Harvey Nichols / Elemis Facial Vouchers won’t be honoured

Emmasophie

I bought some vouchers in May 2019 for a ‘package’ of Elemis facials, in store in their Harvey Nichols concession.  They were valid for a year, so when Covid lockdown came around I still have 2 vouchers left.
I lost a loved one very early into covid (April), so we were super cautious and facials were not something I was in a rush to have, plus companies were not allowed to offer facial services even after the initial lockdowns ended.
When it was safe to travel back into town, I went into Harvey Nichols, only to find the whole Elemis concession had been taken out.
I explained the situation to a member of staff, that I still had vouchers and was told to contact Elemis direct.
I did contact them and after many months, they advised me that in order to get a refund I would need to go back to Harvey Nichols as they sold them to me.
Along the way I kept being asked to present my original receipt.  I explained repeatedly that I had used 3 out of 5 vouchers purchased over a year earlier and would not have kept the receipt as I had no reason to anticipate that a pandemic would result in them removing the concession, and that it was unreasonable for them to expect me to produce it.
I was told it was OK as long as I could send them pictures, front and back of the unused vouchers - which I did.  I was then told that if I didn’t have the receipt I needed to show them my credit card statement to show that the transaction took place on the date that I was claiming, before they could give me a refund.
After hours on the phone to my credit card company, as by this time the transaction was over two years old, they told me they could get the information back from archive but it would take a month.  Eventually I got this information and sent it to Harvey Nichols and asked for the partial refund that I was due for unused vouchers.   By now we were in August 2022.
Harvey Nichols then wrote to Elemis asking them to deal with this apparently (I wasn’t involved in their email).  After a month of waiting, I wrote to Harvey Nichols asking when I could expect the refund and it was at this point I learned that they had forwarded it to Elemis and would chase them for a response.  More time passed and I asked Harvey Nichols for an update, they again said they would chase Elemis - even though I had told them that I had already spoken to Elemis when they advised me to, and Elemis had referred me back to them for the refund.
I wrote to Harvey Nichols again this week and have now been told that they will not give me a refund without a receipt.
I cannot redeem these vouchers, through no fault of my own, as the concession has gone.  I lost my business and job 11 months ago (after effects of Covid on my sector) and I am now a full time carer for 2 family members, living on the £69 per week carers allowance.  I can’t afford to ‘write off’ this type of money as the vouchers were expensive.
Is there anything I can do please?
I certainly won’t be buying vouchers for anywhere, ever again!  I think some companies need to be grateful that they still have jobs, and customers.

eskbanker

Emmasophie said:

I cannot redeem these vouchers, through no fault of my own, as the concession has gone.

Are Elemis willing to honour them in one of their other locations - most companies extended voucher validity once the pandemic hit and if they closed your nearest location I'd have expected them to show some flexibility?  I appreciate that you'd prefer a refund but if that isn't forthcoming then redeeming them as originally intended may be a realistic alternative, although HN do sound quite unreasonable with their stance on receipts....

SaverRate

Can you go to another Harvey Nicks and use the vouchers that has the concession?

Emmasophie

SaverRate said:

Can you go to another Harvey Nicks and use the vouchers that has the concession?

No, not really - I’m living on £69 per week and caring for 2 people - I dont have the time or money to travel too far.  

pinkshoes

Emmasophie said:

SaverRate said:

Can you go to another Harvey Nicks and use the vouchers that has the concession?

No, not really - I’m living on £69 per week and caring for 2 people - I dont have the time or money to travel too far.  

Sell the two vouchers for a discount to someone who can use them? 

You won't get the full value but something is better than nothing?

sheramber

Will the vouchers be honoured as they are now out  of date?

SaverRate

Have you tried asking Harvey Nicks if they will give you a credit note to get something else from their store instead of a cash refund?

born_again

>I bought some vouchers in May 2019 for a ‘package’ of Elemis facials, in store in their Harvey Nichols concession.  <

i can't see how this is a HN issue if bought from the Elemis concession. As that is direct from Elemis.

eskbanker

born_again said:

>I bought some vouchers in May 2019 for a ‘package’ of Elemis facials, in store in their Harvey Nichols concession.  <

i can't see how this is a HN issue if bought from the Elemis concession. As that is direct from Elemis.

It is a bit unclear whether the wording of that excerpt means that it's the voucher purchase or the redemption that would be in their HN concession, but OP does later confirm that (as far as Elemis were concerned) they were bought from HN:

Emmasophie said:

I explained the situation to a member of staff, that I still had vouchers and was told to contact Elemis direct.
I did contact them and after many months, they advised me that in order to get a refund I would need to go back to Harvey Nichols as they sold them to me.

It does seem ropey for HN to make OP jump through all sorts of hoops to secure a refund, only to refuse at the last minute, but in terms of consumer rights it does seem unlikely that vouchers would be refundable (Ts & Cs are usually explicit about that), so she would seem to be dependent on HN making a goodwill gesture on the basis of concession closure, assuming that there was some sort of prior agreement reached about extending their validity.

Ditzy_Mitzy

It's also still not quite clear as to who the vouchers were bought from.  Elemis, as far as I know, manufacture cosmetics and toiletries that may be used in a facial, however do not actually provide beauty treatments themselves.  That brings us back to either Harvey Nichols or an as yet unnamed third party in terms of who was operating the concession.  Was it Elemis, Harvey Nicks or someone else?  

Alderbank

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

It's also still not quite clear as to who the vouchers were bought from.  Elemis, as far as I know, manufacture cosmetics and toiletries that may be used in a facial, however do not actually provide beauty treatments themselves.  That brings us back to either Harvey Nichols or an as yet unnamed third party in terms of who was operating the concession.  Was it Elemis, Harvey Nicks or someone else?  

Their website, https://uk.elemis.com/our-treatments, says:

In Store

Our globally renowned facial treatments offer both expertise touch and ground breaking technology combined with active ingredients to deliver clinically proven transformative results. Our hands on facial treatments performed by our highly trained Elemis Elite Therapists use touch as a powerful diagnostic tool, softening and prepping the skin to receive actives.

They list a 'menu' of six different facial treatments ranging from £109 to £169 each.

OP, I really admire you for caring for two people. Caregiving for one is so demanding, caringfor two even more so. It's really important to look after yourself though and make some 'me' time otherwise everyone loses out in the long term.
These facials are long paid for. Look on them as a little treat and reward for yourself when you feel down. Enjoy them - you of all people deserve them.