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HMV Not Accepting Vouchers - Surely This Is Fraud

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Comments

  • mjm3346
    mjm3346 Posts: 47,331 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    lazer wrote: »
    Cash as a gift is thoughtless - vouchers at least you have actually made the effort to go to the shops and buy something.

    Vouchers as a gift are both thoughtless and selfish and offer no advantage over cash.

    With vouchers not only is there the risk of a company going under or the voucher remaining unspent and expired (as many many £1,000,000s do every year) you dictate where someone should shop, possibly removing the chance for them to get the best deal or exactly what they wanted.
  • ValHaller
    ValHaller Posts: 5,212 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    mommacrab wrote: »
    You will not be able to get a refund from WHSmiths. They sell 3rd party gift cards but overnight that money is transferred to the other company, in this case HMV. WHSmiths do not have your money, HMV do.
    It is not that clear cut. It depends whether WHS are agents for HMV when they sold the vouchers, in which case, no refund or whether HMV vouchers are a product bought in by WHS.

    It might take a court to establish which view applies.
    You might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'
  • marvin
    marvin Posts: 2,187 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    railbuff wrote: »
    then give High Street/Love2shop Vouchers they can be used at 100s of retailers or one of these pre-paid credit cards

    And what happens if the company supporting these goes bust?

    Love2shop is Park Group which was a competitor for Farepak that went bust. If the shop accepting them has no confidence that they will get paid out they will stop taking them.

    All vouchers carry a risk, the risk factor is determined by the stability of the company behind them.

    The best way is to do some research behind a company before buying vouchers for them.
    I started with nothing and I am proud to say I still have most of it left.
  • mjm3346 wrote: »
    Vouchers as a gift are both thoughtless and selfish and offer no advantage over cash.

    How on earth is buying someone a gift selfish?
  • k3lvc wrote: »
    But that doesn't automatically release WHS from their rights as the retailer. I'm not sure re the answer to this one so it'll be interesting to see how anyone in this situation gets on

    You will not be able to get a refund on 3rd party gift cards from WHSmiths.

    At the end of the day WHSmiths cannot have known that HMV were going into administration so therefore cannot be held responsible for the customers loss of giftcard=money. HMV have the money that was used to purchase the giftcard, the responsibility lies with them.

    In my opinion, stores should not sell 3rd party gift cards.
  • ValHaller wrote: »
    It is not that clear cut. It depends whether WHS are agents for HMV when they sold the vouchers, in which case, no refund or whether HMV vouchers are a product bought in by WHS.

    It might take a court to establish which view applies.

    As far as I am aware, WHSmiths are agents for 3rd party gift cards. I do believe that there is a notice in-stores regarding this.
  • railbuff
    railbuff Posts: 430 Forumite
    mommacrab wrote: »
    You will not be able to get a refund from WHSmiths. They sell 3rd party gift cards but overnight that money is transferred to the other company, in this case HMV. WHSmiths do not have your money, HMV do.

    No WHSmiths have your money and your contract is with them.

    How this works is WHSmiths would purchase a bulk supply of HMV cards at the card value or slightly less, just like they would any stock for amy supplier. so you purchase the card from WHSmiths then it is WHSmiths that has your money, so they have supplied you something that is useless, so go to them and get your moeny back.
  • railbuff
    railbuff Posts: 430 Forumite
    marvin wrote: »
    And what happens if the company supporting these goes bust?

    Love2shop is Park Group which was a competitor for Farepak that went bust. If the shop accepting them has no confidence that they will get paid out they will stop taking them.

    All vouchers carry a risk, the risk factor is determined by the stability of the company behind them.

    The best way is to do some research behind a company before buying vouchers for them.

    after the farepak fiasco their was a protection scheme set up so that any money paid for HSV/L2S vouchers is protected, so if the park group failed all monies would be refunded.
  • railbuff wrote: »
    No WHSmiths have your money and your contract is with them.

    How this works is WHSmiths would purchase a bulk supply of HMV cards at the card value or slightly less, just like they would any stock for amy supplier. so you purchase the card from WHSmiths then it is WHSmiths that has your money, so they have supplied you something that is useless, so go to them and get your moeny back.

    You are wrong.

    WHSmiths do not purchase 3rd party gift cards. They act as agents.

    When a 3rd party gift card is sold, the money is transferred through the banking system to the company that the gift card relates to, in this case HMV. WHSmiths do not have the money, in this case HMV does (or it's administrators). You will not get your money back from WHSmith and nor are you entitled to as they do not have it.
  • marvin
    marvin Posts: 2,187 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    railbuff wrote: »
    after the farepak fiasco their was a protection scheme set up so that any money paid for HSV/L2S vouchers is protected, so if the park group failed all monies would be refunded.

    Statutory or Voluntary?

    If Voluntary would not trust it an inch.
    I started with nothing and I am proud to say I still have most of it left.
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