John Lewis vouchers expired!

Okell

My advice would be to ask in store in person if they could be revalidated.  Don't ring up and ask customer services - they won't help you.

That advice is based on experience with M&S vouchers given to me as a gift.  Telephone and online customer services were adamant that the expired vouchers could not be renewed, but staff instore were more than happy to do so.  In fact I renewed one voucher twice over a period of five(?) years.

I don't understand why people give vouchers rather than cash.  A voucher has zero sentimental value and expires.  Cash doesn't expire.

maz_hartley

user1977 said:

maz_hartley said:

that have expired as don’t shop in John Lewis

I don't know about revalidating them, but bear in mind you can use them in Waitrose, if that helps any.

The vouchers have expired?

Exodi

Veteransaver said:
Op, if you phone John Lewis they may reactivate them, I did get mine reactivated recently. You may have to be pushy

I'm not sure about that, seems like a quick way to get a curt dismissal with the T&C's read out to you. And as often gets mentioned, even if there was a realistic chance via a formal route of remedy (which there is not), it wouldn't be open to the OP as he didn't buy the gift card.

As someone else said, I personally think a mea culpa approach would work best.

From an objective standpoint, I agree with others that gift-cards make no sense. A comedian did a skit about it a few years ago, which questioned the logic of exchanging money, which is spendable anytime anywhere, for gift-cards which are spendable in specific locations during a specific window.

From an subjective standpoint, I can understand that (at least in the gifters mind) gift-cards may indicate some thought went into the gift (or at least more than just handing someone cash).

Undervalued

Okell said:

I don't understand why people give vouchers rather than cash.  A voucher has zero sentimental value and expires.  Cash doesn't expire.

Indeed. Plus, should a business go into administration, voucher holders are unsecured creditors and are likely to get at best a few pennies in the pound!

user1977

maz_hartley said:

user1977 said:

maz_hartley said:

that have expired as don’t shop in John Lewis

I don't know about revalidating them, but bear in mind you can use them in Waitrose, if that helps any.

The vouchers have expired?

Yes, I know. But if and when you ever have unexpired John Lewis vouchers again, you might want to be aware that they can also be spent in Waitrose (or vice versa for Waitrose vouchers).

Grumpy_chap

Okell said:

My advice would be to ask in store in person if they could be revalidated.  

I agree that an in-store request is more likely to yield favourable outcomes.
Even if the vouchers are not revalidated, a token gesture might be forthcoming.  We had an issue with some JL vouchers and they gave us a voucher for free coffee and cake each for me and my wife.  There was no reason for JL to do that, just them trying to offer good customer service.  Better than nothing.

kassy64

No harm in asking, the worst they can say is NO. Retailers rely on a certain percentage of these to be stuck in a draw and forgotten about, you have fallen in to their trap unfortunately.

Okell

kassy64 said:

No harm in asking, the worst they can say is NO. Retailers rely on a certain percentage of these to be stuck in a draw and forgotten about, you have fallen in to their trap unfortunately.

You are right that there is no harm in asking, but it is the person who bought the vouchers and gave them as a gift who has fallen into the trap and has thrown their money away.

Unless bought at an appreciable discount that makes them worthwhile, or unless they are the only way to purchase something out of the ordinary, money spent on vouchers is money wasted.