Anyone Ever Lost $$$ on Expired Giftcards?

GLO on 25/08/2015 - 21:39

Hi,

Has anyone managed to redeem their funds on recently expired Giftcards?

I hate to admit it but Im hoping someone may be able to share a good news story.

I had a card expire last month and I was certain that it had to be used by this month, but the supplier advised this was not the case and the ~$160 is gone and they have no obligation to extend it.

Sure, there was an onus on my part, but the card has a cash value and no markings of the actual expiry date.

Im hoping someone may have had some success with utilising their balance post expiry.

Anyone?

Financial

Comments

  • dkausa on 25/08/2015 - 22:08

    I did have a Red Balloon Day voucher expire after I didn't order my "experience" in time. I contacted Red Balloon Day and they were happy to extend it. One happy customer here.

    I believe that Consumer Affairs isn't really on your side here. As I understand it, they don't need to extend, though it would be good customer satisfaction on their part to do so (especially since you are only a month out).

    You could try ask them on their Facebook site should they have one…it's a little more in the open if they deny you there.

    • GLO on 25/08/2015 - 22:23

      Good idea about asking them on Facebook.

      I'll give that a try.

      Anyone else tried and succeeded?

    • GLO on 25/08/2015 - 22:37

      Cant find a Facebook page for GiftCardPlanet.com.au :(

  • holdenmg on 25/08/2015 - 22:26

    Anyone with concerns about gift cards or complaints should contact NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20.

    • GLO on 25/08/2015 - 22:34

      Thanks,

      Wonder Giftcardplanet.com.au would respond if i mentioned that was my next course of action.

      Or if they would would still dismiss the request like the first time!

  • what on 25/08/2015 - 22:34
    +1

    Retailers must love selling gift cards. Many of them would remain unused. What a bonanza.

    I had an exchange voucher from Target that was expired. I was told that it was too late and that I could not use it. I stuck to my guns and insisted that it was unfair. They money was with Target and why should I not be allowed to use it. The staff member eventually agreed and allowed me to use it.

    I now try to use all my gift cards and vouchers as quickly as possible.

    OP which gift card do you have?

    • GLO on 25/08/2015 - 22:36

      My card is Giftcard Planet and I was told that it expired in July, however when I last used it, i recall it had to be used up in August.

      Closer inspection actually shows the balance just under $170 and expired 7 days ago. I wanted to use it on Friday night but couldnt contact them till business hours Monday when they opened again.

      • what on 25/08/2015 - 22:42

        I hope you will be able to redeem this card. It is for a large amount of money. Once would think that Giftcard Planet would be a little more understanding. After all, it is only 7 days out of date.

        There are so many bad reviews about Giftcard Planet.

        http://www.productreview.com.au/p/gift-card-planet-branded-e…

  • try2bhelpful on 25/08/2015 - 22:56
    +1

    This is why I absolutely refuse to give anyone a gift card. I usually give people the cash equivalent of a gift certificate with a nice card. (The universal gift card). I have a number of gift cards I have lost money on; the corollary of that is buying something you don't really want because you have to use it up before it goes out of date.

    The nearest "win" I had was convincing Qantas to return our points after they "expired" due to no activity. It took us 6 months of back and forth negotiation and finally pointing out that, for some reason, they had stopped telling us when the points would expire in their regular emails; but they finally told us "you can have you points back but you must have everything booked in the next week". It was worth 2 round the world tickets, so we booked through Canada and France for the following May. (Not when we were intending to go but we had a great time)

  • zealmax on 26/08/2015 - 00:20

    I think Westfield gives you new gift cards if they are expired. I was at Parramatta Westfield, and that is what the info lady told me.

  • Ughhh on 26/08/2015 - 00:56

    My mother had about $300 worth of giftcards, she didn't pay attention to the expiry date and thought it was a good idea to only use one card at a time, eventually forgot about the rest so about $250 went down the loo.

  • Mikaela on 29/08/2015 - 12:07
    +1

    My grandma (who was living by herself) passed away suddenly. A couple of months after she passed away we were cleaning out her house and we found a $200 Coles Myer gift card that had not been used at all. However it had expired roughly 6 months prior to us finding it so we could no longer use it. I called up the Coles Myer gift card team (got the number from their website) and I explained to them the situation and they were more than happy to help us out. So we were able to use the $200 gift card again

  • tonyjzx on 02/09/2015 - 12:27
    +3

    I cant stand gift cards. Why would I exchange cash that can be used anywhere and never expires, for a card that can only be used at limited places and that expires.

    May as well just punch me in the balls while you're at it.

    Unless you're giving me a 10%+ discount on nominal value then why bother.

  • voiletmay on 25/09/2015 - 16:11

    Gift Card Planet is the worst one for that. You need to activate it by a certain time and I didn't know that, and when I realised it was a few weeks too late, so I rung them up and they said there is nothing they could do.

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