Fine Gael National Press Office Press Release

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€40m gift voucher rip-off highlighted by FG survey - Varadkar

Early expiry dates, extra admin charges, online purchases blocked

Tens of thousand of consumers are being ripped off due to unfair terms and conditions on gift vouchers, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Dr Leo Varadkar TD said today (Friday).

Commenting on the findings, Deputy Varadkar said: 'The results of this survey make vouchers look like a gift for retailers, not customers. The gift voucher market is estimated at €330 million a year and it is estimated that more than €40 million worth of vouchers are never redeemed, representing a huge windfall for retailers'.

"The Fine Gael survey sent a set of questions to more than 1,000 people by e-mail, of whom 212 people responded. Respondents were asked specifically about the terms and conditions on gift vouchers they received over the Christmas period, and were also asked about gift vouchers they had received in previous years which they had not redeemed.

"The key findings of the survey were that:

- 68% of vouchers had an expiry date, and in some cases vouchers expired in as little as three months;
- Over 80% of gift vouchers stated that customers would not get change on their purchase, even for sums below €1 left on the gift card, thus forcing them to make another purchase to get the full value of the card;
- Many gift vouchers have unfair terms and conditions such as service charges, administration charges and restrictions on use;
- 16% of respondents received gift vouchers in the past that expired before they had a chance to use them.

"Some of the ways in which consumers are being ripped off, as exposed by the survey, include:

- Hodges & Figgis sold a €350 voucher to a client but refused to give him loyalty tokens;
- Eason's Gift Card - a €2 service applies if the card is not activated within a year of purchase;
- The Arcadia card used in Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins cannot be used for online purchases;
- We found one Indian restaurant in Dublin for which vouchers expire within three months.

(Other examples are shown below)

"While some retailers do not attach unfair terms or conditions to their gift vouchers, many others are callously ripping off consumers by attaching unfair terms and conditions to vouchers such as expiry dates, service charges and restrictions on use. The National Consumer Agency should draw up guidelines on the sale of vouchers and gift cards and take enforcement action against retailers who breach these guidelines. This should be done before next Christmas.

"The guidelines should:

- impose a minimum expiry period of three years;
- insist that change be paid to customers where there is less than €2 left on a voucher;
- and require retailers to state all terms and conditions on the vouchers."

"Measures such as these will protect consumers and ensure that the gift voucher market ceases to be such a rip-off of consumers and a cash windfall for retailers."

Findings from the survey:

Service Charges
- Eason's Gift Card - a €2 service applies if the card is not activated within a year of purchase;
- One for All Voucher - there is a transaction charge of €2 in the post office and €3.49 online per transaction.

Administration Charges
- Dundrum Shopping Centre charges €7.50 to have several gift cards consolidated onto the one card.

Restrictions
- The Arcadia card used in Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins cannot be used for online purchases;
- A large Dublin book store sold a €350 voucher to a client but refused to give him loyalty tokens.

Expiry Dates
- We found one Indian restaurant in Dublin for which vouchers expire within three months;
- Others that expire within six months are: Ryanair, Japan, McGuirk's Golf Shop, Unique, JD Sports;
- Among those that expire within a year are: Arnotts, Paddy Power, Ticketmaster and Budget Travel.