'Donating your unwanted items couldn't be easier' So say The British Heart Foundation. Haha! What a joke that is! There's me thinking, instead of putting it on Freecycle, I'll donate a decent double bed to a 'worthy charity'... and at the same time clear out some space. What could possibly go wrong? After missing the first collection on account of a lack of clarity on their behalf I organised a second collection the following week. On collection day, as stated on their website, I awaited the thirty-minute prior warning call from the driver. He called to give me a two hour slot! On arrival, I helped the driver and his mate with the bed frame from my garage into their van. When returning to the garage for the mattress, one of them then 'noticed' a non-existent stain and a tiny piece of blue tack (that simply rolled off) as the excuse for their refusal to take it. The other one then chimed in with "Stuff is collected at our discretion mate" He then idiotically undermined the whole stain-spotting performance by announcing that 9 out of 10 mattresses are chucked. So it seems 'At the driver's discretion' is code for 'We're gonna lumber you, at the point of collection, with a mattress that will save us inevitably getting rid of.' They patently had zero intention of collecting the mattress even before they had clapped eyes on it. At this point they couldn't leave quick enough... "Yeah, just give it to a homeless charity mate" was their parting shot. I was then left with a mattress without a bed frame. Unfortunately I was too slow off the mark, such was their well-rehearsed speedy exit, to have them return the bed frame to my garage. When I called the Stockport shop to complain about the mercenary, underhand tactics, I spoke to a woman who sounded like she'd dealt with many complaints before...and judging by that shop's poor reviews that would be no surprise...I so wish I'd read those reviews beforehand. Apparently the driver had forewarned her after they'd left that I might well be calling. She was therefore suitably defensive, heels-dug-in and had no intention of even attempting to appear impartial. She simply closed ranks, echoed what the driver had said and that they'd been trained in what to look for in terms of what will sell. She then told me that all that info was on the docket the driver handed me. This is the docket you are handed just before they disappear! How underhand is that? Incidentally, in their haste, I was never asked to sign this docket. I guess that means they are selling property that is not theirs to sell. It also transpired that she had great difficulty in distinguishing between personal abuse and conversational frustration. With reference to the whole fiasco, the phrases "...couldn't be arsed" and "...a load of 'bollards'..." was used... These were not directed at her but about the situation. Unfortunately for me, and in this age of snowflakery, I had used up my quota of 'bad language'. She then recited her off pat script and promptly hung up. Contrarily, of course, this, I imagine, was most convenient for her as it prevented her from actually having to address the issue. I understand they cannot take any old tat but they know that to leave a mattress is to inconvenience the donor. This is a two-way transaction people! Yet another example of rotten Britain; tarred with the same depressing self-serving, grabby, disingenuous, small-print, deceitful schemers brush. What an absolute shower. And incidentally as all the drivers are apparently 'trained' in spotting what is ripe to cherry pick, my two, in their hurry, inadvertently left a crucial part of the bed base behind. So perhaps seeing stains that aren't there and not seeing big planks of wood that are might perhaps be remedied with a little extra 'training'. In conclusion, I'd suggest, at least with respect to bed donation, giving this mob a real wide berth. Donate it elsewhere, or they will leave you in the lurch. Btw, defaults prevent this being a richly-deserved star-free review