Donating Old Computers - what paperwork?

[enjay]

We are considering donating some old computers to an organisation which is charitable but not a registered charity. We are satisfied the organisation is above-board and the equipment would be used appropriately, well managed, etc., so those boxes are ticked, but what paperwork do I need to obtain from them to formally transfer ownership (or rather, formally transfer liability for any fines should the PCs eventually end up in landfill/a ditch)?

[pcstru]

We are considering donating some old computers to an organisation which is charitable but not a registered charity. We are satisfied the organisation is above-board and the equipment would be used appropriately, well managed, etc., so those boxes are ticked, but what paperwork do I need to obtain from them to formally transfer ownership (or rather, formally transfer liability for any fines should the PCs eventually end up in landfill/a ditch)?

I'd be fairly confident a letter would do it, just include details of the items and have both parties sign. A sales receipt should also do the job - you could charge 1p.

[Oaktech]

We don't donate computers with HDDs as a rule, just for our own peace of mind - plenty of other people give stuff away with less concern for previous data, the recipients don't seem to have a problem getting HDDs.

 

Our transfer document is just a small header saying that we are leaglly transferring ownership of these items and rescind any claim to them, and stating that anything that happens to them from then on is the recipients problem, including end of life disposal. Then there is a list of serial numbers and descriptions and a place for the recipient to sign. They get a copy to keep.

 

It's modeled on the one we had tosign to get our donation of machines from Barclays a couple of years ago.

[timbo343]

You have to make sure that the data on your machines has been fully wiped as a just incase). The only other thing i would say to do would be write all serial numbers down and get the other party to sign something to say they have collected them and take a copy yourself.

[MatthewL]

Ensure if computers are restored to blank OS that the relevant license is with it and cannot be from your site agreement if you have one.

[Sheridan]

We blank the HDD and put back on the default OS (no matter how old!) and fill in a disclaimer type of sheet. This show the serial number and device types that have been donated. It basically says that we are not responsible for any repairs/damages caused etc by using the donated equipment. Once they sign it they can have the goods and everyone is happy! We've donated a lot of stuff this way and never had any complaints, most of the recipients never even seem to want a copy of the disclaimer.

[enjay]

most of the recipients never even seem to want a copy of the disclaimer.

 

That's because the disclaimer is protecting you not the recipient...

[enjay]

Ensure if computers are restored to blank OS that the relevant license is with it and cannot be from your site agreement if you have one.

 

Thanks, I hadn't considered licence keys for Windows. Maybe we'll just format the disks (which covers the data security aspect too) and donate them without OS.

[jmak]

Thanks, I hadn't considered licence keys for Windows. Maybe we'll just format the disks (which covers the data security aspect too) and donate them without OS.

That would make it more straightforward for you, but depending on the receiving organisation could make it to difficult for them to be of use. A CoA would probably be enough as they would then be licensed for the OS the devices were supplied with, but small, poor organisations also may well not have access to ISOs to rebuild.

[enjay]

A CoA would probably be enough as they would then be licensed for the OS the devices were supplied with, but small, poor organisations also may well not have access to ISOs to rebuild.

That would be XP. We've since put Win7 on using our EES/OVS agreement. If I downloaded an ISO for XP and installed that, would that be okay?

[jmak]

That would be XP. We've since put Win7 on using our EES/OVS agreement. If I downloaded an ISO for XP and installed that, would that be okay?

If I understand MS licencing correctly, that's the only licence you can give them - the EES licence you've used is not transferable. If the recipient is happy to run XP with its associated risks, then what you propose would be helpful as the XP ISO isn't widely available. However, I'd be advising them to install a flavour of Linux rather than run XP.

 

I guess if the other organisation also had an EES licence, you could install something more recent, but leave it unactivated.