Risks with gift vouchers

CLARE’S Citizens Information Centre is encouraging consumers to be aware of risks associated with gift vouchers and to spend them quickly.
According to Paul Woulfe, manager of the service based in Ennis, “Many people at this time of the year forget to use their gift vouchers that they received as presents following the festive activities, only discovering them months later at the bottom of the drawer.
“We receive frequent enquiries around what happens with a gift voucher issued by a business that has ceased trading. In these difficult economic times. Unfortunately, gift vouchers do not benefit from any special protections in the event of the closure of a business. In the current difficult trading circumstances, we strongly urge consumers holding or receiving gift vouchers to use them quickly.”
He went on, “Consumers who purchased gift vouchers over the Christmas need also to be conscious of the risks where the retailer issuing them may be in trading difficulty and to check expiry dates carefully. Check the window allowed by retailers to return purchases, as recent reports suggest shops were shortening the time period they allowed for ‘no quibbles’ returns.
“Where a credit card has been used to purchase the voucher, it may be possible to seek a refund via the credit card company. If the voucher was purchased by cash however, voucher holders are treated like any other unsecured creditors of the business.
“As the name suggests, unsecured creditors rank behind other creditors who may hold some form of security against the business and this almost always means there are little, if any, surplus funds available after winding up to refund monies owing to voucher holders.”