CUT CHRISTMAS COSTS
FATHER Christmas will be swamped with a wishlist for £1 billion worth of toys over the next few weeks. But you can help keep down the cost of those toys he delivers with a bit of smart planning.
Top of the Christmas wish chart this year is Pie Face, a game from toy manufacturer Hasbro that retails at £20. Load the throwing arm with squirty cream or tomato sauce, turn the handle and wait to get splattered – or even better splash your best friend.
Then there is the new Star Wars movie opening in cinemas a week before Christmas Day. This is creating a frenzy of interest for a £50 Jedi Master Lightsaber and a £120 The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon – again manufactured by Hasbro. Another likely Christmas hit is a £39 Disney Frozen singalong doll called Elsa.
According to the Toy Retailers Association, more than two-thirds of the 370 million presents that will fly off the shelves this year into the Christmas stockings of children will be purchased online – with the average overall family spend on children being £285.
Parents, wishing to keep costs down or give a little bit to charity when buying gifts, should follow our essential guide.
HELP A GOOD CAUSE – FOR FREE
CHARITY TheGivingMachine enables customers to use its website to buy toys from more than 2,000 shops – including Amazon, John Lewis and Hamleys – with the commission it earns on the sales being passed on to a chosen charity or other good cause.
The donation can be as much as 10 per cent of the sale price. Customers pay the same price as they would if they bought directly from the retailer.
Laura Hollis, 37, from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, has used the website to do some early Christmas shopping. She has spent £150 on toys for children Martha, four, and Dot, two. This earned commission of £10 that she requested the website donate to the local school which Martha has just started.
Laura, a customer services manager, married to David, 37, says the website allowed her to tap in details of the toys she wanted and find them. ‘I ended up via the website shopping online at the Early Learning Centre, Mothercare and Tesco.’ She bought a watch, trainset and zoo for Martha while Dot was bought a plastic building set.
She also ticked a Gift Aid option box which meant that her £8 donation was topped up to £10 by the Government as a result of her being a basic rate taxpayer.
Similar websites include charity Care2Save. It hands 80 per cent of any commission earned from visiting shops through its website to a charity of the shopper’s choice – with the rest used to fund palliative care countrywide.
CONSIDER CASHBACK AND VOUCHERS
CASHBACK websites work along the same lines as the charity-- based online shopping websites. But instead of the commission going to charity, it ends up in the pockets of shoppers.
Major websites are TopCashback and Quidco. These provide links to more than 4,000 high street shops – including Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser.
For example, you can purchase Pie Face for £20 from online store GameSeek via Quidco – and then earn yourself a 3 per cent cashback worth 60p. You will have to wait about six weeks before you can transfer the cash over to your bank account. Some websites, such as Groupon or VoucherCodes, offer codes that enable shoppers to get money off purchases.
PAY WITH PLASTIC – BUT BE WISE
THE pain of Christmas shopping can be made easier by choosing the right type of credit card to use. Comparison website comparethemarket says the Halifax 24 Months All in One credit card is perfect for Christmas shopping. This is because it provides two years of interest free credit on both balance transfers from other cards and purchases.
Loyalty cards are also another sound option. Among the most popular is Tesco Clubcard that earns you a point for every £1 spent. These points can be converted to vouchers – with a single point worth a penny to be knocked off the final bill for Christmas present purchases.
Boots has its Advantage card where every £1 spent earns you four points. Each point is worth a penny that can be taken off the cost of future shopping.
The Nectar loyalty card can be used when shopping at stores such as Argos, Homebase and Sainsbury’s. This also earns a point for every £1 spent – but you need two for a penny off your Christmas shopping.
AND FINALLY... KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
HIGH street shops do not have to accept the return of unwanted Christmas presents if nothing is wrong with them. But if you are polite and have proof of purchase, they may offer an exchange or refund as a gesture of goodwill.
Buying online gives you the right to return goods seven working days after they arrive – even if there is nothing wrong with them.
Last month, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 was introduced meaning that if there is something wrong with a purchase you have 30 days to return it for a full refund. This includes goods not deemed to be of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose.
If goods are purchased using a credit card under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 you have additional consumer rights. The card provider is equally liable with the shop for any faults – or if an item does not arrive – if it costs more than £100.
If posted items fail to arrive in time for Christmas there is little you can do – unless they are damaged or lost.
Compensation claims against Royal Mail must be made within a month of a parcel being sent – by filling in a P58 form.