Giftcard balance showing as £0 online but.....

Marcus-H_2

Hey,
I have a gift card that I was convinced I still had a balance on.
It is a River Island Card & it allows you to check online
via
http://www.riverisland.com/how-can-we-help/gift-vouchers-cards


Well, I entered my gift card number & the got the following message :-
Your gift card balance is: £0.00

I read the T&C's & saw there is a 2 year rule, well I know I only had this card 12 months ago (did have to think long & hard if it was 1 or 2 years - then remembered it was for a present for a Ski Trip - Only been once & that was last year), so I called River Island to see what was wrong & one of the options was to check balance.

I checked it on the phone option & it says I had a balance of £20.95

I was very close to just throwing this card in the bin. Had I not called, I would have thrown £20.95 out.

Anyone know who I make a complaint to? I called river island cus service & they wasnt helpful. Is there a regulator about gift cards?
Makes you wonder how many other people may have been conned out of their value by only checking online.

wealdroam

Marcus-H wrote: »

Hey,
I have a gift card that I was convinced I still had a balance on.
It is a River Island Card & it allows you to check online
via
http://www.riverisland.com/how-can-we-help/gift-vouchers-cards


Well, I entered my gift card number & the got the following message :-
Your gift card balance is: £0.00

I read the T&C's & saw there is a 2 year rule, well I know I only had this card 12 months ago (did have to think long & hard if it was 1 or 2 years - then remembered it was for a present for a Ski Trip - Only been once & that was last year), so I called River Island to see what was wrong & one of the options was to check balance.

I checked it on the phone option & it says I had a balance of £20.95

I was very close to just throwing this card in the bin. Had I not called, I would have thrown £20.95 out.

Anyone know who I make a complaint to? I called river island cus service & they wasnt helpful. Is there a regulator about gift cards?
Makes you wonder how many other people may have been conned out of their value by only checking online.

I understand there is now a Retail Ombudsman, but as you have suffered no loss I am not sure they will be interested either.

unholyangel

wealdroam wrote: »

I understand there is now a Retail Ombudsman, but as you have suffered no loss I am not sure they will be interested either.

I'd be cautious about recommending them in any way. They're not an "official" ombudsman and while they may have their site more professional now, their earlier publications seemed to hint they were nothing more than a way for retailers to fob off customers while keeping their own staffing costs down.

Their earlier publications even tried to remove/restrict consumers statutory rights! Not very consumer orientated at all.

wealdroam

unholyangel wrote: »

I'd be cautious about recommending them in any way. They're not an "official" ombudsman and while they may have their site more professional now, their earlier publications seemed to hint they were nothing more than a way for retailers to fob off customers while keeping their own staffing costs down.

Their earlier publications even tried to remove/restrict consumers statutory rights! Not very consumer orientated at all.

I agree, but it surely can do no harm in this case.

Maybe a call to CAB's Consumer helpline 03454 04 05 06 would be more suitable.
At least they will pass information onto Trading Standards if appropriate.

Marcus-H_2

just because I didnt make a loss, I think it still should be reported as other people may have made a loss.

damonthebuilder

I bought a £20 gift card for each of my two daughters last week. They went to check their balances online today only to find they're both zero!

bearcat16

damonthebuilder wrote: »

I bought a £20 gift card for each of my two daughters last week. They went to check their balances online today only to find they're both zero!

Some gift cards (eg post office) can take a full working day to show the loaded credit.

I'd check again tomorrow night and if there's no change then complain.

Patricia_Tatters

My Granddaughter was given a gift card for the Metrocentre in Gateshead and didn't relaise it had an expiry date on it!
When I went to try to redeem it or get an extension I was told that a charge of £10 would be taken from the card to extend the expiration date!!
I reluctantly agreed to pay the charge only to be told that this could only happen if the card was within 3 months of expiration!!!
This now means that the Metrocentre has pocketed my hard up student Granddaughter's £25 with no way for us to redeem it.
How can this be morally right??!!

marliepanda

Patricia_Tatters wrote: »

My Granddaughter was given a gift card for the Metrocentre in Gateshead and didn't relaise it had an expiry date on it!
When I went to try to redeem it or get an extension I was told that a charge of £10 would be taken from the card to extend the expiration date!!
I reluctantly agreed to pay the charge only to be told that this could only happen if the card was within 3 months of expiration!!!
This now means that the Metrocentre has pocketed my hard up student Granddaughter's £25 with no way for us to redeem it.
How can this be morally right??!!

How long was the expiry date?

It's morally right because it has the expiry date 'on it' in your words. Most people would check. It doesn't matter that she's a student or anything else. Gift cards are a liability to a store and at some point that liability has to be written off. That is why they have expiry dates and why most people follow them.