Gift Card Refund

[scoob101]

Hi, my wife bought me a £100 gift card from H Samuels for christmas as she never knows what to buy me, now I have looked through their catalogue and cant find anything I want so told the wife to take it back and get a refund.
She called in today and asked for the money back and they told her that they didnt do refunds.
Is this right and legal.

Thanks

[woofgang]

yup, why would they give you a refund? the goods aren't faulty and its not their fault that there is nothing that you want.

[gingejbee]

You'll probably find the answer in their "terms and conditions"...but it is very usual to offer no refunds on a gift card.

[EcclesCake]

They are entirely within their rights.

[heathfield]

Your wife is out of luck. Their terms and conditions are here...

http://www.hsamuel.co.uk/webstore/static/customerservice/egiftcards.do

[DaisyNonna]

Friend keeps buying me M&S gift cards. Trying desperately to spend them before they expire.

[pixie373]

It doesn't surprise me, they also go out of date. Can you use it to buy birthday presents in the year?

[Buenchico]

It's perfectly legal.

The law regards your wife's transaction as a 'purchase' in just the same way as if she'd bought a physical item. Instead though, she bought a service, provider the bearer of the gift card with the right to select an item worth £100. Since neither the service offered (nor any item obtained through it) was mis-represented or faulty, there is no right to a refund. (Even with a physical purchase, a shop is never obliged to offer a refund, replacement item or credit note unless the item was faulty or mis-represented or unless the shop actually offered such a refund/replacement service as part of its terms of trading).

Further, if shops allowed gift cards to be purchased (without any form of identification from the purchaser) and then converted back to cash they might well be breaking the law because such transactions can fall foul of anti-money laundering legislation.

[Buenchico]

^^^Typo! provider = providing

[scoob101]

Thanks for the answers, yeah Pixie I suppose we will have to use it for gifts for someone else, just seems a bit harsh to me. We have a year to use it though.

[pixie373]

It's a shame, but if it can save you money elsewhere, it's worth using, if possible.

[Nibble]

If you really can't think of anything, and you don't want to use it to buy gifts, donate it as a lovely raffle prize for some deserving local charity - they'll be thrilled.

Or, you could sell it for say £70 on eBay - a bargain for someone who does want to buy something from HS.

[koster]

I can't believe that you were so ungrateful that you told your wife to get a refund. Couldn't you just be nice and go and get a watch or a pair of cufflinks for £50, and wear them sometimes to make your wife happy? And then with the rest of the money, buy some jewellery for your wife to apologise for upsetting her? Sorry, but this question has nothing to do with what's legal, it's about common courtesy when receiving a gift.