WITH reference to your article ‘Headington gets eighth charity shop’ (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail) I feel that regardless of charity, enough is enough.

My reasons for saying this are that a business in this area pays an exorbitant amount per year in business rates and/or rent and that is why there are empty shops in Headington.

How would the powers that be like it if the same rules applied to all and you could say to a trader: 1. You will only have to pay a maximum of 20 per cent of your rates, maybe less if you negotiate 2. All your stock will be free 3. You will only need to pay yourself and one other – all other staff will be volunteers (no pension contributions, no tax to work out, no paid holidays, no maternity leave, etc, etc, etc)?

With the above, I feel that anyone would be successful.

These charity shops are now businesses and, rather than creating footfall for other shops, they are competitors, even with each other.

Now that charities have their experts to price the donated stock, you have the situation where I went into one and saw a pair of secondhand boots for £25.

I said to the person on the till: “I can go to Peacocks and buy a brand new, unused pair for £15.”

Imagine my surprise when the reply was: “Well, you’d better go over there then.”

In my opinion, a charity shop was meant to be a place where freely-donated goods were sold at sensible prices so that, for instance, an OAP could afford a warm winter coat, which otherwise he or she could not – this is charity all round.

DEREK SMITH, London Road, Headington