I have been to the Pandora shop in the Trafford Centre in Manchester tonight to purchase a bracelet, safety chain and cleaning kit. Tried to use a gift card I got last year for my birthday. Lady scanned the card and it showed the card was valid till 23.09.2021. Balance on the card was 50.00. Available balance was NIL. Lady said they are only valid for 12 months and showed me the date written on the reverse saying 23.09.2017 and where it clearly says on the card 'Valid for 12 months from date of purchase'. She said it obviously isn't down to them, it is the card issuer, but she couldn't accept it as part payment for my purchase. Suggested I ring them but only got a recorded message saying it was 12 months. No more info. If the balance wasn't what I thought then it could be down to card fees processed by the issuer. To say I am fuming is an understatement. Does anyone have any idea if this is legal? That gift card was purchased in good faith. The person who purchased it wasn't advised it only lasted 12 months. It has happily sat inside the card it came in so it didn't get lost. Do I now accept that Pandora have 50.00 of my money that I cannot spend with them and apparently not get back? Or is there some way I can take this further? Apologies if I have listed this in the wrong thread, but any help would be gratefully received.

I am doing a bit of inheritance tax planning and need a Gift of memorandum template. Are there any free ones going on the internet? I figure they must be very common! Thanks, Jon

I got out a Carphone Warehouse contract on 14th of December 2017 after much haggling over prices. I called back after ordering it to find out if I am entitled to the free gift as I realised it wasn't mentioned when I took out the contract on the phone. I was assured I would get one sent with the Samsung phone (Free Samsung Gear VR offer). When the phone arrived, no free gift. I called up and was given a link to Samsung gift page to redeem the gift, I tested this out on the phone and the link was expired back in November and I told them this. They then told me it would be sent out on 28th (2 weeks after my contract started). It's been over 4 weeks and no sign of it and the offer has now changed to a watch instead. Do they legally owe me this free gift? Or is it their discretion whether or not I should receive it? I factored it into the price of the contract when choosing between two companies. I feel that they have intentionally been fobbing me off just to push me past the 14 day cooling off period.

Hello Perhaps someone can guide me on this matter. I bought a Washing Machine and in less than one and a half years it became faulty. An engineer tested it and said it is a manufacturer's fault and I should claim. I contacted the retailer, gave them details including DATE OF PURCHASE, that it was tested and found to be faulty. They told me to get an independent report, which I did. That report agreed with the first one, faulty machine. They agreed to refund the purchase price, plus the cost of the INDEPENDENT REPORT which THEY ASKED FOR, but not the cost of the first one. I pointed out they were at liberty to accept the first report, but that they chose to GET A SECOND OPINION. Consequently, I expect to be reimbursed for BOTH reports. I kept on disputing their responses. After many refusals of my claim for reimbursement, they agreed to give me GIFT VOUCHERS which I believe may force me to spend it in their shops. I feel that they should reimburse me in CASH. The amount is £25.00. Any advise on this please ?. Thank you. Laskin

Hi all, Long story, which I will try to keep short for you! I purchased a Humax Freeview recorder for £199 in Jan 2016 on my debit card. Over time it developed lots of faults, such as random crashes, missed programs, freezing and even not turning on. After researching the product online, I decided to take it for a refund - Lots of similar stories from other users. This was within a year of purchasing it. The girl on the till wouldn't refund to my debit card as the card I used to purchase it had been reported lost/stolen. I was made to take a refund onto a gift card, which I reluctantly accepted, thinking I'd buy another freeview box from them anyway. After reviewing the options, I decided on a £400 TV instead. Bought the TV and the picture quality was awful, with vertical banding (dark black lines) particularly on one side of the screen and generally poor quality image quality when compared to the 10 year old TV it was replacing! I took this TV back and swapped for another of the same - this one also produced a poor quality image, I got in touch with Argos via their live chat feature on their website today. The girl I was chatting to called the store that I got the TV from (FastTrack) originally and she came back saying they would refund £200 cash and £200 to my new debit card as long as I could provide the long card number and expiry date. I printed the chat transcript, called my bank to get these details and took the card number, the transcript and all my receipts into the store for my refund. They denied ever saying this to the girl at the customer service centre and said that they cannot refund to my card without the card, which I explained was impossible as it was reported lost/stolen! They wouldn't do it with a printed bank statement showing the original transaction either. They also said the store has final say on the matter and gave me an 0345 number for head office, which I called tonight only to be told I have to email head office as they were "only customer service, so we don't have the authority to override the store's decision". No phone number for head office apparently?! Has this happened to anyone here and where do I stand? I don't want to keep buying "blind" at Argos and would prefer to take my money elsewhere - somewhere I can actually see the TV in action before purchasing. Thanks very much in advance for any advice you're able to give before I write to Argos Head Office tomorrow Looking at their returns and refunds policy suggests the following can be used as a proof of purchase. All of which I can produce. WHAT COUNTS AS PROOF OF PURCHASE? Any of these: Till/kiosk receipt confirmation email e-receipt your order number If you can’t find one of the above, don’t worry. We should be able to sort everything out if you have: your card/bank statement the email address used to buy your item Hmm. Surely, as I can provide all the above (bar the stolen/lost payment card) proves I am the person who purchased the Freeview box to start with, so why are they not prepared to refund me?

I recently bought a Origin Gaming Gift Card for my young nephew who is new to PC gaming. I bought it on the assumption that he (only being 8 years old) could activate Origins / EA games subscription service "Origin Access" which allows him to access a selection of EA games for a monthly fee of £3.99 I bought the card from a local Asda and thought it a great gift considering it stated clearly on the front of the card: " use this card for digital purchases - including full games, dlc & origin access subscription - no credit card required " (the key points of purchase being no credit card required and it can be used for Origin Access subscription) you cannot use these cards to buy Origin Access, even though the wording on the front clearly states you can. Upon speaking to Origin via webchat they stated that the card could not possibly have that wording on the cards as you cannot (nor have you ever been able to) use the gift cards for Origin access as its a subscription based service. However Asda (my local store) is selling a pile of them with them , all indicating you can use the cards for Origin Access - and this is in bold print on the actual cards themselves (not a Asda label, but actually printed clearly on the cards) Just a word of warning to anyone who buys these cards thinking like I did to use with Origin Access subscription, please do not buy them! As once you scratch the panel and enter the code on your Origin account, bang goes your refund, which is pretty annoying. Obviously you can use the gift card amount to buy a game etc but once again be careful with this one, as if the game exceeds the amount of the "gift" the extra you need to pay becomes a real headache as you dont get an option to pay the rest with a credit card etc.. well not without jumping through hoops & errors. I am in contact with both Asda and Origin at the moment, even sending photos of the card with the wording on it (as Origin need proof of the wording on the cards) To be fair, the card I purchased wasn't for a great deal of money and I wont be losing any sleep over it, although the principle of the matter is I bought the gift card on the assumption it could be used for Origin Access - when clearly it cannot be used for that !! Origin's attitude is pretty unapologetic and all they seem to be saying is you can still use the card to buy a game from us . Im pretty shocked a company the size of Electronic Arts (or Origin their kinda PC gaming subsidiary) are selling these cards with false information clearly printed on the front . I've contacted Asda regarding this too as in effect as the retailer they have some responsibility here be warned, dont buy Origin Gift Cards for Origin Access for use in the UK as your in for a big disappointment.

My Grand daughter purchased an Amazon Gift card at Tesco Metro store for my Christmas gift. She received - Gift card in display pack and a receipt as shown below. I had several other Amazon gift vouchers as well - so I logged on and started entering the numbers. To ensure no mix up - I put one number in - sent the thank you - put the card to one side. Get to this particular card above and I receive an 'invalid number' message. Checked number and thought perhaps the 2 x 8's could perhaps be 'B' so re entered - still receiving the message invalid. Spent 20 minutes trying to find a way to make contact with Amazon. Click on button for them to ring me immediately. 1 hour + later, I still have not received a resolution. 1st I give him the code - nothing - he says because it has 5 digits at the end of the grouping that there is something wrong. How odd - all the other cards have the same grouping... 4 digits-6 digits-5 digits. The receipt shows quite clearly that the card has been activated properly - the reference numbers in barcodes and receipt all match up - so what is the problem ? I asked if he was telling me that Tesco Metro were selling dodgy cards ? or whether anyone else who had purchased an Amazon Card from Tesco Metro, would be having the same problem as I was ? I gave every reference number off the card/the packaging and receipt - The call ended with the Amazon rep saying he would call me back in a day or so with a resolution ? It was suggested that maybe I would need to get the sender to return to Metro to find out the problem - erm, no way am I going to tell my grand daughter that a gift she has given me has caused so much hassle !! So, in the event that I do not receive a satisfactory resolution within say 24-48 hours - what are my options ?

My father has given his grandson a sum of money, less than 10k to help him with the purchase of a house. The solicitor acting for my son, now wants his grandad to supply ID and to prove who he is, with a declaration, and a utility bill. Grandad is 84 and we don't want to stress him unnecessarily. Do we have to comply with the solicitor, or is he being pedantic? Regards Paul.

If people give to charity via a giving site, for example, just giving, can they gift aid with there donation, or is that only by the registered person..

It's just a cash gift to me as he's "splashing the cash" after the sale of his deceased parents' house, but I don't know if I should declare it to the DWP, because they might then decide I don't need the ESA or HB at all and just use that money instead for a couple of months. I wouldn't put it past them, frankly. What should I do?

Hi, My account at Amazon.co.uk has been closed due to the number of returns. I'm sure most people are aware this happens on a regular basis. What I'm wondering is this. I had a gift worth £166 refunded into the account and now I'm being told I've lost this. I'm sure this is not legal to do so. In fact in my eyes it's theft. Before I returned the said item for the above credit I contacted Amazon's customer service explaining the CPU was overheating and they agree to refund the item. I've contracted the CIS team many times only to get a generic email back time after time. This of course is very frustrating and it seems they can only be contacted via email. My experience of the CIS team is one of pure ignorance to questions raised in my replies. I've asked for a link on their website where it states a refund in the form of a gift certificate can be legally deemed invalid upon account closure. A further question was raised in that if they are unhappy with a lot of return from customers why it don't change their policies. I have one further item I need to return as well which they also will not reply about. At the moment I'm looking into the charge back route for the item they won't reply about, and going to a small claims regarding the gift balance. I would however like an address to write to someone higher up before I start the above in motion. Anyone got any thoughts on this? Thank you. Gary.

Hello All, I'm looking for some advice, if possible In 2012 my wife and I were given a gift of £5000 by a friend who owned his own successful business after he found out we were in some financial difficulty. We refused the gift which he paid straight into our account, but he was adamant that it would be taken out on his company account and it would be written off. We didn't know if this was true or not but the money was gift with no strings attached. A few days later he called us to say he needed the money back as his accountant advised him that he was incorrect and the company could not write it off. We couldn't pay him back as the money was used to pay a credit card off. Being nice people that we are and seeing that he was in some distress about the situation (along with us now being in a position of having to pay back £5000 immediately) we approached our parents for the money and explained why, but they couldn't help - in their view it was gift which he decided to give us and got it wrong with his company accounts - why should they be put in a position of paying £5K. We told the friend we would get a loan or credit card to get it back to him but he told us to forget about it, it was his mistake and he would sort it out. 2 years later he contacted us wanting the money back. Again being nice people we said we would try to pay it back to help him, but it was not financially viable for us at that time and would need to look at the possibility of a monthly payment later in the year. That time has come and gone now, our circumstances haven't changed - we cant afford to help get the money back to him and he has taken legal advice - the solicitor told him to mediate the situation with two options 1. a monthly payment of £100 or 2. a one off payment of £4000 (£1000 less than the gift amount - which seems strange to me). It was personal letter from him, not from the solicitor. He has texts from my wife discussing how we could try and help get him the money back ie we would see how our circumstance were early next year and pay £100 a month - this was our good nature trying to help him resolve his mistake with his accounts. But he is taking it out of context and saying it was a loan which we agreed to which he is saying he can prove by using the text from my wife. He has no texts from us or contract in place with us saying it is a loan and will be paid back monthly etc etc. He is using the texts against us now, they were written in good faith to try and help him out when we could and we're fearful of our what position is now and what may happen if its goes further. Can anyone shed some light on what our best course of action is. His personal letter demands a reply by the end of the month, choosing and payment option or confirming we will not pay, at which point he will take it further. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read.

I'll keep this short - I have a gift card which clearly shows a printed start date in 2012 and a card expiry date in 2016. In much smaller letters are also the short T&Cs that say the value will expire 24 months from first load. When I received this I noticed the 2 'facts' contradicted one another but assumed as it was clearly printed "card expires xx/xx/2016" we would have no issues. To back this up I actually emailed customer services back in '14 to check and was not told which is correct, but in actual fact Thomson always honour expired gift cards and vouchers ///:razz: So fast forward a yeara nd of course I try to redeem it and I get a card expired notice - I half expected that but the issue I have is in resolving it. I have tried phoning customer services who just say ignore the date and go by T&Cs; they can't help and I must call my local brand; they can't help either and told me to contact the branch it was purchased from....they too can't help and say head office say 24 months that's that and to ignore the email from Thomsons back in '14 becasue they made a mistake. I can't believe the lack of interest or help in this. It's in black and white that the card expires in 16. I am confident in a court of law they would see this as either a mistake or misleading / confusing information; even without the email from the rep; however I have no more avenues to try and not sure the most effective action to take from here.

My wife received a fashion catalogue from Afibel Ltd last November promising a luxury coat allegedly worth approx. £80 in return for an order over a certain minimal value. The ordered goods arrived after an extended interval and only after several premium-rate progress enquiry phone calls. However since then we have been fobbed off and downright lied to as to when the coat might be coming. First we had to wait for a claim form (which never came), then we had to write a letter to say we never received the form, then we had to wait for the end of the promotion (31st January), now we are told that they have no idea when the coat will come as it will be despatched by their French parent company. In the meantime we have had a series of catalogues of the Damart / Readers Digest type - each offering a ludicrously expensive free gift in return for a very small order. The most incredible of these came yesterday, offering a Singer Sewing Machine worth £179.99 in return for a modest order. My wife has today posted a letter given them a 14 day ultimatum to deliver the coat, with failure to do so resulting in the seeking of Trading Standards and Media assistance. Have any other forum members had similar problems with this company?

Hello all! my mum isnt very internet savy, and she replied to an email she recieved which was to fill out a questionaire and recieve a free gift(a set of creams), she did this, then gave he credit card info for the postage and packaging. As is typical with these things, all was not as it seemed. She received the set of creams and after I looked up the company, could see nothing but bad reviews/other people getting charged large amounts to their bank accounts. I then got my mum to cancel her credit card. and then rang the company. I spoke to a very rude american chap, who insisted that I should pay near 100 dollars for the "gift" received. After the call, he sent my mother this email, so obviously tried to immediately charge her(even though their supposed trial period they mention in the email had not finished) He was very rude on the phone, and in the email theres undertones of threats, Shes obviously worried, and if I had known was going to give her credit card info out to a random company I would have stopped her. I just wondered what your thoughts were, and if this company actually have a leg to stand on. Thanks The email reads as follows: ----------------------------------------- By placing your order, you had to agree to the Terms and Conditions of our risk-free trial offer, which stated that you would have 2 weeks to evaluate our product completely free of risk to you. Since you appear to have blocked your card, we urge that you enter a valid credit card number, to where we can charge you the amount owed. As a gesture of goodwill, we are happy to let you keep the product at the promotional recurring rate for our privileged customers with long-standing subscriptions, in place of the full price, and thus HAVE YOU PAY THE LOWEST POSSIBLE RATE, GBP 49.95. Your not having returned the item back to us, while you were in your 14-day trial, and refusing to pay for it, at the same time, is tantamount to customer fraud, and we would prefer to sort this amicably. If you refuse to cooperate/pay, we would have no alternative, but to report you to the relevant institutions, giving all your personal information, and instigating a fraud dispute with your bank. Please bear in mind that we have recorded your IP address and it matches your specified delivery address location. Furthermore, we have proof of delivery of the trial package to your address, which also matches your IP address. This could result in consumer fraud investigation towards you, and could potentially affect your overall standing with your credit card company (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, etc.). I would like to point out that we work within all card associations rules and regulations. PLEASE PROCEED TO EFFECT PAYMENT OF THE DISCOUNTED RATE, IMMEDIATELY. We trust you will render your full cooperation in this matter. Kind regards, Tyler Customer Satisfaction Specialist Stemologica,

my brother wants to buy me a brand new car and im receiving support group esa plus mobility low rate pip so my question is can I accept my brothers offer of a new car ?. I know this is a strange question but these days just covering my back.

Hi, Recently I purchased an air compressor from an online store for £200. With this compressor they offered a "free" 5 piece accessory kit. One of these items was a tyre inflator/pressure gauge and this has now become faulty. I have contacted them to ask for a repair or replacement and they have informed me that as it was a free item then there is no warranty and they are under no obligation to deal with it. How do I stand legally? Although they call it "free" it is not really free as I had to buy a £200 item in order to get it. Many thanks guys.

Hello all, apologies if we are not posting in the right section. We are a couple who decided to buy our first house. We found a property where we made an offer that has been accepted so that we started all the paperwork both with broker and solicitors. A part of the deposit comes by a gift from family and as normal the broker asked us for a gift letter saying that that money is a gift and that there is not any financial interest in the property. The letter has been made, signed by the member of the family who transferred us the money and gave to the broker who will forward that to the lender. The problem is that now the solicitors contacted us saying that they want a gift letter too and that to prepare the extra documentation will charge us around 100£. We told them that we have already the letter that has been approved by the broker and that will be sent to the lender by him but they don’t want listen reasons. They said that they have to make also the interest of the lender. This sounds very weird to us as we thought that if we pay them, they should make our interests and not the ones of the lender. Anyone experienced the same thing/issue? This request of an additional gift letter is really necessary and legally required? Thank you very much in advance.

Hi all, My colleague offered me a cycle surgery gift card when I left my previous company. While working abroad, I emailed cycle surgery ltd (using the email at back of gift card) to explain that I was traveling for a year. The email bounced back. Now cycle surgery tells me they don't review/extend gift card. why a gift card has an expiry date? it is just a "right to take people money". There is no need for a expiry date. I want to complain or make an action on christmas day. Please I need some advices, Many thanks, Vydei

Can anyone help or advise on the following:- My two boys each received a £10 JD Sport Gift Card for Xmas last year. They recently tried to use them only to be told that they had expired. The Gift Cards are only valid for 12 months so must have been purchased early December 2013. Are they worthless or do I have any rights? Thanks in advance TS

Summary: ex girlfriend books a holiday and invites me along saying she will pay. (She came into £300,000 recently). 4 weeks after the holiday she decides to end the relationship and is now sending me emails asking me to pay back £700. Can she take me to court ? Should I reply to the emails. ? Apologies if this is the wrong section. I am new to the forum and very worried so posting out of desperation.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/06/royal-mail-parcel-promotion-bigger-gift-christmas

General heads up on this Under the T&C's it states "You are also entitled to a £70 Compliments card which you can redeem at over 130 high street stores. You will receive the card within 28 days of your supply start date or your tariff switch date." been told by British Gas Social Media Team via email this " Dear John Thanks for your email. I’m sorry you have not received your Gift Card. I have spoken to Edenred which is the company that send out the cards on our behalf. They have advised when your card was applied for by us, there were a few problems with the order which affected a percentage of customers. This has been rectified and they are arranging for the cards to be sent out. Therefore the card will be with you no later than the 21 February 2014. I apologise again for the delay in receiving this, but please be assured the card is on its way out to you. I’ve set the review for your complaint to 21 February 2014, to ensure this has been received. " I switch to this Tariff on the 2nd Jan 2014 when it was advertised have they broken the contract that was agreed on for the supply of the gift card within 28 days. and if any compensation to be sort after possible due the failure to supply goods and services. Regards

Vouchers, or gift cards, can be a great idea at Christmas. Give them to a teacher, a colleague, or a teenager perhaps, and you can show you have at least thought about them, without second-guessing their tastes. But last year thousands of consumers were left out of pocket, when HMV, Blockbuster, Comet and Jessops all went out of business after the Christmas period. Most vouchers were eventually honoured but only after a period of uncertainty. In the case of Jessops, now under new management, some people were offered replacement gifts, but customers with vouchers worth, in total, more than half a million pounds never saw their money back. The fact is, if you buy a gift card, there is no guarantee it will be honoured if the shop goes out of business. Advice So what should consumers do if they are considering buying gift cards or vouchers this Christmas? First of all, they should watch their local high street carefully. Blockbuster, the video chain, has already announced its intention to call in the administrators, for the second time. "I'm really concerned that there's going to be something again this Christmas," says Deborah Harvey from Newport. "And it's going to be too late for anyone to do anything about it," she warns. The UK Gift Card and Voucher Association advises customers to think very carefully about where they buy vouchers from. It says as long as you trust the retailer, you should trust their vouchers. But the reverse must be equally true. If you wish to buy more than £100 of vouchers, make sure you buy them on a credit card. But otherwise there are still no guarantees that your money will be safe. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24868288

:???: am looking for some advice, as to where i stand with a gift certificate as a present, i have gone on to book this and received email from them, which was my experience boarding pass copy and pasted on here Voucher number: EXP669-******** Participant name: STEPHEN SANSUM Experience: The Tank Driving Experience, Stirling Booking date: Sunday, August 4th, 2013, confirmed Booking time: 2:00PM - 3:00PM, confirmed Location: Stirlingshire Participants: This voucher entitles one person to the experience Experience duration: Experience duration 1 hour, drive time over 20 minutes Weather: Can be done in most weather conditions Restrictions: Minimum age 16. Driver height over 5 ft. Season runs April - November Spectators: Welcome to observe from the viewing gallery. Refreshments available onsite. Spectators can ride in the tank for £5 (payable on the day) Validity: This voucher is valid for one year from the date of purchase Important Notes ** Location This event takes place at Absolutely Scotland, Gateside Road, Cambusbarron, Stirling. ** Directions Please see this map link to the exact location: tinyurl.com/abscotland. Please DO NOT use sat-nav to find this venue as the postcode is approximate. Please familiarise yourself with the location using the detailed directions at http://www.giftexperiencescotland.com/tankdriving_directions.pdf ** Time Please arrange to be at the venue no less than 15 minutes before the booking time stipulated. Failure to arrive on time may result in you missing your booking slot. ** Clothing Please wear sensible, flat shoes for this driving event and dress warmly, even on sunny days. Please bring one form of ID with you on the day. ** Weather Should this event be cancelled because of weather then we will email you. Please check your emails before departing to the event. Experience Supplier & Venue Absolutely Scotland Tank Driving Absolutely Scotland (Tank Driving) Castle hill, Cambusbarron By Stirling Stirling FK7 9QU Please make sure that you are familiar with the location of the experience venue. Get driving directions by following this link. i have read this and the important notes box, then under this box is another with the address and a link to follow for getting directions, although in the important notes section it has an address, which has to be copied and pasted to get to, i have just presumed the link they have enclosed for the directions is the same thing, so i have followed their link and printed out the directions, directions through google maps, and i have followed them online right to the destination end, where you see some 4x4s training ground, and these directions have pointed this out to be the location, on arriving here their is no clear signs for the driving experiethere isnce, and their fore i have gone to the club shop and they have explained the woman is further down the road on the right along a dirt track, needless to say i never found this gate or dirt track, after an hour trying to find this place i have given up, a couple houses i have stopped and asked at knew it went on somewhere in the area, but were not sure where exactly it was. when i have copied and pasted the address in the important notes it is different instructions, where it does take you to the same spot where the 4x4s were, but a closed gate has to be opened then down a long dirt track, although at this spot there is no signs or indications to this, i have found the boarding pass a bit confusing as it does tell you to follow this link for directions, maybe my own fault for not coping address and pasting, as they now say i missed my slot and nothing can be done, therefore my voucher is now spent, anyone know where i would stand on this, thanks for any advice