Marks & Spencer Gift Card Expiry

nickpicks

A friend of mine was given £100 in M&S Gift Cards pre-pandemic.  As a result of not being able to go shopping (shops closed, shielding, isolating etc), they hadn't got around to spending them until recently, to find that the vouchers had expired. 
When they raised this with M&S, the customer services' answer was "well, you should've spent them earlier - you could've used them for groceries".  As the gift was a "get something nice for yourself" type of present, they didn't want to spend them on everyday food (even if it's "not just everyday food"!) 

As M&S have basically said "no, we're keeping the money", they won't even answer if the money from expired vouchers is given to charity, or if it just adds to the company's bottom line.

So I for one will be avoiding giving M&S vouchers as presents.  The best vouchers are "universal give tokens" - the ones with the Queen's head on them!

jon81uk

They could have shopped online at any point in the last 18 months. Or gone to the store after being vaccinated earlier this summer. Or given it to someone else to go into store for them.
Seems quite clear they are valid for 24months from issue. Help - Gift cards & e-gift cards | M&S (marksandspencer.com)

Given there was always the option of online shopping, this isn't like a restaurant or similar where there was no other way to spend them while the physical building was closed.

organic_choc

I have the same problem. I last visited UK in 2019 and didn't get around to come back to UK in 2024 - I used to visit every year and thanks to COVID and some pet related saga I just couldn't come to UK until now. 

I called M&S and they said they can tell that I still had £98 on it and it expired last year.  The lady who answered the phone said something about being valid for 48 months since last used. 

Never again will I purchase another M&S gift card.  Thought I could save some a few pounds buying the giftcard thru Edenred.co.uk, ended up losing almost £100.  Would have worked had there been no COVID but alas.