AIBU to expect Waitrose/John Lewis to give me back my £500?

[Clazzer1]

I had my car stolen last night. This would be bad enough in itself but Inside my car was over £500 of Waitrose / John Lewis gift cards that have been stolen along with all my children's Christmas presents.

As I still had the receipt for these gift cards I was able to give JL the gift card numbers and they were able to confirm that nobody had used them and they were able to successfully block anyone from from using them in the future. Sounds good - so you think they would issue new gift cards to me - WRONG.

Waitrose/ John Lewis policy is to NOT refund or reissue gift cards. This means they have my money, they have stopped anybody from using the vouchers I bought, they have confirmed that NOTHING has been spent from these gift cards but they are now withholding this money and refusing to give it back or provide a replacement. I am totally shocked at this response from such a respectable retailer. They are no better than the thief that stole them in the first place.

These gift cards were the school collection money that the parents had collected for a gift for several teachers and teaching assistants To withhold this from us is a true disgrace. AIBU to expect a multi million pound retailer like Waitrose / John Lewis to do the right thing and provide a replacement?

Have you tried Twitter or Facebook? I hope social media would be your friend here.

Perhaps they are assuming that you will be able to claim on your insurance ?

I'm really sorry OP but this is why you should never leave valuables in your car.

They are very clear that you should treat them as cash - I'm sorry but YABU.

As you still have the receipt you should be able to hopefully reclaim on your insurance.

Unfortunately it does state no replacement on their website. Can you claim on your car insurance or via a credit card if you used one to purchase them .

£500 for teachers' presents?
(I'm a teacher)

YABU; it's not their fault or their problem that you left them unattended in your car and someone stole them.

Its not Waitroses fault that you left them in the car which was subsequently stolen.

Claim through your car insurance.

Having said that, they have made at least one exception in the past

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-3514473/ASK-TONY-Wedding-thieves-stole-100-gift-card-John-Lewis-won-t-help.html

Yes Zaalitje I think I will try the social media route but I am not very prolific thin those areas and doubt they would be able to make enough noise

Speckledy Hen I have tried that but my Car insurance only cover £200 and there is a £200 excess. I think it is wrong that they can track the cards exactly and have cancelled them so they know they can never be used and yet they hold the money - surely in this day and age that is not an acceptable policy for a retail giant.

That’s really appalling. I’m surprised that John Lewis would be so unreasonable. Have you written to their Head Office?

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-3073364/Newlyweds-warn-stolen-John-Lewis-gift-vouchers-t-cancel.html

Google tells me they don't cancel them - although it doesn't explain why.

My guess is that although they can access the card details and see it hasn't been used, they don't routinely do so every time a card is used in store.

Imagine as a customer being in a queue behind someone and having to wait for the staff to check the cards weren't blocked, every time?

I expect they've chosen not to implement a costly IT solution to check every single card used.

Are you sure they said they could block them?

You have my sympathy though - shitty thing to happen, and these days I can see why you'd think they could be cancelled.

They were left in the car for 1 hour - I have had to stay with my sister over Christmas (long story) and I had gone home to pick up all the presents, I arrived back at 9.30 and the kids were still awake - I left them in a locked car for 1 hour until they were safely asleep and then went out to get all the presents - the car had gone.

Leccybill - it is for 2 teachers and 3 teaching assistants with all the mums over 2 classes contributing

I also found another thread that said technically JL don't get the gift card money until the card is spent in store. If this is true then while you have lost £500, they have not gained it, and were they to replace the card they would lose £500.

I only think it's unreasonable if they really can block them. I expect they can't.

My guess is that although they can access the card details and see it hasn't been used, they don't routinely do so every time a card is used in store

I'm fairly sure it'd be done automatically,.in the same way that eg a debit card is checked.

Wolfie great bit of victim blaming there - not nice

Sorry OP. There are some bastards out there.
If they have tracked and blocked them so they know they haven't and can't be used, and you have a receipt, I think it's a completely stupid policy not to replace them

Is the number on the gift card recorded on the customer's receipt? I am confused as to how they would know the number on the card to cancel without the actual card. Am I being thick?

Cannotwillnot - I think I will have to try that.

When I called the voucher line for JL the lady who I spoke to said they can block the cards as they are all electronic now (not the old paper vouchers) and that if I went back to the Waitrose store where I bought them the day before, with my receipt, they would transfer the balances onto new cards. When I got there, there was much discussion on the phone between the Waitrose manager and the JL voucher line. It appeared to boil down to the fact that the "good will" gesture would hit the Waitrose budget rather than the John Lewis one and the Waitrose head office said no.

Have you checked your Contents insurance? This often has cover for cash and valuables taken outside the home, though they might refuse to pay on the grounds that your car insurance should cover it.

I also found another thread that said technically JL don't get the gift card money until the card is spent in store. If this is true then while you have lost £500, they have not gained it, and were they to replace the card they would lose £500.

If they have not 'gained' the £500 then how do they classify the money that the OP gave to them? It is sitting in their bank account.

It's well known gift cards are equivalent to cash. If you'd lifted £500 from a Barclays branch and left it in the car, would you expect it back if it had been taken, even if you had the serial number of each note? Likely not.

It's very hard on you but they were left unattended and one hour or ten, it wasn't ideal. This is what insurance is for.

If this isn’t cover on your car insurance would it be covered on your house insurance? My house insurance covers personal belongings that I take outside the home.

Sparkling brook - the receipt shows a number of then the last 4 digits of the gift card (much like a receipt shows your debit card number) with this and the transaction ID (also on the receipt) Waitrose and John Lewis can pull up the transaction on their system and the system holds the full gift card number.