Lidl and charity donations

I think this it outrageous and should be banned. It slows up the queue and pots pressure on customers to donate.

Plus the transaction fee sounds dodgy.

Didn't Tesco try this sort of thing a while back?

Thanks for the warning on this OP. I've literally just called my DH to tell him, as he was in Lidl doing some shopping as I read your post. Apparently the machine doesn't move in our store, but he said there is a charity thing going on there, and like a previous poster said, there are buttons for you to press 'Yes' or 'No' in response to the question on the machine - 'Do you want to donate £1 to charity'. I think this is a much better way of doing it, than we used to get when shopping at Wickes, where you were asked by the staff each time if you wanted to make a donation. At the time, we were in and out of Wickes on a frequent basis as we were renovating our home, so to anyone waiting in the queue when we were asked, we probably appeared as tight as the proverbial duck, as if we'd said yes every time, we'd have run out of money to do the work on the house. However, I definitely don't like them doing it the way they tried in your store, and would have objected loudly to that. I wonder how many of the customers in front of you, didn't realise what he was doing, well done for spotting it.

😲. I would contact head office and Ombudsman thathas to be illegal as they are not asking your permission to authorise a donation and to whom? What charity??

Lidl checkout machine here today had two buttons - red for no, green for yes, both clearly marked with words too. The question was ‘would you like to donate 20p to the NSPCC?’ which is the charity their penny boxes have always been for.

There were also a couple of people publicising a local animal shelter on the way out. I guess they were taking donations but didn’t stop to find out.

No pressure to donate from either, and I didn’t feel awkward at all.
I wonder if different shops have different charities.

Mojack26

😲. I would contact head office and Ombudsman thathas to be illegal as they are not asking your permission to authorise a donation and to whom? What charity??

Full explanation in my posts on page 1.

Aldi ask if you want to add, as do Holland & Barratt. They do not add unless you agree

Basgetti

Ours asks if we would like to donate. Press Green for yes, Red for no. Surprised your store is different. Would have expected the same in each one.

My husband is colourblind, I'll have to keep him away from Lidl or our spending could rise!

I have carried out a little bit of research as I was horrified that £1 was being added to checkout bills. It is actually 30p, which doesn't annoy me nearly as much as £1. I still think that the checkout operator should ask if the shopper wants to make the donation, because for some this amount could be more important. Personally I donate £1 per week, through a standing order to one of the small charities that give small awards to individual and community organisations. Each week I receive an email listing the recipients and explaining why the money was needed. We provide bedding and clothes to mums who have died domestic abuse with nothing, or a new fridge to an elderly person who has no savings and a broken appliance. The charity I use was set up by Julie Hesmondhaigh, who played Hayley in Coronation Street. It is a small amount for me but with many others has accumulated to over half a million pounds in the years I have donated.

It's one thing asking customers to donate but you cannot just add it to the transaction.

Personally I'd raise this issue MULTIPLE times on social media until I was answered correctly.

It's essentially theft surely?

It's an automatic action by computer. The cashiers don't add it, and you can refuse to pay it.

I shop in Lidl regularly for a few items that are significantly cheaper there. I don't remember having to say yes or no to a donation there and I just checked the receipts in my purse and none have had anything added. I go to Lidl specifically to save a small amount as I'm struggling financially at the moment so I would say no to donating. I know McDonalds ask for a donation - round up to whatever - and have done that if it is just a penny. Adding £1 is outrageous if you weren't asked. I would be asking to speak to the manager too!

Macdonalds kiosks have been asking if you want to round up for years, but as they ask first and I have used Macdonalds family units in hospitals I am quite happy to pay

It's coercion. Years ago people were banned from shaking tins at people in the street but I think this is far worse because it puts pressure on staff to ask.

I don't know any local supermarkets that do this but some smaller shops do and I never pay. People can think I am mean.
It's wrong.

Aren’t charitable donation tax deductible for businesses though?
Our local Tesco has the facility that Bazza described.
Consider this then, at the end of the working day, Tesco calculate all those charitable donations made by customers ant checkouts and potentially get tax relief by declaring it as a Tesco donation ??

*ant……….should be at!

Greenfinch

Our Lidl comes up with a question on the machine about donating with a Yes or No response which you have to tap before the machine accepts your payment . Seems fair to me

Yes mine does this. Booths too. I’m generally happy to give the odd pennies.

Personally, I like the idea of micro donations. Charities used to be able to collect much more money in cash than they do now, when people put their odd bits of changing in tins at the till. Rounding up (within limits) seems like a good thing to me.

I have regular giving arrangements set up with a few charities, and I am registered for gift aid with the charity shops I use most frequently, so I get statements about these.
I like seeing how the donations build up overtime to much larger amounts than I would ever give in one go.

But it does sound as if the guy at the till here is not doing what he should be, and it’s hard to know why unless he has misunderstood something on his training?

Basgetti

Why on earth would he do that?

Perhaps there is a competition to see who can get the most charitable donations each day, and a reward for the winning staff member?

Astitchintime

Aren’t charitable donation tax deductible for businesses though?
Our local Tesco has the facility that Bazza described.
Consider this then, at the end of the working day, Tesco calculate all those charitable donations made by customers ant checkouts and potentially get tax relief by declaring it as a Tesco donation ??

Yes, companies do get tax relief on charitable donations. But I don’t see how Tesco (or any other business) could class this as a donation. They are collecting the money, which they then pay over to the charity (much as they collect VAT). I think this is quite different to the system that used to exist in Tesco’s where you were given a green token to ‘vote’ for different local charities, and where Tesco could have claimed tax relief.

I think the supermarkets will want to keep this extra money well away from their own accounts - if it looks like income, they will have to declare it and it will count towards their corporation tax bill, increasing their tax liability.

I was in Lidl today. On the self checkout it asked if I wanted to donate 10p.

At Lidl's manned check outs I've been told to press the red button of I don't wish to make a donation.

Some years ago in local Waitrose and Tesco supermarkets they do a 3 charities option , you got to check out and they gave you a plastic button shape coupon so to speak .
You had 3 chooses of where you but the button , the local charity of your choose who at the end of a 4 week period got given a cheque by the supermarket .
Where I live in a Anchor retirement home we had cheques from both , which was spent on things like games etc for the tenants And was put in the buildings social club fund .
Mick

Yes, they still do that, Mick.
The money always goes to local causes, organisations or schools

I would raise the matter with the manager of that branch. I’ve often been asked to add a donation but never had an employee add one without authorisation.
I’m probably a very nasty and cynical person, but I can’t help suspecting that those £s aren’t going to any charity, but finding their way into the employee’s own bank account.

The till operator shouldn't be touching the card payment machine. It is down to the customer to chose whether they donate by pressing the tick or cross button. The till operator needs to be reported to the manager at the store.