{"id":4727,"date":"2018-11-24T02:36:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T02:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/should-we-still-be-giving-gift-cards-this-christmas\/"},"modified":"2018-11-24T02:36:49","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T02:36:49","slug":"should-we-still-be-giving-gift-cards-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/should-we-still-be-giving-gift-cards-this-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Should we still be giving gift cards this Christmas?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div property=\"articleBody\">\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width lead\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" alt=\"Gift card begin handed over\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/5C54\/production\/_104463632_gettyimages-842324660.jpg\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\"\/><span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    We spend \u00a36bn a year on gift cards, but fail to spend \u00a3300m &#8211; that&#8217;s 5% &#8211; of that before they expire<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">As shoppers on High Streets across the UK grapple with Christmas shopping this weekend, many of us unable to think of a suitable present will turn to gift cards.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, four out of five of us spend more on gift cards and vouchers than we do on actual presents, according to the UK Gift Card &amp; Voucher Association (UKGCVA), the trade body for an industry worth some \u00a36bn a year.<\/p>\n<p>True, buying a gift card does show at least more thought than just stuffing some banknotes in an envelope but it comes with a drawback. Cards generally expire after two years and we throw away \u00a3300m a year on out-of-date cards.<\/p>\n<p>Besides forgetting to spend the gift card or voucher there&#8217;s an additional risk. If the retailer we buy a gift card from goes bust, any unspent money on gift cards could then be lost.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these potential drawbacks, they are increasingly popular. Spending on all types of gift cards rose 6.6% in 2017, with digital cards and e-vouchers now making up 9.4% of the overall market.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                 <span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    House of Fraser gift card holders had to wait months before getting replacement e-vouchers<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In August, House of Fraser became the latest High Street name to buckle, due to a combination of tougher internet competition and rising rent bills for its stores. <\/p>\n<p>Customers who&#8217;d bought gift cards were left waiting in limbo for several months after it went into administration and was bought by Mike Ashley&#8217;s Sports Direct.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"story-body__unordered-list\">\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-45552449\" class=\"story-body__link\">Anger mounts on House of Fraser gift cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-45520194\" class=\"story-body__link\">House of Fraser customers refused refunds<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>House of Fraser had asked customers to send in their cards and indicated that they would be replaced &#8211; but provided few details. It wasn&#8217;t actually until October that gift card holders were told they would get e-vouchers of the same value that could be spent online. <\/p>\n<p>It is a familiar story: the collapse of High Street stores such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-46037259\" class=\"story-body__link\">Evans Cycles<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-43225248\" class=\"story-body__link\">Toys R Us<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-43223175\" class=\"story-body__link\">Maplin<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/av\/business-21029890\/hmv-gift-vouchers-unlikely-to-be-honoured\" class=\"story-body__link\">HMV<\/a> in some cases left shoppers struggling to get refunds or having to accept their gift cards were now worthless.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                 <span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    Toys R Us was the UK&#8217;s biggest toy retailer &#8211; until it went into administration earlier this year<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sarah Pennells, the founder of consumer finance website Savvy Woman, says shoppers should think twice before buying them as presents.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They may be convenient and feel a bit nicer than giving cash but the person you give them to could be left with a worthless present if the shop goes bust. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve had a number of big retailers go under in recent years and with conditions on the High Street being so difficult, there are likely to be more.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>One of the more persistent issues with cards is working out how long you&#8217;ve got to use them. Usually it is two years, but each store has its own rules for its cards or vouchers, and they are not always obvious. <\/p>\n<p>There have been calls to standardise the rules to ensure greater clarity on expiry dates. The US already has a blanket minimum five-year expiry date for gift cards, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dbei.gov.ie\/en\/News-And-Events\/Department-News\/2018\/July\/19072018D.html\" class=\"story-body__link-external\">Ireland is planning to do the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                 <span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    Gift cards in the US have a five-year expiry date<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Over here, the SNP&#8217;s consumer affairs spokesperson, Patricia Gibson, has been campaigning to bring in a minimum expiration period of five years to protect consumers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is just common sense to me. If the US, the cradle of capitalism, can do it, there&#8217;s no reason why we can&#8217;t do it,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People spend their hard-earned money, and because this money is unspent it is clawed back as a firm&#8217;s profit. It&#8217;s not good enough &#8211; it&#8217;s a pretty raw deal for the consumer. This tends to be a seasonal story though it shouldn&#8217;t be &#8211; it affects shoppers all year round.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The UKGCVA says 98.5% of gift cards are redeemed within a year and that 95.4% of customers are aware of their card&#8217;s expiry date &#8211; but does recommend shoppers double check the expiry date, and keep receipts separately so if you lose the card you can claim the money back. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                 <span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    If you are given a gift card this Christmas make sure to check the expiry date<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sarah Pennells says if you&#8217;re given a gift card as a present this Christmas you should register it so that you can get a new card if yours is lost or stolen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you don&#8217;t register it and don&#8217;t know the card&#8217;s number you may lose any money on it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you are buying a gift card or voucher, one other tip is to do this using a credit card. This is because section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make credit card providers jointly liable for breaches of contract with a trader when you buy with a credit card.<\/p>\n<p>But to qualify for a claim, your gift card has to be worth more than \u00a3100 and bought using a credit card. And if you received it as a present, you will have to contact the giver to get them to chase the cash. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-46263519\">Source<\/a> by <a href=\"\">[author_name]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption We spend \u00a36bn a year on gift cards, but fail to spend \u00a3300m &#8211; that&#8217;s 5% &#8211; of that before they expire As shoppers on High Streets across the UK grapple with Christmas shopping this weekend, many of us unable to think of a suitable present will turn to &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}