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We had a coat hook screwed onto the solid part of a bedroom door and it served well for about 10 years, but it has now fallen off and the screws won't re-secure. I have considered filling the holes and trying again, but have concerns whether screws into filler would hold the weight. I have also considered using rawl plugs (anchors), but don't know if I can get any small enough - those we have seem too long.

Do I have to abandon the existing holes and have the hook placed a little off-centre with new holes?

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I don't have any experience with your particular problem, but if the part of the door is solid, you can try putting little wedge shaped slivers of wood covered in wood glue into the hole. Then, you should be able to re-screw right away. wait until the glue has dried before putting any weight on it. –  Edwin Mar 18 '13 at 13:01
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You might consider a hollow door screw. They are similar to the drywall anchors that look like giant screws but are designed for the flimsy type of wood that hollow doors are made of. enter image description here

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Fillers are never going to be as strong as actual wood, you could also use glue like epoxy to fill if you like. You seem to be proceeding on the assumption that using the existing holes is the preferred option, however it is probably faster, easier and stronger to simply drill new holes 1/4 inch from the existing ones. New holes will be stronger than trying to use the old, and it saves you the trouble of filling and waiting for it to dry.

You might want to consider bigger and/or longer screws than previously used - door hooks tend to have far more than a couple of robes hanging off of them so beefier screws than the ones that came with the hook may be in order, otherwise you're back where you started in a few years.

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