John Lewis gift card expired

Gerry1

Gift cards should NEVER expire, it's a nasty scam pure and simple.  They've had the money but failed to come up with the goods.  Shame on John Lewis for having expiry dates.  They're certainly not the honourable company they once were.

Until the FCA outlaws this scam, never buy a gift card.  Unless you can get them at a discount, all they do is restrict your spending to the issuer's stores.

Stay with good old cash, there's never an expiry date !

charleerose30

Gerry1 said:

Gift cards should NEVER expire, it's a nasty scam pure and simple.  They've had the money but failed to come up with the goods.  Shame on John Lewis for having expiry dates.  They're certainly not the honourable company they once were.

Until the FCA outlaws this scam, never buy a gift card.  Unless you can get them at a discount, all they do is restrict your spending to the issuer's stores.

Stay with good old cash, there's never an expiry date !

I agree, I think it's absolutely appalling and how it's still legal is beyond me!  I also agree that I would expect better of John Lewis, I just hope their customer service lives up to expectations when I call them (not done it yet, whoops!).

eskbanker

Gerry1 said:

Gift cards should NEVER expire, it's a nasty scam pure and simple.  They've had the money but failed to come up with the goods.  Shame on John Lewis for having expiry dates.  They're certainly not the honourable company they once were.

Until the FCA outlaws this scam, never buy a gift card.  Unless you can get them at a discount, all they do is restrict your spending to the issuer's stores.

Stay with good old cash, there's never an expiry date !

A strange interpretation!

If you want the flexibility to spend your money anywhere at any time then obviously it doesn't make any sense to buy a gift card, but that's not what they're intended for.

Anyone buying a gift card obviously accepts that it can only be redeemed in a limited number of places (typically those of a single organisation), which is hardly a scam, it's a fundamental part of the proposition.

Likewise, what makes you feel that they should be valid indefinitely?  The terms of such cards should always make it clear that this isn't the case (John Lewis certainly does), but if there's any deception involved then that would indeed be a different matter.  If the recipient doesn't get round to using the card in accordance with the Ts & Cs then that's hardly the issuer's fault, so it's not as simplistic as them 'failing to come up with the goods' if it's the recipient who's failed to do anything with the card.

Even if you believe it's a scam, what makes you believe that the FCA sees it the same way or that it's even on their radar?

DCFC79

Gerry1 said:

Gift cards should NEVER expire, it's a nasty scam pure and simple.  They've had the money but failed to come up with the goods.  Shame on John Lewis for having expiry dates.  They're certainly not the honourable company they once were.

Until the FCA outlaws this scam, never buy a gift card.  Unless you can get them at a discount, all they do is restrict your spending to the issuer's stores.

Stay with good old cash, there's never an expiry date !

Its not a nasty scam at all, the expiry date is on the card.

Its more an annoyance.

I'm not a fan myself of gift cards but not because I think they are the work of the devil, they are given as a gift which is then forgotten about, its put to the back of the drawer.

Fingerbobs

DCFC79 said:

Gerry1 said:

Gift cards should NEVER expire, it's a nasty scam pure and simple.  They've had the money but failed to come up with the goods.  Shame on John Lewis for having expiry dates.  They're certainly not the honourable company they once were.

Until the FCA outlaws this scam, never buy a gift card.  Unless you can get them at a discount, all they do is restrict your spending to the issuer's stores.

Stay with good old cash, there's never an expiry date !

Its not a nasty scam at all, the expiry date is on the card.

Its more an annoyance.

Actually the expiry date is rarely (if ever) on the card itself. That wouldn't work, as the expiry date changes every time the card is used.  It's on the balance advice slip that pops out of the till each time the card is used, or sometimes on the bottom of the receipt.

denow

"The Gift Card will expire 24 months from purchase or last use. Making a purchase or a balance inquiry refreshes the 24-month expiry period."

https://wbiprod.storedvalue.com/wbir/clients/johnlewis

That's me sorted for the next 24 months...

Chris_English

denow said:

"The Gift Card will expire 24 months from purchase or last use. Making a purchase or a balance inquiry refreshes the 24-month expiry period."

https://wbiprod.storedvalue.com/wbir/clients/johnlewis

That's me sorted for the next 24 months...

As I posted above, you can also reset the timer by checking the balance online, so no need to buy anything.

charleerose30

Quick update on this one - I rang John Lewis' Gift Card Customer Services and spoke to a lovely lady who had all my cards reactivated.  Such a relief and couldn't be happier with John Lewis for doing this for me.

NixonS

@charleerose30 Many thanks for the update. I am glad you have it sorted. The JLP gift cards also have an extra ~30 days of Grace Period, so in fact they have more like 25 months before they expire. Unfortunately the grace period on my £200 one has expired in the middle of January and they refuse to extend it. Do you know by any chance if yours were still within the grace period or you just got lucky and spoke with a correct CS person?

charleerose30

NixonS said:

@charleerose30 Many thanks for the update. I am glad you have it sorted. The JLP gift cards also have an extra ~30 days of Grace Period, so in fact they have more like 25 months before they expire. Unfortunately the grace period on my £200 one has expired in the middle of January and they refuse to extend it. Do you know by any chance if yours were still within the grace period or you just got lucky and spoke with a correct CS person?

No mine had expired about a year ago!  Did you speak to the gift card team directly?  Their number is 0330 123 0350 - that's who I spoke to.  If you tell them you didn't realise they had an expiry date they may be a bit more sympathetic?  I would keep trying because I guess it's down to getting the right person   Good luck!