Gift card customers face saying buy-buy to cash
THERE’S continuing uncertainty over whether House of Fraser gift card holders are going to see any of their money back.
That means it’s a good time to have a look at the problems that can be caused when a company that you have purchased gift cards from get into trouble.
House of Fraser customers are rightly worried that they may lose money they have spent on gift cards partly because the company, recently purchased by Sports Direct, have gone quiet on requests from such customers.
And it seems that their PR company have stopped responding to some emails from journalists, with only a vague reply saying that if they don’t respond within 24 hours, it’s likely they won’t be able to help.
If you do buy gift cards from a company who then get into trouble, the chances are you will join a long line of creditors that will need to be paid from an often small pot of money. It’s likely that the gift cards you have will end up being worthless.
It’s a huge market these days and with Christmas not too far away, tens of thousands of us will be considering gift cards for friends and relatives. But it does pay to be careful.
The number of retailers getting into trouble has increased in recent years and this means that many people could end up with a present that they can’t use.
It may be that giving cash, although sometimes seen as a lazier option, could be a safer bet.
Firstly, it allows the recipient to use it wherever they want and secondly, unlike some gift cards, there is no time limit on the use of cash. Also, the cash gift won’t cease to function if retailers fail.
There is one option that is worth looking at if you have a gift card that you can’t use.
You could ask the person who gave you it to make a claim using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, assuming the gift was for more than £100 and was purchased with a credit card.
In the meantime, House of Fraser gift card holders are still waiting to hear whether they’ll end up with nothing.