«Breaking News» How retailers rake in £300m from the gift cards that don’t go on giving

A gift card is a popular Christmas present, but it can prove worthless if not used promptly. 

Retailers pocket more than £300million a year from cards that expire before shoppers get around to using them. 

The deadline for spending can be as little as six months and is often not well advertised. Experts say one in ten cards is never redeemed.

Better deal: With an Amazon gift card, the time limit is a comparatively generous ten years

Three quarters of shoppers will buy or receive at least one gift card this Christmas – with the average value being £20. 

Yet a crisp £20 note would be more useful as it comes with no strings attached and can be spent at any store in Britain – not just at a single shopping chain – and does not come with a must-spend-by deadline.

The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association believes that anyone buying a gift card should include the receipt as part of the present. 

It will show the recipient how long they have got to spend the voucher while the receipt may also be used to claim money back or get a voucher replacement if a card is lost.

Max Daniels, of the trade organisation, says: ‘Customers can be confused by the terms and conditions, so check online before making a purchase and let your recipient know about them.’

Retailers John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Waterstones and WH Smith offer vouchers that last 24 months. 

But if the balance on the card is checked during this period, the time-expiry clock automatically resets back to two years. 

Others are even less generous. Ticketmaster vouchers expire after a year. Gift cards for small shops and regional beauty boutiques may last for only half this time. For example, The Boutique Wellness Spa in Cambridge and the Orchid Beauty Spa in Birmingham both sell vouchers valid for only six months.

Expiry: Retailers John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Waterstones and WH Smith offer vouchers that last 24 months

With an Amazon gift card, the time limit is a comparatively generous ten years. Apple Store and iTunes cards do not have expiry dates but the ‘content codes’ printed on them may need to be updated if the cards are not used straightaway. 

National Book Tokens do not expire for eight years though those purchased before October 2015 automatically expired after two years if not used. But the provider will replace out-of-date vouchers upon request.

Theatre Tokens, which can be used for shows at more than 240 venues nationwide, come with no strings attached. If a gift card is lost without a receipt, then usually the balance on it is also lost.

Also, when a retailer gets into financial difficulties, a gift card can often become worthless or extra conditions imposed on its usage.

For example, when British Home Stores went into administration a couple of years ago, anyone who had one of its gift cards could only use it if the card amount was at least matched by non-voucher spending.

For example, a voucher worth £20 could only be used to buy something costing at least £40.

Other shops that have gone bust in recent years, including HMV and Jessops, left those with gift cards stranded with a worthless piece of paper or plastic. Limited protection is provided by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act which protects buyers of gift cards for £100 or more, provided the purchase was made by a credit card. Vouchers worth less than £100 are not covered.

Another downside of a gift card is that it is restrictive. Unwanted cards can be put up for sale on websites such as Zeek.me. Sellers must accept a sum less than a card’s face value while Zeek takes a seven per cent commission cut. 

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Linkhienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/25/how-retailers-rake-in-300m-from-the-gift-cards-that-dont-go-on-giving/
Main photo article A gift card is a popular Christmas present, but it can prove worthless if not used promptly. 
Retailers pocket more than £300million a year from cards that expire before shoppers get around to using them. 
The deadline for spending can be as little as six months and is often not well advertised. ...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





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