All items · Mobility & medical
Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walking aids
Also covers: wheelchair, mobility scooter, zimmer frame, walking frame, bath aid, hospital bed, hoist, commode
Why shops refuse it
Mobility and disability equipment needs servicing and safety checks that charity shops can't provide.
What to do instead
The British Red Cross and local mobility loan schemes take some equipment back — or ask your NHS wheelchair service about returns.
Charity by charity
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Can't accept
Acorns Children's Hospice
Electrical/adjustable beds also listed separately as not accepted.
Their wording
“Any mobility items e.g. wheelchairs and walkers”
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Can't accept
British Heart Foundation
Also stair lifts not accepted.
Their wording
“Electric hoists”
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Can't accept
British Red Cross
Wheeled walkers (infection control) and four-wheeled mobility scooters (roadworthiness testing).
Their wording
“Wheelchairs, wheeled walkers”
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Can't accept
Cancer Research UK
Their wording
“Mobility items (scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, bath aids)”
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Can't accept
Cornwall Hospice Care
Commodes, hospital beds, crutches, and other medical equipment
Their wording
“Bath aids or seats”
-
Can't accept
DEBRA
Commodes specifically named.
Their wording
“Commodes”
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Can't accept
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
Disability aids not accepted.
Their wording
“Disability aids or inflatables”
-
Can't accept
Oxfam
broad category rule
Generic term used, not further specified by item.
Their wording
“Medical equipment”
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Can't accept
Salvation Army (SATCoL)
Their wording
“Wheeled walkers and zimmer frames, wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters”
-
Can't accept
Shaw Trust
Donors are redirected to Mercy Ships for medical equipment.
Their wording
“Mercy Ships (medical equipment)”
-
Can't accept
St Christopher's Hospice
Their wording
“walkers, wheelchairs, commodes, walking sticks, Zimmer frames”
-
Can't accept
St Giles Hospice
Mobility scooters specifically named
Their wording
“Mobility scooters”
-
Can't accept
Sue Ryder
Includes wheelchairs, wheeled walkers, mobility scooters, Zimmer frames, bath aids, hospital beds.
Their wording
“any mobility equipment e.g. wheelchairs, wheeled walkers, mobility scooters, Zimmer frames, bath aids or hospital beds”
-
Can't accept
Wales Air Ambulance
Their wording
“Mobility items e.g. bath aids”
-
Can't accept
Woodgreen Pets Charity
Their wording
“Mobility scooters or wheelchairs, as we are unable to guarantee the safety of the equipment”
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Check first
Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
Mobility aids and medical equipment not accepted, EXCEPT wheelchairs and 3- or 4-wheel walkers which are accepted
Their wording
“Mobility aids except wheelchairs or 3 or 4 wheel walkers”
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Accepted
Claire House Children's Hospice
Mobility scooters and wheelchairs explicitly accepted.
Their wording
“Mobility scooters”
Not mentioned in 27 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Not mentioned Age UK
- Not mentioned Barnardo's
- Not mentioned Crisis
- Not mentioned Dogs Trust
- Not mentioned Dorothy House
- Not mentioned Emmaus
- Not mentioned FARA Charity Shops
- Not mentioned Keech Hospice Care
- Not mentioned LOROS Hospice
- Not mentioned Marie Curie
- Not mentioned Octavia Foundation
- Not mentioned Overgate Hospice
- Not mentioned PDSA
- Not mentioned Phyllis Tuckwell
- Not mentioned Princess Alice Hospice
- Not mentioned Samaritans
- Not mentioned Save the Children
- Not mentioned Scope
- Not mentioned Sense Scotland
- Not mentioned Shelter
- Not mentioned St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
- Not mentioned St Peter's Hospice
- Not mentioned St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
- Not mentioned The Children's Trust
- Not mentioned Traid
- Not mentioned Willen Hospice
- Not mentioned YMCA (England & Wales)