Welcome to Lancaster-Morecambe Freegle !

A group to give away your unwanted items to other local people for free.

You can also request items which you may think members may have but not be using.

Freegle group etiquette :-

Please be polite to other Freeglers and do turn up if you have arranged to collect an item.

Please note that Freegle is not run on a ‘First come first served’ basis. We encourage people to use the ‘Fair Chance Policy’ in offer posts. You can copy and paste the text of the Fair chance Policy from here:

‘Fair Chance Policy: I’ll wait before choosing a recipient to give more people a chance to reply.’

Reposts are done automatically and your post will be bumped up the list if it is still available or not received.

Offers will be re-posted every 3 days and Wanteds every 14 days.

On our website we have a ‘ChitChat’ tab, where you can Chat to other members and ask about local issues. Please select from the location ten miles or so to prevent seeing News items from far afield.

You can put local Events on the Event tab and, if you are looking for volunteers, do put an add on the Volunteer tab.

Be aware that a lot of emails are caught accidentally in spam filters. To try and combat this we have introduced ‘CHAT’. You will find copies of any messages you send or receive by clicking the ‘CHAT’ icon on the top right when you log in. Even if you prefer not to use this method yourself we advise you to check it, if you’re expecting a reply.

LANCASTER-MORECAMBE FREEGLE DOs AND DON'Ts

DOs

1. Offer posts should be made using the 'give' icon, wanted posts using the 'find' icon; both are on the home page of Lancaster-Morecambe Freegle

Initially, posts should be made only on your Home (nearest) group. Do not

cross-post i.e. post on more than one group at once. If you get no response from your home group, then after 2 days you can post on your next nearest group and then, after a further 2 days, the third nearest group.

2. Leave 4 days before repeating an offer and 14 days before repeating a wanted.

3. Give some detail about what you are giving or wanting in your posts and be specific. Requests for 'anything' or general terms like 'furniture' or 'clothes' will be rejected. For an offer, a photograph is very helpful. Please do not use words like 'desperate' as we are not here to determine need. The object of Freegle is to keep goods out of landfill.

4. The person to whom the goods are given is responsible for the collection of those goods. The person giving goods should not be expected to also deliver them.

5. Post a 'taken' if you successfully rehome your offers and a 'received' if you get a response to your wanted posts. These can be found using the down arrow on your original post, as can the option to withdraw an item. Moderators cannot post an offer, taken, wanted or received on your behalf.

6. There is a limit on wanted posts of 1 per day and 5 per month, but you are allowed to ask for more than 1 item on a single post. Withdrawn posts count towards both the daily and monthly limit.

DON'Ts

1. No selling/buying. The clue is in the name- FREEgle. This includes selling something you have got from another member, either before or after you have used it, UNLESS you have the express permission of the donor to do so.

2. No borrowing/lending. All items must be gifted. Moderators cannot be responsible for items borrowed which are not returned or are damaged.

3. No swapping/exchanging. Again, moderators cannot be involved in problems that arise.

4. Phone numbers. Don't post them in a message. Over 3000 members can see them. Only exchange phone numbers with members who you are offering to or receiving from.

5. Don't delete posts. Only moderators should use the delete function.

6. No Offers or Wanteds for animals are allowed on this group.

If you have any questions or issues you can email the group moderators at:

Lancaster-Morecambe-Freegle-volunteers@groups.ilovefreegle.org

OFFER: Extension lead (Preston PR1)