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?

TA's with a degree - what puts you off becoming teachers?

A little horrified at some of the things some teachers are reading into their gifts. It's just a gift, it's not a measure of the difficulty of your job, the number of hours you work or your qualification level. Nor does it mean we're ignorant of the difference in roles or are playing some kind of "nurture stuff" top trumps. The fact we may appreciate what a TA does and the relationship they may form with a child does not in any way detract from our appreciation of what a teacher does for our kids. We just don't grade our gifts by responsibility level. You have a pay packet that recognises that. When my office hand out treats at Christmas, they don't give managers double!

Though also sounds like the TA job at DCs' school is quite different to leccy's. At our school I'd say if anything the "nurture stuff" and parent contact is all the teacher, while the TA is doing the grotty background stuff like clearing up the painting table. Most years DC have been much more attached to teacher than TA. Though sure that would be the other way round for kids who have particular needs that mean lots of TA time or a 1:1.

TA's with a degree - what puts you off becoming teachers?

I'm now 45 and spent almost 10 years getting my degree. I can't afford to do teacher training but I'm quite happy in my current role being much appreciated by colleagues and parents alike 😁