"Credit Crunch? What Credit crunch?" say town's charity shops

CHARITY shops are saying that it’s business as usual - despite the global financial meltdown.

Nationally there have been reports of customers haggling for items and a fall in donations, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in Tiverton.

Margaret Martin from Clic Sargent said: “I’ve been working here for ten years, and it’s as busy as ever. People in Tiverton and the surrounding areas regularly donate to us, so for the moment we’re very busy.

“People in the area have supported us in a five-star way for many years, and still continue to do so. The credit crunch has had no effect on us whatsoever, and our turnover is still increasing on last year.”

This view was echoed by Lorena Pascoe from the British Heart Foundation who said: "People are still giving and we haven’t noticed the crunch here. People keep coming back and we haven’t seen any major changes in the amount of donations we’re getting.”

Hospisecare is one of the town’s more local charities and doesn’t operate nationwide. Tiverton store manager Alan Lee said: “Hospiscare is holding our own at the moment and we’re still getting a lot of support so we haven’t seen a decline in people coming in and donating.

“Where it does go wrong on occasion though is that the recession keeps some people away from the town. You can’t say market day on a Tuesday is a busy these days, you can do just as well on any other weekday - there’s just no pattern to it.

“I think charity shops do offer a great place to find bargains and unusual things. It’s ideal for customers who like to collect things. We operate a service here where you can ask us to look out for anything people may be after and we’ll give them a ring when something is donated they might be interested in.”