Non-motoring > Went to the zoo the other day... Miscellaneous
Thread Author: TheManWithNoName Replies: 13
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 14:27 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - TheManWithNoName
Took the wife and kids during half term.
Discovered after we'd gone through the turnstyles that they'd charged us an extra £1 as a 'charity donation'.

By the time we'd realised, it was impossible to go back to the till and query it because it was so busy and we were being funnelled through the gates.

Now I realise a pound is not a lot of money especially since it was £34 for me and the wife and a tenner each for the kids, but they did not have any signs up regarding the donation they would automatically take and neither did the cashier verbally ask us if it was ok to charge it.

They also don't state on the receipt what the charity is in aid of.

I have emailed the zoo on principle to make the point. I also wonder if it breaches any rules and if trading standards might be interested.

rant over
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 14:52 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - BobbyG
This is quite an interesting one that I have never been able to fathom.
When I went to a local zoo and visitor attraction I was asked to complete a Gift aid form so that they could claim the tax back on my admission.
That surely therefore means that my admission was actually a donation, so in theory, I don't need to pay to get in?
In tax terms I believe Gift Aid is claimable on a donation you make to a charity where you do not receive anything in return.
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 14:54 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Redviper
When we went to the Heritige Motor Museum near Starford we signed saying that a donation could be made to gift aid on our behalf - but we where asked 1st, and as a thankyou we could go back with our receipt and get in for free within one year.

Good day out there as well
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 15:36 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Pat
It's the same with the Eden Project redviper.

That's not a bad day out:)

Pat
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 15:47 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Bellboy
even ebay has a box to tick to give to a charity as you pay by paypal
to be honest it all gets up my left nostril
i always think giving to charity is a spur of the moment thing and lifts the spirits
plus when my 2 pence piece is going round and round in that tundrell in the post office i get at least 10 seconds of fun until it disappears into the black hole
other customers always look at me daft though...........
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 18:22 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - mikeyb
Our local Zoo does the same, but to be fair each time they have told me its been added on and is that OK. I say no and they take it back off again. Think the last time it was for some ape project they were working on.
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 19:07 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Dave_
>> I believe Gift Aid is claimable on a donation you make to a charity where you do not receive anything in return

I've filled in a Gift Aid form before when getting an HGV Red Nose.
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 20:55 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - R.P.
Have a look at their website see if it's mentioned there.
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 21:16 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - MD
Just before my Sixteenth Birthday (Yeah I know) Someone (?) had set up a charitable doofer called "Martin's Moped Fund". Yeah you're right...it didn't work then either.

M. x
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 22:00 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - WillDeBeest
Twycross Zoo used to do this for a while but stopped when HMRC told them rather firmly that the admission fee was not a donation and so wasn't eligible for Gift Aid. They then changed the structure of the fee to include an additional 'voluntary donation' that could be Gift Aided. The OP's £1 'donation' sounds similar to that.
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 23:01 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Harleyman
Charity is now a big business, complete with all the wrinkles and tricks of the trade which successful conglomerates use to part you from your hard-earned in as painless and unobtrusive a way as possible.

I must admit though that I would, on principle, refuse to pay the "donation".
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New Thu 10 Jun 10 23:33 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Bromptonaut
Sure I've had same experience at either (or both) Chester/Whipsnade.
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New Fri 11 Jun 10 06:11 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Pat
The Professional Drivers Foundation is registered for Gift Aid and I've just sorted through all my paperwork from when I applied to HMRC for this to try and throw some light on it for you.

Here are some points that would apply to admission charges.

• A gift of money is a voluntary donation for which the donor receives little or no benefit or reward

• Membership subscriptions paid to charities are treated as donations as long as the payment is for membership only and does not give the donor personal use of the charity’s facilities or services. This rule only applies to charities; CASCs cannot claim Gift Aid on membership subscriptions.

• Admission charges to view a charity’s property can be treated as donations if the payment gives the donor and their family annual admission to view the property, or if a donation of at least 10% more than the standard cost of admission is made.

This is all taken from HMRC Helpsheets.
Hope this helps!

Pat

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New Fri 11 Jun 10 06:24 
 Went to the zoo the other day... - Pat
Just found this as well.

>>Your charity may want to thank a donor in some way, and this is a benefit. A benefit is anything that is given to the donor, or a person connected to the donor (called a ‘connected person’), in return for a donation – for example, a ticket to an event, a copy of the charity’s magazine, a pen or a badge.<<

Pat
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