Adidas deactivated gift card despite 10 year validity

Jumblebumble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6687079/adidas-deactivated-gift-card-despite-10-year-validity

I would imagine that going to the small claims court will get you your money back without you having to go to a hearing. It is the only realistic option for dealing with companies who trouser YOUR money unfairly. Quite why a company the size and wealthyness of Adidas want to behave in this manner is bewildering to me

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82175532#Comment_82175532

…and if it's a fake/copy?

Grumpy_chap

What exactly are the terms and conditions of the gift card?

That is important to know before considering any legal action.

I note the OP shared the photo which reads "If not used, this card shall expire ten years after the date of purchase."

Does the OP know the date of purchase for definite? The OP received the card in March 2023 but the card was a prize from the running club. Is it possible that the running club had purchased a batch of cards at some point and the actual card the OP has purchased some time well ahead of March 2023, so starting the clock before the OP expected the clock to have started?

However, the part before that reads "For the terms, instruction for use, …, check www.adidas.co.uk/giftcards". Has the OP done that?

I note that I said upthread I would read the 10-years as applying to the gift card. Is it possible that the "not used" means no transactions at all and then, if the gift card is used (or partially used), it starts some other clock for the remaining balance to be used?

I don't think that is necessarily fair but it is an important "rule" to know one way or the other.

screech_78

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176088#Comment_82176088

Our gift cards have those exact terms and they’re printed on the back of the card. If it’s unused, it expires 2 years from purchase. If you make a purchase and it uses some of the balance or you do a balance check. If refreshes the expiry for a further two years.

Okell

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82172482#Comment_82172482

I wouldn't assume anything.

The card says that if not used it will "expire" ten years after purchase.

Adidas tell you the card has been "deactivated", not that it has expired.

I'd want them to explain to me what - if any - the difference is between expired and deactivated.

(To me "expired" means kaput, that's it over, it's dead. "Deactivated" implies it can be "reactivated". Of course if you are speaking to people for whom English is not their first language, nuance may be beyond them)

Okell

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82175532#Comment_82175532

On what grounds would the OP sue Adidas? Did he personally buy it from them?

All the OP has said is that he "… got the card as part of an Adidas running club!" but what does that mean? Did he buy it from the running club or did he get it as a running prize or lottery prize or what?

And what is an "Adidas Running club"? Is it officially affiliated to Adidas in some way or is it just some other use of the name?

If he got the card via the running club how does the OP apparently know for certain that the running club bought the card(s) direct from Adidas store on Oxford Street?

The OP says he is no longer part of the running club but unless it is now disbanded or defunct I'd suggest he needs to go back to the running club in the first instance.

Like @flaneurs_lobster I also wonder if the card is a fake. Going to Adidas gift card T&Cs in 2023 on the wayback machine they still then seemed to expire after 3 years and not the ten years printed on the card. And ten years seems like an awfully long expiry time in gift card terms…

If I were the OP I'd (1) go back to the running club which i got the card from and (2) I would try to find out from Adidas what deactivated means as opposed to expired. I've no idea what conversations the OP has had with Adidas to date, but I wonder if they've been at cross purposes.

As a last resort the OP may have to sue, but what if he can't provide proof of purchase and what if Adidas can demonstrate that they've never sold gift cards with more than a three year expiry date?

Of course Adidas might just decide it's cheaper to settle rather than fight. Or they might decide to fight it…

MyRealNameToo

Adidas changed their terms in late 2022/early 2023 going from 2 years since last use validity to 3 years however the cards themselves stated 10 years as a backstop. Rather than bin a load of pre-printed cards ones stating a 10 years validity period continued to be used for a while however there were notices at the point of sale and for in person transactions staff were to tell people that the policy has changed and to ignore the date on the card.

Using the Way Back Machine it shows that the terms on 28 Feb 2023 already states 3 years and given the OP states it was bought in march 2023 then the 3 year was in effect already and they were just using up old stock cards. The buyer should have been told and will have been able to read the notice saying to ignore the 10 years and it only lasts 3 years. Unfortunately they either didnt listen or didnt pass it on.

There were a lot of angry people who bought it before the terms change, though Adidas relied on a term that said they could vary the terms, but this doesnt apply to the OP

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177030#Comment_82177030

Is this personal experience? A lot of people (including me) have searched online for any evidence of 10-year validity Adidas gift cards in the UK (or even overseas) and have found nothing.

Do you have a source?

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177037#Comment_82177037

As far back as I can find (Jan 2019) it says three years, weirdly the only reference anywhere I can find for a ten year validity period is this thread.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177045#Comment_82177045

Yes, I may have been wrong.

If you go to https://www.adidas.com/campaigns/adidas_shop/content/giftcard/ and look at the terms at the bottom of that page it says its valid for 24 months from its last use. My first assumption was it is a US site so its the US terms but the bit above says to check your balance to go to the .co.uk domain so its potentially poor design.


One thing is certain, it was 3 years at the date it was bought.