Introduction
Gift vouchers and gift tokens are great in theory, particularly around Christmas time, but in practice many consumers have problems with them.
These problems range from expiry dates that have lapsed to having a voucher for a shop that has closed down.
Types of voucher
Gift vouchers can be exchanged for goods or services up to their face value. There are different types of gift vouchers depending on who issues them, such as those that can be used in:
- A specific shop
- A specific chain of shops
- A wider range of different traders (e.g. for a specific shopping centre)
- Any members of a "club" or association of shops
Always check the places where the voucher/card can be used before buying one.
Find out more about your consumer rights and gift vouchers below.
Expiry policies
Expiry dates vary widely. Some shops give you six months to redeem your voucher, in which case a gift token or voucher you received at Christmas will be no use by the following July.
Other shops are more flexible and willing to extend the expiry date if requested. But remember that just because a voucher doesn't actually state an expiry date, this doesn't mean that the shop operates an open ended expiry policy.
If a shop refuses to honour a voucher that doesn't specify an expiry date, you have the option to take the matter to the Small Claims Court.
Partially used vouchers
Do you have the right to get change when you use a gift voucher? No - unless the voucher's terms specifically state that change will be given.
It is up to you to use the voucher's full value. But some shops will give you a new voucher as change (if the amount exceeds €5), or will give cash change if it is under €5.
Lost vouchers and receipts
If you lose a gift voucher, the shop doesn't have to replace it. It's just like losing a bus ticket or cash, so always keep the voucher somewhere safe.
Gift cards
Increasingly popular are gift cards that you can "recharge" by adding more credit. But some of these swipe cards have had bad press, particularly due to:
- Their minimum usage rules
- Expiry dates
- Questions regarding unused credit
- The need to top up the card in order to reactivate it
Some gift cards even have maintenance fees of around €3 a month, which come into effect soon after the card was bought.
So if you give a friend this type of gift card at Christmas to the value of €40, and they don't use it for a year, maintenance charges at €3 a month will nibble away at it so they would have very little left.
If a shop changes ownership
When a shop changes ownership, the new owners may not have purchased the previous one's liabilities. This means they will not be bound to honour your voucher, and they can decide to offer you something else.
If the shop closes down
When a shop closes down the voucher becomes a liability the company has not met, so in legal terms you become an "unsecured creditor".
If a liquidator is appointed to wind up the company, you must register your claim with this official.
Your claim will only be considered after all those of "secured creditors" such as the shop's staff and it will be very difficult to get the gift voucher honoured.
Travel agent vouchers
Travel agents and tour operators offering package holidays abroad must be licensed and bonded by the Commission for Aviation Regulation so that consumers will be fully protected if the firm goes bust.
But if you have an unused gift voucher you are not be protected by the bond.
The only option is to join the company's list of creditors, and it is very unlikely that you will receive any compensation.
Minimise the risk
When buying a gift voucher or gift card for friends and family, try to minimise the risk by:
- Buying vouchers that can be used at more than one outlet or chain, such as shopping centre vouchers, or gift tokens issued by trade associations
- Using a voucher as soon as possible
- Looking for a gift voucher that has a clear expiry policy
- Always checking the terms and conditions and taking special account of:
- The expiry date
- What happens to any unused portion
- Whether it can be used in every outlet in the chain
Return to the web version of our guide to gift vouchers
http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Gift-vouchers/intro.html