To think Toys R Us gift cards should not be wiped after 2 years?

[ballstoit]

On DD2's first Christmas (2009), she really didn't need anything, so I asked friends and family who wanted to buy gifts, to get her gift tokens for Toys R Us so I could get her something when she needed it.

So, she has just started to be able to pedal a tricycle, and I thought it would be nice to get her a new trike of her own. I went to Toys R Us this morning, she chose a trike (well, I did, and then helped her to 'choose' it!), and we went to checkout to pay with her gift cards. Except that they are apparently wiped after 2 years, if they are not used, and all have a nil balance.

AIBU to expect that gift cards should not be wiped? DD2 has lost £85 through Toys R Us dodgy policy, and the fact that I didn't read the (tiny) small print on the back of the gift card which explains this will happen. And Toys R Us have gained £85 for 6 pieces of credit card sized plastic...bastards.

Paper gift vouchers won't expire, gift cards will. It's as simple as the fact that paper vouchers have nothing on them which marks the date of purchase so it's impossible to tell when it's been bought in order to enforce an expiry date. Even if they changed the design every few years and declared the old ones defunct that would be unfair because someone who bought one 2 weeks before the design change wouldn't have as long to spend it as someone who bought it 2 weeks after a design change.

Gift cards have expiry dates because they can, because when you swipe the magnetic card it links to the database which will tell you when that card had been used.

I don't really see the problem with everlasting vouchers. I can see how it's advantageous to the shop for them to expire, though.

I work in CeX and our vouchers are in the form of a till receipt, you can tell the software must have required an expiry date to be entered because they are valid for 1000 years and one week Usually though the print on the paper expires within about 2 years anyway, so it's a bit of a detective hunt to work out what the number is to enter it into the system...

If you have a gift card that you don't want to expire you can just pop in and buy something small every few months. Or use it to buy christmas/birthday presents for others!

I have never found the staff in any of the smiths stores I have used to be anything but helpful.

Paper gift vouchers often have the date stamped/written on them so do expire.

Paper vouchers do expire, there is often a use ny fate on the back.

sirzy I've never found any Smiths staff to be unhelpful either.

I've found the constant pushing of extra items at the point of sale and their lack of knowledge of the products Smiths sells irritating but that's not their fault. I've even felt sorry for them whenever a customer with a train to catch snaps: 'No. I don't want a bloody Galaxy! Just give me my paper and let me go.'

It's the fault of Smiths because the company is a poor retailer, more interested in profit than customer service and staff training and welfare.

With gift cards it resorts to something that though not strictly illegal is sharp practice.

If more people were willing to argue about it rather than blaming their fellow customers for not being quick enough off a mark arbitrarily set by these companies then perhaps they would change their policies.