John Lewis gift card

The Grandfather

Please can any financial or retail gurus please explain the following.
At the beginning of this month I bought a gift card to send to a recently engaged family member.
SUTPIDLY I put it in a congratulations card and posted it.  The card has not arrived!
I contacted John Lewis and they have told me that the card has not been used. They offered to freeze the card and I agreed. This means that it can't be used and could only be re-activated by me in person at a  John Lewis store. So far so good.
Today I asked JL if they could issue me with a replacement card. They can't and wont. They say my card is in limbo!!   However they have had my money and the card has not been used and is now frozen from use. So where is the money I paid. All I know is that it is not in my possession.

Two things to learn from this:-
One. I am an idiot for not sending it recorded.
Two. With John Lewis gift cards the rule is "Heads they win and tails you lose".

Nick   A saddened and wiser fool.

crashuk

Have you the receipt,  and you written proof they suspended it, once you have that contact head office and explain everything.

The Grandfather

Hi. Yesterday my sister in law [the recipient's mother] emailed JL and she has been contacted to offer a replacement card. She has sent me the phone number so I shall contact them tomorrow. The letter I wrote to the MD of John Lewis will be on his desk either today or tomorrow. Ian very hopeful that all will be well. Me being me would love to where monetary limbo is as perhaps we could all go there to fill our boots.    Thanks for your interest and reply.
Nick

The Grandfather

Well that's it - money gone.
Yesterday I phoned the number my sister in law gave me all to no avail and today I had a call from the MD's assistant who said that the money I paid to put on the card only exists on that card and as such it is missing and that JL do not replace cards (cash).
The fact that I can request either to freeze the card or block it ( this means destroy it such that even if it turns up it cannot be re-activated) means nothing as they will not replace it.
It was told that this freezing/blocking facility is only for customers to ensure that no thief can benefit from their crime.
They say they do not have the value as it only exists on the actual card and that they will only get this value when the card is spent in one of their stores.
Ho hum at least I tried and if the Royal Mail do find it (look skywards now for flying pigs) then, as it is only frozen, it can be re-activated.

Nick

MW55

That's really not great. According to:

Terms & Conditions

"Protect your gift card and treat it as cash; lost, stolen or damaged cards will not be replaced."

What I don't understand is why they just can't issue a replacement, given that they can block the original gift card. If they couldn't block it then I could understand their reasoning but otherwise it seems very unfair.

Try a search on http://www.moneysavingexpert.com perhaps?

You might be able to claim something from Royal Mail (not the Post Office). Not that much though:

Royal Mail compensation for lost or damaged post reduced

Good luck.

MW55

Finally if it is a substantial amount might be worth a look at:
Small claims - Citizens Advice

The Grandfather

Hi   MW55
I have filled in and sent the necessary form to the Royal Mail.
My local Post Office has said that this form may trigger some sort of a search but they did say that I was unlikely to get any compensation as I sent it without even doing a proof of posting.

That's it in a nutshell.
Thank you for your interest and helpful links.

All the best

Nick

MW55

Good luck. I think the JL T&Cs are unfair. Claiming something is like cash, when it most clearly isn't seems unfair. Last time I looked a bank can't click a few buttons and suddenly stop e.g. a £10 note from working.

If it was £100 or more and you bought via a credit card you might be able to claim from credit card company. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

Can I suggest that rather than calling or emailing JL you write - maybe recorded delivery stating that:

They have your money
They can stop anybody else spending the gift card
They have refused to refund your money even though they are not out-of-pocket
You can see of no reason why they cannot refund the money/issue a replacement gift card

Bear in mind that anything posted here can be read by JL though!

The Grandfather

Here is the letter that I sent to the MD of JL.


I am writing to you to ask you to please reissue me with a John Lewis gift card to the value of £40.
I purchased such a card from your Southampton store on 4th of this month. The card was a gift for my niece who has recently become engaged to be married. I sent the gift card along with a greetings card to her home address. Sad to say the cards did not arrive.

Yesterday I contacted your gift card department and ascertained that the card had not been used. It was suggested that that this card could be frozen from use so as to prevent its unauthorised use. The card was then frozen.

Today I contacted your company and after some toing and froing I was told by a young lady at your Southampton branch that the card was considered as cash and that the funds were in ”Limbo”. She also explained that John Lewis did not have my money ??? and that they would not replace the card. Why? You have my money and you have ascertained that the card has not been used and you have frozen the card from use by everyone except me in person at one of your stores.

PLEASE explain why this is so. I paid you £40 – I have the receipt.
As things stand I have the feeling that it is a case of heads you win and tails I lose.

This is not what I have come to expect from a company that my wife and I use on a regular basis. As things stand I am filled with sadness at the attitude of a company that I worked for 55 years ago.

This obtained a very prompt phone call from one of his assistants who told me all about the card having the money etc etc etc.


For my part I consider that monies from the sale of gift cards should be held in a JL gift card account which, when the card is used, should free up whatever is spent from the card. In that way they really would have no excuse for this sort of behaviour.
At my age I regard this affair with JL as a sad reflection on the times.

Once again thank you.

Nick

MW55

Hmm. Can I suggest that you maybe try to contact them on social media.
Try them on: John Lewis (@JLcustserv) on Twitter
You'll need to create a twitter account to post.
Companies normally like to avoid looking bad online so this might be worth a try?