Westfield charging for gift vouchers!

CG19a

Are the gift vouchers technically prepaid visa/mastercards? They have just launched new pre paid visa gift cards in Tesco, for use anywhere that takes visa, where £20 cost £23 and £50 costs £55. Have no idea why anybody would spend that rather than just give people the money, but I think the extra is some sort of admin cost for setting up the account etc.

georgiesmum

I ordered a £25 gift voucher from m&s and got charged £3.00 for postage. I was really angry as i thought that was well over the top. Had no choice though as i have had vouchers stolen before when i have sent them myself.

kermitfrog

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

The person (probably a senior manager) who came up with the idea of charging an admin fee for gift vouchers really does need their head looking at.

No, the idiots who buy them need their heads looking at. The senior manager who came up with the ploy should be rewarded.

George_Michael

kermitfrog wrote: »

The senior manager who came up with the ploy should be rewarded.

Rewarded for ensuring that potential customers may end up spending their money elsewhere?

If there was no admin fee (as is the case with most retailers), gregg1 would have bought a gift voucher which would have ensured that the £20 was spent in the shop concerned.
Once they were made aware of the £2 charge, they changed their mind and gave cash as a pressie instead which may not get spent in the shop.

gregg1

George_Michael wrote: »

Rewarded for ensuring that potential customers may end up spending their money elsewhere?

If there was no admin fee (as is the case with most retailers), gregg1 would have bought a gift voucher which would have ensured that the £20 was spent in the shop concerned.
Once they were made aware of the £2 charge, they changed their mind and gave cash as a pressie instead which may not get spent in the shop.

Exactly. I hope my nephew does go elsewhere to spend it!

bell123321

All the Westfield shopping centre's in Australia charge for the card too.

If you don't want to pay it don't buy it. I would not pay for it.

katejo

Fairly recently I was buying a CD in HMV when i was asked if i would like a loyalty card. I use such cards in places like Costa Coffee so I initially agreed until I was told that the initial card cost £3. I refused to buy one. My local branch of HMV has since closed down.
I have not come across such a charge for a simple loyalty card anywhere else.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

To be fair to them though - thats for use in ANY store in WEstfield malls IIRC. I can only imagine its an admin fee because of sorting out the store that you spend it in costs them money to have someone to do so.

gregg1

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

To be fair to them though - thats for use in ANY store in WEstfield malls IIRC. I can only imagine its an admin fee because of sorting out the store that you spend it in costs them money to have someone to do so.

I see what you are getting at but Westfield charge exhorbitant rents to retailers in their malls which would surely include admin costs such as those incurred with gift cards.

If people do what I do and refuse to buy those cards and give cash instead then this must have some impact on the sales of the shops in that particular mall. At our local westfield, shops are closing down and units being left empty at an alarming rate. I appreciate the gift cards are a very small percentage of spending but their stance on charging for the cards can't be helping matters. In these times, every little helps particiularly with the high street being hit so hard by the rise in online shopping.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

gregg1 wrote: »

I see what you are getting at but Westfield charge exhorbitant rents to retailers in their malls which would surely include admin costs such as those incurred with gift cards.

If people do what I do and refuse to buy those cards and give cash instead then this must have some impact on the sales of the shops in that particular mall. At our local westfield, shops are closing down and units being left empty at an alarming rate. I appreciate the gift cards are a very small percentage of spending but their stance on charging for the cards can't be helping matters. In these times, every little helps particiularly with the high street being hit so hard by the rise in online shopping.

I dont knwo where your westfield mall is but both Stratford and Shepherds bush are busy all the time...

Yes they do charge rents but a gift card is an incentive to spend in shops that maybe people may not have chosen to visit and thus gives them a bit of extra business. The shops mustnt mind the charge being levied on the cards either or they wouldnt sign up to it.