly the same happened to Mrs Lucifer's family, mcquiggd. Her great uncle, who was virtually blind, deaf and somewhat senile was the registered owner of the family farm. He lived there with his brother's kids who ran the farm and took care of him. Some charity type worker "befriended" him and persuaded him (unbeknownst to everyone else) to change his will and leave his entire estate to some cancer charity (neither he nor anyone he knew had ever had cancer). He popped his cork about a fortnight later.

When the will was read, his brother's kids were mortified. They contacted the charity and explained it all to them, that they were running a working farm, had lived there for 30 odd years and all the rest of it. The charity replied and told them they had 30 days to vacate the charity's property or the police would be called. They didn't budge and sure enough the police forcibly evicted them a month later. This was two years ago. They are still fighting the case but their brief is now advising them to give up. The farm has been left empty for that time and has essentially gone to wrack and ruin. The charity even declined an offer from the kids to buy the farm back as they said they were waiting for "a more appropriate buyer".

W@nkers.

[threaded]

One of the children on one of my Danish friends came home with some leaflet asking for permission for the child to go collecting on behalf of the needy in some African country.

My friend wrote back along the lines that she'd collected money for people in that same country many years ago when she was also child at that school and wasn't it about time they sorted themselves out.

[IR35 Avoider]

They have now replaced the “Just give £2 a month” with “Why not put us in your will”

Absolutely shocking!

When I see an appeal asking if I could spare X amount, I think: How would I know? I'm not dead yet!

It seems to me that if one is going to give away money, doing so in one's will is the only sensible option.

[mcquiggd]

Theres a lot of money to be made in the charity business... when my uncle died he left the family home to charities and bits and pieces to my dad - despite the fact my dad had sold his half share to his brother very cheaply in the agreement that it was left in his will to myself and my brother.

Although a verbal agreement, he thought he could at least trust his brother. He had letters supporting it although the evidence wasnt really sufficient to prove a case.

When my dad explained he was 66, had had 2 heart attacks, was the last surviving member of the immediate family, had no transport and asked the charities to at least allow him to buy his brothers car at a fair price, all 3 replied via their solicitors - no doubt used repeatedly and costing a fortune - to the extent that he should 'feck off'.

Although I admire the individuals that actually go to places and provide assistance, personally Im not giving a penny to any charity.

A graphic designer I knew worked for Oxfam and made more money than I did as a team leader with 7 guys.

In Norwich, dozens of students were paid £10 an hour to harass shoppers to set up direct debits. Most of the time youd see them picking on good looking women and trying to chat them up.

I prefer www.thehungersite.com.

[TGAOTU]

While watching TV yesterday I saw one of these charity adverts (You know the ones – Just give us £2 a month to help this ugly dog)

They have now replaced the “Just give £2 a month” with “Why not put us in your will”

Absolutely shocking!

Plenty of growth in death, especially in a cold winter and current fuel prices!

Crap Xmas presents from your kids and grandkids means you can write them out of the old LWaT, add a sting in the tail by leaving all your worldy to the CDL!