Help- paid money for nothing!!!

Fanny_2

I am writing because I have just had a bad experience with a gift card that was given to me on a special occasion. It had £100 pounds on it to start with and was from a big shopping centre in Glasgow city centre you can use the gift card in all the shops in the mall.

The first day I had it I went and spend £10 on a book in the shopping centre and then I forgot about it for about two months. When I went back a shop assistant told me that I only had £47 pounds left on the card! Shocked I went to the help desk to ask what was going on and they told me that all gift cards from the shopping centre 'Depreciate' meaning that if I didn't spend the money straight away a certain amount would be taken off the total on the card each month I had it! And to go from £90 to £47 in two months is just disgraceful. He then told me that no matter how much was on the card within 6 months it would have expired and all the money would have been lost.

I am utterly appalled that they can take money from customers with out the customer actually buying anything and I am really at a loss to understand the motive ( this card can only be used in this particular shopping centre anyway!)

The reason I am contacting you is because I have been talking to several other people who have had similar experiences and I am wondering if this is a scheme by certain shops/companies that might need looking in to. Also I would like to know where the consumer stands on this point, is it legal for shops to take money from something designated as a 'gift card' and is there any way to get this lost money back?

I hope you can look in to this as I would hate for someone else to loose so much money without even knowing it! I have never seen a single piece of literature outlining any of the information I was told at the helpdesk) Also the person who gave me this gift was totally mortified and seriously annoyed she had not been made aware of these conditions before putting money on the card.

deanos

that sounds well bad, as above contact the local tv news and newspaper

Lady_E

We have a locla shopping centre nearby and I was actually considering their "one gift voucher does all" effort but I think now before I purchase I will double check , just in case they do the same thing as in Scotland. This to me is deception as it has not been made clear exactly what you are purchasing together with how the money is removed from the account. Shame on them!

Biggles

If it doesn't make this 'depreciation' clear on the card, you should go to Trading Standards and probably the small claims court.

Even if it does, the donor should have been advised: what if they'd held onto it for a future birthday or something?

I hope you don't let this drop, it's deceitful trading.

eyelinerprincess

What shopping centre was it? So I know to avoid them in future

newmum1

Name and shame the shop, there are thousands that visit this site and it will get round through word of mouth too.

hollydays

This sounds wrong.What do the terms and conditions say?There has to be more to this I think.It remind me of another post where the recipient recived as a gift a £40 voucher for Love film for free 3 months membership (groan- see the extended threads about them) which when she tried to join wouldnt allow her too as she had a free trial once before.The giver was being resourceful but had been given it as a freebie. in your other post you say its Buchanan Galleries centre in Glasgow.Sounds very strange.Trading standards seem the first obvious contact.

HugoRune_2

http://www.buchanangalleries.co.uk/terms.html

Its not an individual shop its gift cards issued by the centre itself, says they expire after one year, also something about management fees being stuck on after 6 months, and something about an expiry scheme written on the front of the card. What a lovely present!

hollydays

If you google guardian buchanan galleries it brings up an item on their consumer page.They might be good people to send an email too.What a rip off.Even if you had been charged 2.50 per month after the first 6 months does that add up to the figures you have? Do you have the receipt?

Brainhertz

That really sucks ! - what a rip off.

Brainhertz