sainsburys gift cards warning

officeguru

Hi there
I found a couple of Sainsbury's gift cards in the back of the drawer and decided to use them today... They had been there for at least a couple of years and I wanted to buy some stuff in the sales. One was worth £20 and one was worth £10. Anyway, to our embarrassment, we were told at the checkout that they had expired and that we should phone the number on the back.

When we got home, we checked the back of the cards for any expiry date and there wasn't one... all it said was: ..'valid for 24 months from last transaction (Including balance enquiries). If inactive for 24 months, any remaining balance will be deducted...' Well, as we hadn't had any transactions, my hubby promptly phoned and was basically informed that it was 'tough'... and that there was nothing on the balance. I was not happy at this, so I got him to phone up again to ask what happened to the money??? He was told they didn't know. So he asked if it went to charity.... and they didn't know that either !!!

As you can tell, I am not amused.... there must be a lot of gift cards lying around that aren't used at the time and I am annoyed that Sainsburys can just keep the money... Normally, my gift cards are used as my kids take them, but as they have flown the nest, I wasn't in a hurry..... Sorry about the rant !

Is there anything else I can do about this ???

Cheers

DCFC79

Well i cant see what sainsburys have done wrong here, gift cards do have a set time limit on them, should have payed more attention to the t&c's, in any case what relevance does it have where the money went.

flea72

the money went into Mr Sainsburys bank account over 2yrs ago when the giftcards were purchased

the fact you havent used them, means the purchaser paid £30 for two pieces of plastic, rather than £30 of goods from sainsburys

F

Reciprocater

Just checked the Debenhams gift card I received in exchange for a defective kettle which was almost 2 years old. It was easier to accept the card than comply with the guarantee requirements. The point is at the time of issue I was clearly told that the card lasted indefinitely. Having now read the T&C's I note it also expires after 24 months. Needless to say, I shall be spending it asap.

zzzLazyDaisy

I found an M&S gift card in the back of a drawer that must have been two or three years old. There was no mention of any expiry date and I had no trouble spending it (although I half expected it to be refused).

TBH I can't see why there would need to be an expiry date - they have had the money, why then impose a cut-off point for spending it?

Having said that, thanks for the thread, I'll be more careful to spend any gift vouchers promptly in future, just in case.

flea72

Reciprocater wrote: »

Just checked the Debenhams gift card I received in exchange for a defective kettle which was almost 2 years old. It was easier to accept the card than comply with the guarantee requirements. The point is at the time of issue I was clearly told that the card lasted indefinitely. Having now read the T&C's I note it also expires after 24 months. Needless to say, I shall be spending it asap.

yes, the card lasts indefinitely, its just the balance that doesnt

you dont have to spend them within 2yrs, you just have use the card every 2yrs to keep it active. so just taking it instore and checking the balance, is enough to give you an additional 2yrs on the card

F

Jakg

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

TBH I can't see why there would need to be an expiry date - they have had the money, why then impose a cut-off point for spending it?

Because you've effectively got the money on credit - you've taken their £100 now, however at some point in the future your customer is going to take £100 of stock.

If you let it run indefinately it'd be very hard to manage the risk you could end up with a load of people buying goods you get *no* money for.

You could say they could save the money, but thats not typically how business are run... typically any "spare" cash is re-invested.

DCFC79

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

TBH I can't see why there would need to be an expiry date - they have had the money, why then impose a cut-off point for spending it?

most likely to generate more business (eg if the recipient of the gift card is a non JS customer and they use the voucher and at same tme buy other stuff) by getting people to spend it before it expires

well its my opinion on how it works, could be wrong

Valli

why not write a nicely worded letter and ask for the balance to be restored to you?
Just give them the card numbers - don't put the cards in the post

Foggster

I am sure someone will come along with a more technical response but from an accounting point of view I would assume that all gift cards issued would have to be accounted for. Therefore, 2 years, in my opinion, is a pretty reasonable amount of time for someone to spend the money. Each year, these companies will probably have to account for the balance of the gift cards, a little like I have to with unpresented cheques which we write back to the account after 6 months (yes I know they can be cashed after that date).

I shall assume the "credit " has been written off and back into the companies balances.

Reciprocater

Thanks Flea72. I have just re-read the T&C's and it actually says "In the event of 24 months of consecutive non-use,the card will expire and any balance remaining will be deducted.("Use" for these purposes includes a balance enquiry). It would appear, in my case,that the card also expires in the event of 24 months of consecutive non-use. I empathize with Officeguru and I would certainly take the matter further in an attempt to recover something even if it's on a "goodwill" basis.