Adidas deactivated gift card despite 10 year validity

flaneurs_lobster

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

Cynically, it was 3 years IF it was bought…

Exodi

I feel like this would be a quick court case in the OP's favour - not only because the term "If not used, this card shall expire ten years after the date of purchase" is ambiguous (though @flaneurs_lobster has questioned the authenticity) but also because the gift card states on the back "For the terms"… "please check www.adidas.co.uk/gift_cards" which isn't an active page any more. It's not reasonable to expect the average consumer to have the knowledge to use an archive tool.

The problem is that it would be the person who gifted the card to the OP that would need to bring any court action, as they are the persons who have contracted with Adidas. If it's not possible to encourage them to do this, then you are solely reliant on Adidas to change their mind (though I'm sure you could help motivate them with a negative review and a few emails to certain people).

sheramber

A Google search does bring up some statements that some old cars were issued with 10 years validity on them but Adidas insisted it was 3 years, causing problems for the holders.

One statement says Adidas changed the validity from 10 years to 3 years without any announcement.

Adidas is based on Netherlands, if that affects any possible court claim.

Jumblebumble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176997#Comment_82176997

I would hope that the district judge would simply ask "Who has the missing money?"

I doubt that a card that can be deactivated automatically which worked before is a fake

I too think that your are correct in speculating that Of course Adidas might just decide it's cheaper to settle rather than fight and that is what I would personally do.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177229#Comment_82177229

I think you are missing the point @Okell was making. I don't think they are siding with adidas, I think they're simply pointing out that the OP has no grounds to sue as they did not pay for the gift card, adidas can't be held in breach when they have no contract with the OP - the OP is effectively a third party.

A judge may simply ask who has the missing money, but they still could not award it to an effective stranger. The person who bought the gift card would need to bring about the action.

flaneurs_lobster

I doubt that a card that can be deactivated automatically which worked before is a fake

That's rather a problem with gift cards - what is meant by a fake?

I have a £10 Sainsburys gift card. It arrived in an email, it's a 10 digit number, a PIN and a barcode.

I can take this to Sainsburys, buy an item for £1, reduce the balance to £9.

I could show the email on my phone. I could show the barcode on my watch because I've added it to Google Wallet. I could have forwarded the email to my pal 200 miles away to use in his local Sainsburys.

I could sit at my laptop and type the number in to pay for my Sainsburys online shop.

I could have printed it out onto a sheet of A4 and waved this at the checkout.

I could, given some time with Photoshop/AI/laminator produce a decent facsimile of the cards they sell at the checkout - could even print "Valid for 10 years" on the back.

It only becomes a fake at the point I produce something that sets out to deceive.

Bear in mind that I could do any/all of the above in parallel, it's the same account being accessed by different identical keys. They'll all work until the balance is exhausted.

crispy_duck

I assume what is meant by a fake is a random barcode printed on a plastic card that says "adidas" by someone who isn't Adidas. Probably fair to assume that this isn't one since it's previously been used successfully.

This all underlines what a rip-off gift cards are though doesn't it? Regardless of the legality, is there a good ethical reason for expiring it and pocketing the money after any length of time? Especially since the more time passes, the more the buying power of the gift card decreases - if the holder waits ten years before spending it the issuer's made out like a bandit.

Alderbank

The ethical reason (I'm not saying it's good) why they expire is to do with company accountants and those pesky auditors.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177340#Comment_82177340

As @flaneurs_lobster points out above, I can print a giftcard barcode on a piece of paper and successfully use it. Undeniably the giftcard credentials are genuine or they wouldn't have been able to use them, but I think their point is that this doesn't automatically mean the physical giftcard and corresponding terms on the back are genuine, or that they haven't been shared and used with others.

FWIW I disagree with @flaneurs_lobster suspicion that this is the case, I believe that adidas varied the original terms.

On your second paragraph about reasons for expiration, from an accounting perspective there absolutely is. When a gift card is sold, the money received is not yet counted as profit, instead it is recorded as a liability on the balance sheet as it is a promise to provide goods or services later. Unforutnately some gift cards are never redeemed - an expiration date allows companies to (eventually) write off these liabilities. The alternative to this would be recording these as liabilities in perpetua, which complicates audits, reporting and projections.

Of course it also allows these companies to pocket money for nothing, so they're all to happy to get behind this excuse reason. Obviously they could re-issue them if they really wanted to.

brianposter

I suspect that the OP does have a contract with Adidas which is transferred with possession of the card.

There is nothing unusual about bearer bonds which can be contracts for thousands of pounds.