Unwanted Christmas voucher? Here’s what you are able to do

Sales of reward playing cards are thought to have risen this Christmas, as many opted for a voucher as a simple current that’s seen as extra considerate than chilly laborious money.

Britons purchased £1.35billion value of reward playing cards between January and June this yr in response to the Gift Card and Voucher Association, up 8.4 per cent on the identical interval in 2022.

And that can have ramped up in the course of the busy festive interval, that means tens of millions of us most likely acquired a voucher from a pal or relative this Christmas. 

But it may additionally imply much more undesirable or forgotten reward playing cards left languishing in wallets and kitchen drawers within the yr forward. 

Pick a card: A wealth of outlets, eating places and on-line streaming companies now promote reward playing cards

While many will probably be happy with the beneficiant reward, some vouchers will inevitably miss the mark. 

They is perhaps for a retailer the recipient would not store in, or they might merely determine money could be extra helpful.

Vouchers can even include infuriating small print corresponding to brief expiry dates, restrictions on the place they can be utilized and even expenses for retaining cash on them for too lengthy. 

And it’s not only a case of well-meaning family and friends not getting it fairly proper. 

The majority of vouchers at the moment are purchased by firms to present out to their workers as a reward for laborious work, in response to the GCVA. 

Firms purchased 11.7 per cent extra vouchers within the first six months of 2023 in comparison with final yr. 

There are tax perks for giving vouchers to workers as a substitute of money bonuses, and companies additionally get reductions for purchasing them in bulk. 

Season of giving: Lots of individuals will select vouchers as presents this Christmas – however some may not pay attention to the restrictions that come together with them

The excellent news is it’s now simpler than ever to promote or commerce an undesirable  reward card on-line – and also you may even have the ability to return it to the shop straight underneath sure circumstances. 

We clarify what you are able to do when you’ve acquired one you do not need – and which manufacturers can internet essentially the most money on the resale market. 

Can you get a refund for a present voucher?

Vouchers at the moment are provided by every kind of companies, from clothes shops to eating places and music and gaming companies. 

Unfortunately, most of them will not provide a refund for a voucher, and this will probably be acknowledged within the phrases and situations.  

On the uncommon events they do, you’ll often want proof of buy and the cash often has to return to the one that paid for it – requiring an ungainly dialog many are unwilling to have.

One exception is vouchers for ‘experiences’ – corresponding to a day tea or a racing monitor day. 

Many of the businesses promoting these provide a refund or trade inside 30 days of buy, however once more this is able to often require you to inform the reward giver.

The exception to the 30 day rule is when you attempt to e-book the expertise and there are not any slots out there earlier than the expiry date, wherein case they need to refund you in full. 

How a lot can I get for reselling a voucher?

If you’d slightly have the cash in your pocket, there at the moment are web sites the place vouchers may be resold to different prospects in trade for money. 

There can be the choice to swap them with one other vendor for a unique voucher which is perhaps extra to your style. 

Websites embrace Cardyard and Cards2Cash, and folks additionally promote them on web sites corresponding to eBay and Facebook Marketplace – although it is very important test the principles as this isn’t at all times strictly allowed. 

‘One of the most effective methods to eliminate undesirable reward playing cards is to make use of Cardyard,’ says Daisy Cooper, a money-saving professional from the freebies web site Latest Free Stuff. 

‘You can trade reward playing cards for money or for different reward playing cards – there may be an admin payment, nevertheless it’s minimal.’

On voucher resale web sites, the vendor must settle for a bit lower than the quantity on the cardboard.

Mike Hayman, managing director of Cardyard, says the typical vendor will get 80 per cent of the cash on the cardboard, whereas the typical purchaser purchases it for 10 per cent much less. 

Top trumps: Gift playing cards from these manufacturers all make extra then the typical 80% of their steadiness on the voucher resale web site Cardyard

The discrepancy is right down to the mark-up added by Cardyard, which varies relying on the transaction and which it doesn’t disclose to the vendor. 

Vouchers for the most well-liked shops repeatedly promote for as much as 90 per cent of their worth. 

‘The extra widespread the cardboard, the extra you get for it if you promote to us, and the smaller the low cost if you purchase,’ says Hayman. 

‘The cause is that there’s larger demand, so we should appeal to sellers, and the patrons are ready to pay extra. 

‘The costliest card to purchase, and essentially the most beneficiant to promote, is Amazon. The purchaser will get simply 3 per cent low cost, however they’re purchased inside minutes of occurring sale on our web site.’

Cardyard has revealed how a lot vouchers from among the hottest manufacturers sometimes promote for on its web site.  

While they do settle for bodily reward playing cards, these should be posted to Cardyard and subsequently the bulk offered on the positioning are within the type of digital codes. 

Cardyard checks the vouchers for authenticity earlier than placing them up on the market and solely accepts them if they’ve no less than three months till expiry. 

There is a delay of a number of days or perhaps weeks between promoting the voucher and getting paid, however Cardyard provides sellers a date once they can count on to obtain the cash.  

Hayman says: ‘Spend your reward card shortly, or else promote it to an trade like Cardyard. If you do not, you may overlook about it or misplace it, after which it expires.’

When is the most effective time to promote a present card?  

According to Hayman, Boxing Day is the busiest day on Cardyard, carefully adopted by 27 December – so when you obtain a voucher you do not need for Christmas it’s best to behave quick. 

‘We get 2.5 instances the net site visitors on Boxing Day than the typical,’ he says, including that lots of people are additionally promoting between Christmas and New Year and even on Christmas Day itself. 

‘It works nicely for us as individuals flood in to promote their playing cards on the 26 December, then individuals come to purchase these low cost reward playing cards for the January gross sales.’

Buyers who’re planning a giant buy use the reward playing cards to successfully get themselves a reduction, as they’re offered for lower than the quantity on the voucher. 

‘If you might be spending the cash anyway, you could as nicely use a reduction reward card because the low cost is like free cash,’ Hayman provides. 

Get on-line: The greatest time to promote a voucher is between Christmas and New Year

What occurs if my voucher expires?

If you do determine to maintain a voucher, it is very important pay attention to the expiry date. 

This will rely on what it says within the small print. In Ireland, a legislation was handed in 2019 which implies that vouchers will need to have an expiry date no less than 5 years from the date of situation. 

But within the UK, the retailer is free to set any time restrict they select. It is widespread for them to set a restrict of two years, however some well-known shops solely validate playing cards for 12 months – and that is from the date of buy, which may very well be a while earlier than they got to the recipient. 

In addition, inflation implies that the real-terms worth of the cash on the cardboard is successfully falling from the second it’s given.  

James Daley, managing director of shopper group Fairer Finance, says that companies aren’t taking part in truthful by imposing restrictive deadlines on spending vouchers. 

He says they already win huge from the reward card system, and needn’t revenue additional by setting a deadline for when prospects can use them. 

‘Most vouchers have expiry dates that are sometimes a few years. There’s no good cause for for that – it’s totally a lot not within the spirit of reward giving,’ he says. 

‘Retailers are already successful, as a result of the worth of the cash on that reward card is falling on daily basis due to inflation. 

‘At the minute, if somebody had a present card that they acquired at Christmas 2021, it will already be value 15 per cent much less.

‘And in addition they win as a result of, when individuals go in to a store to spend a present card, they usually spend over and above the quantity on it.’

With expiry dates as they’re, he means that reward voucher givers make it clear to the recipient when they should spend them by. 

‘It is value placing a notice within the card to say, “Don’t forget you need to spend it by this date!”‘ he provides. 

Often retailers will merely refuse to increase vouchers, and generally a payment will probably be charged in the event that they do agree. 

But contacting the shop and asking if they are going to prolong it would not harm, as they could agree to take action as a gesture of goodwill. 

‘If you discover expired ones, it is at all times value contacting the corporate to see if there’s something they will do about it,’ says Cooper. 

Are there charges for retaining cash on a present card?  

Caught out: Multi-retailer reward playing cards, corresponding to these that are for a selected buying centre, may cost charges for unused funds after a time so it it necessary to test the small print

Most vouchers for particular person shops will not cost the recipient any charges. 

However, vouchers that may be spent in a number of shops the principles could also be barely completely different, which might catch individuals out. 

This is as a result of, as a substitute of conventional reward playing cards, these are literally pre-paid debit playing cards. 

For instance, the One4All voucher states on its web site: ‘One4all Gift Cards may be spent freed from expenses for 18 months following the acquisition date.

‘After this time a month-to-month cost of 90p will probably be deducted from funds remaining on the cardboard, till the cardboard steadiness reaches zero.’

If somebody contacts One4All to get again the money steadiness remaining on the cardboard, there may be additionally a payment of £7.50 or the steadiness on the cardboard, whether it is decrease. 

Love2Shop vouchers, one other widespread model, enable the choice to redeem unused cash whereas the cardboard continues to be legitimate, in addition to as much as six years after the cardboard’s expiry date. However, there may be an £8.90 payment for this. 

It additionally expenses a upkeep payment of £11 per yr for any card previous its expiry date that continues to carry a steadiness. 

These sort of charges can even apply to reward playing cards offered by buying centres.

James Daley of Fairer Finance says: ‘Sometimes, in addition to expiry dates, playing cards even have inactivity charges.

‘If you do not use the cash on the cardboard for a sure period of time, the supplier will begin drip feeding cash out of it. 

‘Standard pre-paid playing cards may be dressed up like reward playing cards. They are successfully debit playing cards run by Visa and Mastercard they usually generally cost you for taking out money when you do not wish to spend it in these outlets.’

What if the retailer goes bust? 

There have been a number of high-profile retailer collapses lately – corresponding to Wilko, Debenhams, Topshop, House of Fraser and Toys R Us.

Often when companies go into administration, they cease accepting reward playing cards and prospects are unable to get their a refund.  

‘There is not any safety – if firms go bust, they are not obliged to honour reward playing cards whereas they’re within the strategy of closing down,’ Daley says.