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Donate Car Charity Definition

Source:- Google.com.pk

I received an email from Karen, who lives outside of Arizona. She's trying to resolve a dispute with a company here.

I "donated" my father's car to [name of company deleted by About.com Guide to Phoenix], PHX. They advertise that they are a charitable organization and, as I understood, fix up cars and auction them then donate the funds to charity. They began by offering me $2,500 for the van however, the next time I came down, they lowered the price to $1,500 because it wasn't running then. I got the clearance on the title, signed it over to them and waited for the payment. I have called and called and now, I cannot even get return calls from the owner, [name deleted by About.com Guide to Phoenix]. The last time I had contact w/an office person, she said the car was not running so could not be sold by them. Their ad clearly states they will purchase the cars "running or not". I contacted the BBB and there is only one complaint on record that was settled "out-of-court" a few years ago. I really want the promised cash to help pay my bills. I do not appreciate their dishonesty. I specifically stated that I did not want to be involved w/any company that did not practice honesty or that took advantage of people. Is there any place that you could direct me so I may attempt to get this settled? Is there a TV station that deals with consumer complaints?

As far as I can tell from the company web site, the auction company you mentioned auctions off a donated vehicle and the proceeds of that sale are given to the charity, not to the person who donated it. People donate vehicles for the tax deduction and, of course, to benefit a worthy charitable organization. Do you have something in writing that says they'll give you cash?

In any case, Karen, your question was about how to file a complaint. As you already know, the Better Business Bureau doesn't investigate complaints or otherwise force a company to do anything. If you feel that this company has misrepresented the transaction to you, you can file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office. I've often wondered how many complaints are received by the various TV news programs that do those exposés on local rip-offs. If you want to give it a try, here are four local news programs that handle those types of consumer issues.

Just a reminder -- if you received an early ballot and you haven't mailed it by Saturday, I wouldn't mail it. All ballots must be received by Tuesday, November 4th. If you mail your ballot on Monday, it might not be received the next day and then your vote won't count.

If you didn't get to mail it, you can cast your ballot at any polling place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, 2008. You don't have to wait in line. Every polling place has a drop-off box. Just wave your ballot proudly in the air (so people don't think you're trying to cut in front of them!) and walk to the front of the line. A volunteer will be able to tell you where to deposit your ballot. Make sure you have signed the outside of the envelope, or the ballot won't be counted.

One last thing. If you are dropping off your official ballot, you don't need ID. Your signature on the outside of the envelope suffices.

It’s my understanding that any company that accepts donations of vehicles, running or not, does exactly that. They accept donations. They give receipts for the assessed value of the vehicle so the donor can declare that value toward charitable contributions for income taxes. They don’t purchase cars.

For the record, while I do work in social services in the Phoenix area, I have no connection whatsoever to any company that accepts vehicle donations.

November 4, 2008 at 4:04 pm(2) Karen says:

Thank you for your comment. I do realize that, if it’s a donation to charity, there should not be any payment involved. However, they clearly advertised that they BUY autos “running or not” and this is why I questioned their honesty from the start. I am really not interested in the deduction but am looking for the reimbursement, as promised.

November 4, 2008 at 4:07 pm(3) Judy Hedding says:

Are they willing to give you back the car? Did you contact any of the TV stations? What did they say?

November 5, 2008 at 9:16 am(4) Leonard says:

Why would you want to give your car to the crooks–which you did–before you got the money? I would think when you did your transaction at the time you sold the car–you should have walked away with the check or cash in hand. Never, never, sell something without getting the money first. If you have no written documents on the transaction, you’re up a creek. If you think you will get any response from these crooks, you’ll never get any. Agencies or persons that say they will help, if your complaints is not big enough, they will have nothing to do with you. Sorry, Karen.