Refund for unspent evoucher?

daffodil83

Hi all,

I just stupidly bought an evoucher without checking the item I was spending it on was in stock.

Essentially the website charityworkerdiscounts.co.uk redirected me to employeebenefitsplatform.com where you can buy a voucher for a specific shop and get a discount because of being a charity employee.

So I found a phone I wanted on Argos and went and bought the Argos evoucher for the miniscule 4% discount. I went back to order the phone and it turns out it's out of stock. I bought the evoucher using my Aqua credit card.

I'm extremely strapped for cash and wanted to ask if anyone knew of a way I could get a refund on this voucher, as Argos don't provide info on getting the phone I want back in stock?

The evoucher website says the following:

"All eVouchers are a digital product, and as such are excluded from any returns policy and this is described in our Terms and Conditions. eVouchers are for the specific retailer that you've requested and not for a specific item and the eVoucher cannot be returned should the item not be suitable or in stock. This doesn't affect your statutory rights with the retailer and any refunds will be placed on to a replacement card or the same eVoucher you bought from us, the retailer will advise you on their specific policy should this happen."

marcarm

the eVoucher cannot be returned should the item not be suitable or in stock.

Think you have answered your own question there

pinkshoes

If you're strapped for cash why not get a second hand cheap phone?

You can then save the argos voucher until you need something else or try and sell it on?

ThumbRemote

If it had been a voucher for a specific item, I'd have said you were entitled to a refund if the item were out of stock. However it seems like it's a generic Argos gift card that can be used on anything they sell. That gift card is still valid and available to be used, so I don't think there's any clear right to a refund on that basis.

I'm not sure if this is considered a straightforward purchase under distance selling regulations though? Maybe others can advise. In any case it seems like you'll have a fight on your hands to get it refunded. Is the phone out of stock in every branch?

Undervalued

ThumbRemote said:

If it had been a voucher for a specific item, I'd have said you were entitled to a refund if the item were out of stock. However it seems like it's a generic Argos gift card that can be used on anything they sell. That gift card is still valid and available to be used, so I don't think there's any clear right to a refund on that basis.

That is my understanding too.

I have access to a very similar scheme as a benefit of belonging to the national body representing my main recreational interest. It may well be run by the same company.

There have been similar debates as many of our scheme's discounts also work by allowing you to by a gift voucher from quite a number major retailers at c. 5% below face value. The general response, including from our national body, is that once bought there is no right to a refund.

Given the huge range of goods that Argo sell you must presumably be able to use the voucher over time to buy things you need so you will not lose out financially.

For the future, remember that as with all gift vouchers, you are in a very poor position should the company go bust before you spend the voucher. You need to balance that risk against the potential savings.

TELLIT01

I think the reason the OP is asking about refund is that they are strapped for cash NOW.  That said, if the phone had been available they wouldn't have access to the cash anyway.

Undervalued

TELLIT01 said:

I think the reason the OP is asking about refund is that they are strapped for cash NOW.  That said, if the phone had been available they wouldn't have access to the cash anyway.

Indeed. However as you intimate, that ship has sailed!

daffodil83

Thanks to all for responding! I was just asking in case there was some legal loophole, but doesn't look like it!

Selling it on is a decent idea thanks, I'll ask friends and family. I was just so set on that phone but I can always get a different one from Argos in worst case scenario. Let this be a lesson to us all LOL

TELLIT01

I would suggest the lesson to us all is not to spend money on something you can't afford. 

Money_Grabber13579

TELLIT01 said:

I would suggest the lesson to us all is not to spend money on something you can't afford. 

There’s no insinuation that the OP can’t afford to buy the phone. The insinuation is that they can’t afford to buy the phone from somewhere else and have spent money on a voucher which they currently have no use for - they can afford to lay out money for one phone, but not the equivalent of two phones.