Companies that add a charity donation to invoice without asking you.

Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:15
Last edited 14/03/2017 - 11:57 by 1 other user

Just got back from a few weeks away in Bali and found that one of the resorts we stayed at was participating in a form of "checkout charity" that I hadn't experienced before. Basically they automatically added a small donation (US$1) to our invoice at the end of the stay which was for charity known as "UNICEF against the sexual exploitation of children".

Generally when we give to a charity I like to do a little research first and find out a bit about them (as well as being given a polite option as to whether I want to actually donate). Our charity of choice is usually Médecins Sans Frontières although I'm the first to admit I'm usually not the most charitable person in the room.

Given the nature of the charity you would come across as a complete prick if you asked for the donation to be removed at the service desk, which is something I might normally consider doing purely out of principle as to how the donation was collected without asking. Remember that the payment is made face to face rather than behind the obscurity of the internet.

Sure it's only a dollar… but at what point would others here suddenly think "hang on, you didn't even ask me", $5 , $10, $100?

This appears different to businesses that donate a certain percentage of profits to charity, or freely donate $1 from every booking from their own profit etc. This particular resort gets all the glory/goodwill and perhaps even a tax break of giving a lump sum to the charity at the end of the year without having to dip into their own pocket at all.

Experienced this before? Thoughts?

General Discussion

Comments

  • retiredfeline on 14/03/2017 - 11:18
    +1

    I'm fine with it on online stores as long as it's flagged in the checkout process and you have the option to uncheck. You just need to be firm at the checkout desk if it matters to you.

    • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:19

      Yep… I've experienced that a few times, but given this is face to face it's a different kettle of fish.

      • retiredfeline on 14/03/2017 - 11:20

        Given the nature of the charity you would come across as a complete prick if you asked for the donation to be removed at the service desk

        I don't think so, it's in your mind. You can say: I have other causes I donate to.

        • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:23

          I'm not so sure on that. "So you don't want to give a dollar to stop children being raped". I think that's quite a strong thought to overcome in both my own mind and also the mind of the service desk person.

        • airzone on 14/03/2017 - 11:32
          +3

          @Gravy: Do you care what they think of you?

        • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:35

          @airzone: Yep, I'll try to avoid embarrassing situations where possible, doesn't matter if it's people I don't know.

        • retiredfeline on 14/03/2017 - 11:43
          +1

          @Gravy: Again that's not something you have to say, it's in your mind.

        • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:48

          @greenpossum: Thoughts are powerful things and don't need to be said aloud to be true.

        • retiredfeline on 14/03/2017 - 12:46

          @Gravy: Tell yourself you are doing what you can for your​ causes and other people do what they can for others. Otherwise you cannot survive the unbearable weight of life. And that would do no good at all.

        • Inzo on 16/03/2017 - 00:07

          @Gravy: reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F34XOE-KTA

        • Gravy on 21/03/2017 - 10:47

          @Inzo: Classic, havent seen that before.

  • try2bhelpful on 14/03/2017 - 11:26
    -4

    I can see your point, but it is $1. You have wasted much more than that writing the comment. The place would be much better off just building it into the accomodation costs; they probably think people would feel better if they thought they were donating to charity as part of their trip. I would stop stressing about it and remember what was good about the trip.

    • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 11:30

      It was a great trip and Im not stressing about it at all, it's just a topic for conversation.

      It is only $1, but at what dollar value would you consider it an excessive amount to apply automatically to a bill?

      • try2bhelpful on 14/03/2017 - 11:48

        Probably roughly $10. Traditionally these type of things are $1 to $2 for things like foodbanks at restaurants etc. Personally I find the donation makes me feel a bit better for having splurged on myself - the cost is minimal and I feel I'm doing some good without much effort on my part. Maybe a good converstation would've been to ask a bit more about the charity to suss out where the money goes; you never know it might become one of your go to charities. Personally, I'm more concerned about the corporatisation of charity donation gathering in Australia; what these private companies rip out of the donation before it gets to the appropriate charity is a much bigger issue. Signing people up for regular donations and only a small amount gets to the needy recipient is appalling. Then to top it you get companies that treat the people who are gathering the money appallingly as well.

        • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2017 - 12:01

          "I can see your point, but it is $1"
          Clearly you have no principles ;)

          Seriously though - what is the governance around charities like in Indonesia?
          How much of this actually get to the children?

          Is it really UNICEF or are they passing off as UNICEF?
          Perhaps the "Charity" is registered as for "UNcle Ians Child Exploitation Fund", but it still sounds legit to us.

        • try2bhelpful on 14/03/2017 - 12:14

          @bradn: That is why I advocate asking about the fund. You might even make the people at the hotel do a bit more investigation to confirm they want to be part of it. In relation to my principles - in the words of another joke "We know what you are, we are just haggling over the price" :)

        • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 12:37

          We don't eat out a lot here in Oz so I've never come across this before for face to face transactions, only internet sites usually. Maybe it happens more in city areas, Im regional.

          Yeah the current state of the charities in Australia is very worrying and certainly souring it all.

        • try2bhelpful on 14/03/2017 - 12:46
          +1

          @Gravy: Second Bite have campaigns every now and again through local cafes. I live in Fitzroy, Melbourne. One day we had a soup kitchen around the corner from us giving out food and I passed it on the way to dinner. I ran back and gave them $20. They said the food was donated but the money would be good for the petrol for the van.

  • hashtagbargain on 14/03/2017 - 12:24

    I agree OP, I was subjected to a similar donation on the company's behalf - this was on a P&O cruise. I wouldnt lose sleep over a dollar or two usually, but expecting customers to pay for the company's philanthropic goal is not right. The hassle of waiting in line and asking the staff to cancel it is too much and companies like these hide these kinds of trickery behind that inconvenience.

    • 973728 on 15/03/2017 - 10:04
      +1

      This. I think I would be more open to it if they said they'd match every dollar, but most often this is not the case. If a company wants to do this they should match every dollar. IMHO.

  • MrHyde on 14/03/2017 - 14:33

    I saw this is one of the hotels here (either Syd or BNE). It was either the Four points by Sheraton in BNE or the Hyatt in Syd. I saw the opt out check box during check-in and just ensured that I ticked it. Just have to be aware of what you agreeing to during check-in.

    Now, if it was not on the check-in form and a hotel tried this on me during check-out, I would have been pissed and asked to have that removed.

    • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 15:07

      Unsure if it was mentioned on any information during check-in, it is possible it was mentioned somewhere but I didn't see it. It was mentioned in a letter they slipped under our door the night before we left, together with an invoice.

  • PJC on 14/03/2017 - 15:05
    +1

    I would not participate. I choose my charity, just like I choose my resort.

  • trustnoone on 14/03/2017 - 18:02
    +1

    I /heard/ so this could be complete lies that somewhere (maybe US?) when you buy groceries they ask you, would you like to give a dollar to charity x. The point of this is that you'd be too embarrassed to say no to giving to charity especially at only a dollar, and further more because you're in front of people.

    If true I'd honestly be more annoyed over the fact they're taking advantage of people then asking for the charity itself. I also wonder if the shop (or resort in this case) gets any cut?

    Of course this could all just be wrong and its all there for the right reasons, I personally wouldn't mind an option available to "opt into". I also like to give to certain charities that means more to me then a random one. Personally would try not to participate.

    • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 19:07

      From a bit of research it's likely a legit charity and the resort is quite a prominent one in Nusa Dua.

      This type of tactic for soliciting donations likely works better for charities of a certain criteria where turning down the request is likely to make the person feel embarrassed.

      • trustnoone on 14/03/2017 - 20:31

        Yeah thats exactly it I reckon, did find a video on it if anybody out there is interested on checkout charity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwY5z8lpznY

        • Gravy on 14/03/2017 - 20:54
          +1

          That was a very interesting video thanks. The way the bookstore manipulated the donations to basically increase their bottom line was dodgy as… clever though, in a devious way.

  • Seraphin7 on 15/03/2017 - 09:19
    +1

    I just think any form of "add on", whether it bit charitable donations, "gratuities" or any number of other descriptors is highly presumptive and, frankly, rude. On trivial amounts my typical approach is to make the payment but then actively avoid doing business with that establishment in the future.

  • goosegog on 15/03/2017 - 15:15

    It's not the fact that it is only $1, but the fact they just inform you that it will be charged - surely it can't be legal to just charge without the prior option of giving consent. We have also had this happen on cruise ships but have let it go, although not agreeing with this underhand policy.
    However the one charge we never agree to on ships are the on board gratuities which are up to $15 per person, including children PER DAY! First thing we do after boarding ( & having a drink @ the pool bar of course) is to cancel them @ customer service. We choose who we wish to tip, not dictated to. In addition there is still 15% charged for every drink purchased - so what they are doing is double dipping!
    A couple of years ago we saved a family of four ( Mum,Dad & 2 kids ) $1800 by telling them they didn't have to pay it. The Dad immediately went off, cancelled it& was so grateful as the cruise had cost a fortune in the first place & they were worried about this additional charge. This is another charge made without the proper information to say that it is only optional.

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