Zavvi gift cards

[RickB]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but....went to Zavvi yesterday (boxing day) to use my 2 sons xmas presents - 2 x £30 gift cards, purchased by their cousin for them back in the beginning of november. After spending the best part of 3/4 of an hour battling the crowds in the store to find some dvds and finding the back of the queue my wife was approached by a member of staff & asked if we were paying by gift card. When we said yes he apologised & told us they were not honouring gift cards or vouchers as they were in administration, then gave us a piece of paper with a statement about vouchers & gift cards purchased after 27th november & a number to call to speak to the administrators, we told him they were purchased as a xmas gift back on Nov 7th (we had the original receipt) and he said that we would have even less chance of getting anything back in that case! Is this legal as it seems to me they have taken money for what now turns out to be for nothing? Is there anything I can do other than phoning the administrators?It seems a bit like me going into the shop helping myself to some games, dvds etc promising to pay for them in a few weeks then saying sorry I'm a bit short I won't be paying now! Before anyone says its our own fault we should have used them sooner, they were in an envelope with the instruction not to open them till xmas day as the boys cousin is in the navy & wouldn't be here for xmas. Any & all usefull ideas appreciated.

[GreatWonder]

This must be an awful let down for everyone who gave or received Zavvi vouchers over Christmas. I'm sure that the administrators would not have left themselves open to 1000's of potential small claim's proceedings so although it's not any help, they will probably have the relevant paperwork to get themselves out of having to honour these vouchers for the time being.

 

If Zavvi is bought out I'm sure the new owners would also have to 'buy' the responsiblity of honouring all the vouchers that were sold in the run up to the company going belly-up. Again, not a lot of use right now but hopefully they won't become worthless bits of paper and plastic.

 

Technically you've handed over money in good faith for what may amount to nothing. I wonder if the gift cards / vouchers came with this clause in the terms and conditions!

 

Thankfully the only vouchers I received this year were for HMV.

[RickB]

The only thing it says on the card is about it having to be used within 24 months & for full terms & conditions see the zavvi website, but on the site only says cards are not redeemable online & the terms & conditions are all about the website use. It does state however that none of the terms & conditions affect your statutory rights...well surely its my statutory right to get my money back or goods to the value of as this was the original contract! I feel for the staff which is why I didn't take exception with the bloke yestrday but the administrators are obviously not interested as its now been in the press that any cards etc purchased before 27th november will definitely not be honoured ( honoured thats rich!)

[upto the eyeballs]

Don't want to promote shoplifting but......................The administrators will be taking their money before ANYTHING else!

[buzby]

The gift cards are only a promise to supply, they have no monetary value - and as such the stated value in these vouchers are usually, 0.0001p. It is treated as in 'in-store' credit, and if the firms goes into difficulties, then they can decide not to honour them.

 

This is a well trodden path, as it requires the specific agreement of the new owner(s) to take on these 'credit notes' and not many do unless they have the funds to ensure the goodwill continues. Virgin Megastores had plenty, Zavvi has, er, none - so I don't see this happening. (Sadly).

[bashmore75]

Being a member of the general public who has a £50 Zavvi gift card I decided to run a survey to find out how much money Zavvi has taken.

I have therefore setup a survey at where members of the public can enter in the value of their giftcards. The site will then show how much has been registered and how much Zavvi owes the owners of the giftcards. Please note that this is by no means related to the administrators or Zavvi, you should still try to get your money back from the administrators

Edited January 1, 2009 by ukaviator
Libellous comment - Link removed