Non refund on gift voucher

lgilchirst993

Hi there, 

I hope someone can help me. I bought a gift voucher a year ago for a family member for a spa day and lunch. The spa encountered a fire very shortly after this and has still not reopened a year later. 
After calling and requesting multiple times for a refund they have said policy is no refunds and that they will extend all vouchers so they can be used when spa is reopened. 
They were supposed to reopen this summer but still not and pushed back to mid next year. No clear open date.
They are still refusing to give a refund. Do I have any way to claim a refund on this? Any advice would be welcome. 

Thanks.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

How did you pay OP and how much did the voucher cost? 

lgilchirst993

It was about £120 and I paid with a debit card over the phone.

lgilchirst993

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

How did you pay OP and how much did the voucher cost? 

It was about £120 and I paid by debit card over the phone.

Okell

I'd suggest you need to go back to the Spa and tell them that you want a full refund under s52 - "Service to be performed within a reasonable time" - of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

You can also tell them that it doesn't matter that their policy is "No refunds" as s57(3) of the same Act prohibits them from trying to exclude or limit their liability under the legislation.

(But wait and see what @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head says as they know more about services than I do)

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sadly as it's a debit card I don't believe you'll get any assistance from the card provider as the voucher was supplied (chargebacks are above consumer rights and it seems with vouchers not being able to actually use the voucher isn't considered by the card provider).

Does the voucher have an expiry date? If so and that has passed then I would say you are entitled to a refund as they couldn't provide the service in the time the voucher was valid. 

If it hasn't expired (or has no expiry) I would like to think you are entitled to a refund as the expectation wouldn't be to wait so long to use it.

Without the card provider to fall back on it is a case of send a letter before action (templates on Google) and then look at small claims.

Is the spa part of a hotel, part of chain or some other business where you could raise a complaint beyond the spa itself?