Gift Cards

P3pp3rp0t

Please help.

I am unhappy with some really poor customer service with JD Sports.
My son has collected a few JDS giftcards and now he is a teenager he wanted to purchase some designer trainers. At the till we presented 5 giftcards, three of which were explained to me to be out of date. I queried the fact that: 1. JDS already had the value of the card and 2. They should be honoured as clearly they hadn't been used.

My short response was "can't take them sorry".
I spoke to their Customer relations for 18 minutes at my expense. I wanted the gift cards honoured against the transaction that I had to finance myself. They would replace the cards but that was all. But I don't want to make another purchase with them.

I wrote to CEO Peter Cowgill - who immediately passed it to their complaints department. I have received appalling customer service, and absolutely not understanding for the situation I am in. I have asked them to explain why they can't offset the cards and they have not answered. I want to know if I can take this matter to Small Claims court of Trading Standards. Much more to this story so let me know if you want a copy of my E Mail to CEO etc.

Any help is much appreciated.

P3pp3rp0t

PS The complaints team state they are not obliged to replace a gift card once it has expired. Is this true?

DSmiffy

It usually states on the back of a giftcard that there is an expiry date and it is normal for it to be 6 or twelve months from the date the money was loaded onto it, or when it was bought.

If that's the case with yours, and there is a date or statement on the back, then you have been made aware that there is an expiration date, so, no they probably don't need to reimburse you

marcarm

The t&c of the card will state they have to be used by the expiry date. Is the expiry printed on the card at all? If not you could argue that it is impossible to know when the cards needed to be used by.

You can't expect gift cards to last forever, I stay clear of gift cards for exactly this reason, would rather someone gave me cash instead.

powerful_Rogue

Apart from them not accepting expired gift cards (which they are totally correct about if the expiry date is printed on the back), what is the appalling service you mention?

Disagreeing with a customer which is potentially in the wrong does not make it appalling customer service

POPPYOSCAR

Absolutely crazy that they have expiry dates.

Ikea to the best of my knowledge have NO expiry date and even Amazon is 10 years.

So it can be done.


OP as they have agreed to replace the cards, accept this offer.

Take the purchase back for a refund and then buy again with the gift cards.

George_Michael

marcarm wrote: »

The t&c of the card will state they have to be used by the expiry date. Is the expiry printed on the card at all?

After having a quick look on ebay and assuming that it was this type of card, (the only place I could find both sides of a card), it doesn't look like a date is shown

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JD-Sports-Gift-Card-Voucher-25-Nike-Adidas-/252490918196?hash=item3ac9a1a934:g:ONgAAOSwtnpXpmaA

theonlywayisup

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Take the purchase back for a refund and then buy again with the gift cards.

As the OP bought in store rather than online she may not be able to. Shops do not need to offer a change of mind return.

London50

I'm sorry but I cannot understand why people bother with most company gift cards {excluding IMO Amazon}as it the t&c's many state the time period they are to be used by and if as in the situation of the OP{and many others}not reading the t&c's means loss of the value. Surely it is far better to offer cash and allow the person to use that rather than risk the situation that happens so often with the loss in value of said cards.
I agree that it is not the fairest system these companies use but if t&c's are not read then people only have themselves to blame, and yes I have been caught with this "trap" in the past and learnt my lesson.

lincroft1710

It clearly states on JDS website that their gift cards are only valid for 12 months.

lincroft1710

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Absolutely crazy that they have expiry dates.

Ikea to the best of my knowledge have NO expiry date and even Amazon is 10 years.

So it can be done.


OP as they have agreed to replace the cards, accept this offer.

Take the purchase back for a refund and then buy again with the gift cards.

Correct, unlike most gift card schemes, Ikea categorically state they have no expiration date. However this has no bearing on other companies' policies.