Gift Voucher/card Redemption Rip Off

[Polyal]

Just wanted to share an experience that I had the other day to see if it has happened to anyone else and get your thoughts.

Last christmas we were given a voucher to a shoe company (retail chain), during the year we never got around to using it so we went last week to use it.

Now it was only $50 so its not the end of the world, but for me its the principle of the matter.

Date of issue was 23/12/08, so naturally you would think that 23/12/09 would be the expiry. So we go up and use the voucher and the assistant states that the voucher is out of date, I said no look at the date of issue we still have a few days.

He checks it on the system again and sure enough no, sorry sir but this gift card is only valid for 3 months.

3 months!

So we had gone to the trouble of having the right shoes selected for our son (18 months) so we weren't about to say no we dont want it, I was fuming so I just handed the cash over and walked out.

Now in reality it was my fault, I shouldn't have assumed it was only for 3 months but to be honest Ive never heard of a gift card from a very large corporation only being valid for 3 months.

I mean what if we were on holidays or god forbid didn't have the spare time to visit there lovely establishment?

Worst still is that the person who paid for the voucher in the first place has just thrown $50 down the drain.

So what happens now? There must be so many cases of this happening and companies are pocketing the expired cards/vouchers, is it not border line stealing?

Far enough there should be a limit, im not saying you should be able to claim it 2 years later but 3 months is just silly. It was store credit and not a predetermined item which they could have brought at $x dollars.

This happened to anyone else? I would have been super ****ed if it was $100 or more.

[LTDHO]

I just got a card from the boss for xmas.

It says on the back 'expires 2 years from date of issue"

What does yours say?

[Peuty]

I guess if there was no expiry date on the card anywhere, they should accept it. Most have a date on the card though.

[Polyal]

Nope no expiry date like most others, just a date of issue. And then right at the bottom in tiny tiny writing it says valid 3 months and the usual T&C. It is there but its apparent that it was a deliberate move to confuse people.

As you just said, why dont they just have the expiring date in large font and not the date of issue?

To add to that imagine how many people lose the cards etc.

[Peuty]

Yeah I had an EzyDVD gift card a few years back - they went into receivership and to claim had to be done through their administrators - what a pain that was. I gave up in the end.

I bet companies love gift cards as it is really free money for them alot of the time.

[trippytaka]

That does suck... in the past I have had people honour late gift vouchers by re-issuing the date.

[MYVYSS]

Its why you should never give a voucher or gift card, as its no different to handing over cash, and you are not locking that person into a specific store or good....just give cash.

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by MYVYSS

Its why you should never give a voucher or gift card, as its no different to handing over cash, and you are not locking that person into a specific store or good....just give cash.

Piffle!
Coles Myer gift vouchers work for me... The range of places you can redeem them at is amazing. All my employees got one for Chrissie...
If I'd given cash to equal the amount of the voucher, the cost would have virtually doubled with tax implications.
With such diverse religions in the workforce nowadays, gone are the days of a ham and a slab of beer.
Anyhow.. Back on topic... I'd phone the shoe company head-quarters and state my case... The vouchure WAS paid for in hard earned!...

[SVD]

complain to the ACCC dude, that way you can still have your revenge! (at least in your mind anyway...) its what i do when i get ripped...

[XplosiveR6]

Gift vouchers are the biggest scam ever, these companies rely on you to forget about them and not redeem within the time limit. Otherwise they wouldnt have expiry date as after all, it was payed for in real cash, its not like its a promotional voucher.

[StrokedXT]

Originally Posted by Polyal

it says valid 3 months and the usual T&C. It is there but its apparent that it was a deliberate move to confuse people.

'If it is written there they are not trying to confuse anyone, good luck with the accc suggestion wont get you anywere if that is clearly stated on the card.

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by charliewool

With such diverse religions in the workforce nowadays, gone are the days of a ham and a slab of beer.

I am not offended by either...may I please have mine? :P

[uranium_death]

Most decent cards last two years, allowing ample time to spend the card.

3 months is crappo, with a hint of thyme and mint yoghurt.

You should ALWAYS check AS SOON as you get the card/voucher, so that there are no misconceptions about how long you have to redeem it.

I have several vouchers, and I know when they expire. It sucks, but that's life Poly.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Yeah I had a voucher that was valid for 6 months from a large shoe chain. That was also a waste of 50 bucks on behalf of the purchaser.

You just have to be careful with them nowadays.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by charliewool

Piffle!
Coles Myer gift vouchers work for me... .

Me too,
Visy industries gave there Australian employees $75ea most used them at 1st choice liquor... : :baby bott :baby bott

[RspecAU]

Originally Posted by jeep_by_ford

'If it is written there they are not trying to confuse anyone, good luck with the accc suggestion wont get you anywere if that is clearly stated on the card.

Not really a waste of time. If he contacts Consumer Affairs and states his case, perhaps something can be worked out since it was an honest mistake. The store may back down a little and honour half or something like that. It's worth a try.

[GTpilot]

Call up the head office and talk to them first. Most will give you either a new one or an extension for a short period.

Most outlets do put an expiry date on them to stop people coming back years later to use them. as to the legality of them enforcing it, I'm not sure if they can. They have your money, they should provide a product in return. (not just a piece of card)

We had some movie passes that had expired 6 mths ago and Village happily extended them for another month for us. haha, a month later we called back and had them extended for another month and used them then.

[BigAL_250]

Well I know, that at Ray's Outdoors, (where I work) we actively tell people that our gift cards have NO expiry, they're good forever.

[Gaz]

I thought there was some previous ruling about expiry dates because they often say 'treat this voucher as cash'? However I may have just been imagining some fairly land where companies don't rip you off!