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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

378 replies

Clazzer1 · 19/12/2017 21:43

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?

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 20/12/2017 08:31

I would definitely not return to the store again to try and sort this out. Not 5 days before Christmas.

LoverOfCake · 20/12/2017 08:32

The JL website clearly states that the vouchers should be treated as cash. So, if you go to the bank, draw out £500 and are then mugged/burgled and that £500 is stolen do you think the bank should be obliged to replace it?

It's not the OP's fault that her car was broken into. But it's not JL's fault either. She bought the cards and they were stolen. That is not the responsibility of the retailer.

mousemoose · 20/12/2017 08:32

Honestly, some of the responses here make it obvious why the Little Britain ‘computer says no’ skit was so flipping accurate!

‘In their t&c it says not refundable so even though they are 100% able to, cancel them, cover themselves and screw you over, ending up £535 richer themselves, you should just bleeeeeaaattt like a good sheeple and go along with it. Because, you know, the t&cs say so’.

OP, if it had been paper vouchers or they had already been spent or JL had said, sorry we can’t block them, then you would have been out of luck.

But that they would brazenly say, ‘yip, we’ve cancelled them so no loss to us at all, in fact since you’re immediately repurchasing we’re quids in, HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND COME BACK SOON!’ Is totally outrageous. I think with a bit of social media you’ll get it back but if not do try trading standards, even to make a stand! It’s not okay to phenomenally rip people off and then bleat, ‘but we wrote it in our t&cs...’

Also I’m sorry for your car theft and the theft of your children’s presents. How bloody awful for you, you poor thing. Flowers Cake Brew

BurnTheBlackSuit · 20/12/2017 08:33

I had also missed the bit where the OP had already bought replacement JL vouchers, so presumably now wants a cash refund...

Spartaca · 20/12/2017 08:33

It isn't though. The cards have been cancelled and now won't work, so can't be used.

mousemoose · 20/12/2017 08:36

If it’s not JL’s responsibility, then they should not be exploiting a horrible crime by using it to profit themselves to the tune of several hundred pounds. THAT’S the issue for me.

ferntwist · 20/12/2017 08:40

YANBU. I can’t see how they can justify this. They are a multi-million pound retailer as you say. They should be named and shamed for these sharp practices on social media. For once I hope the Daily Mail does pick up the story!

k2p2k2tog · 20/12/2017 08:44

he cards have been cancelled and now won't work

According to someone on the helpline who gave wrong info in the first place....

WaxOnFeckOff · 20/12/2017 08:45

I think it's all very well for them to say they should be considered as cash, but then why do companies then say that the value on them expires? Cash doesn't expire (though it would eventually be worth very little in all likelihood).

I think Gift Cards are actually a bit of a scandal and should be looked at.

They could very easily cancel the cards as they will have specific numbers and are all electronic now. They can also be of assistance to the police if an attempt to use them is made wither on-line or in store.

I'd definitely keep pursuing this OP.

wherethevioletsgrow · 20/12/2017 08:46

It is exactly the same. It is not the value of the pieces of card that is the issue here, it is what they represent - the ability to exchange them for goods of that value

It's not the same because those vouchers are now zero value as they have been blocked. The OP has paid JL £500 and nobody can use the vouchers to exchange them for goods. Therefore JL have benefited as to £500.

In the apple scenario, it costs apple money to issue a new handset. If a handset worth £500 was stolen and they issued a free replacement, they would have lost £500.

Therefore, the two situations are entirely different. I can see the voucher as cash argument where the voucher is not capable of being blocked and someone could spend it, but this has not happened here.

whiskyowl · 20/12/2017 08:48

I think this is mean. I don't give a shit what "policy" is - it is just mean. I agree with violets that JL are benefitting from crime.

Gift cards are the most MASSIVE rip-off as well. They go out of date, and you lose the entire contents of them.

LostInShoebiz · 20/12/2017 08:51

Cash does actually expire when new notes replace old ones. Generally conditions state you can either cash in a card near expiry or transfer the balance to a new card. However not all cards allow this. Ultimately, a gift card is bought under contract with a private company and you sign up to their individual terms and conditions when you do. Don't like JL terms, buy a different card, simple. Most people wouldn't buy a £500 trip abroad without reading terms and conditions so why spend £500 on gift cards without being aware of Ts and Cs. The whole situation is harsh on the OP and I am sure virtually all posters do feel for her, but she's made a bad bargain by signing on to terms that favour the retailer and then the worst happened.

WaxOnFeckOff · 20/12/2017 08:52

But it's not JL's fault either. She bought the cards and they were stolen. That is not the responsibility of the retailer.

But it's really not cash. If you took £500 out the bank and it was stolen, of course the bank wont replace it as they have lost the money as well and there is no way that that cash can be stopped from being used by the thief.

In this scenario, JL get to have their cake and eat it. they have sold £500 of gift cards that can now not be redeemed so they have the £500 credit. I think it would be appropriate to charge an admin fee for the replacement but they should be replaced.

StripySocksAndDocs · 20/12/2017 08:56

Who's responsible for the loss of plastic cards is irrelevant.

Its not the same as rrplaconh an iPhone. The plastic bit of a gift card isn't what was purchased. The OP bought credit for someone else to use in the future. That credit is still there. The cards just allow access to the credit. The credit the op bought can't be accessed as the card was blocked. This could easily be replace.

The cash doesn't have to be refunded. But the cards an be replaced.

Plus gift vouchers aren't like cash. Try using your Waitrose one in Tesco.

StripySocksAndDocs · 20/12/2017 08:57

rrplaconh = replacing. One impressive typo.

Firesuit · 20/12/2017 08:59

So, if you go to the bank, draw out £500 and are then mugged/burgled and that £500 is stolen do you think the bank should be obliged to replace it?

But in the OP scenario than bank have got the £500 back, but are pocketing the money and not refunding it to her account.

diddl · 20/12/2017 09:01

If they know that the cards haven't been used & have cancelled them so that they cannot be used, you'd think that they would have to reissue or refund?

Have they not stolen from Op?

CosmicCanary · 20/12/2017 09:02

Wow there are some gits on this thread.

OP I hope that they give you your money.

WaxOnFeckOff · 20/12/2017 09:09

I can see the point of shops having some sort of deminimus so that there aren't millions of cards with pennies left on them that are taking space up on systems and servers which will cost them to maintain. I can also understand that there would be some sort of fee to replace these cards to cover the cancellation and the cost of more plastic/paper cards.

Keeping the value of the £500 is as a PP says theft as far as I can see. there are two crimes here, the original theft and the one by JL.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 20/12/2017 09:21

They won't give you a cash refund. That's illegal under money laundering regulations.

tiggytape · 20/12/2017 09:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jellycat1 · 20/12/2017 09:32

John Lewis is being EXTREMELY unreasonable. There is no logic to what they saying

FlouncyDoves · 20/12/2017 09:36

Regardless of legality, one would have thought a company of JL’s standing and publicly cultivated image of being a moral bastion of British shopping would either reissue the cards or refund the OP in this situation.

Had the cards been used then that would be tough. But as they have been able to cancel them it seems churlish to leave the OP high and dry.

I also, in this situation, wouldn’t have rebought the gift vouchers, and certainly wouldn’t have done so from JL.

iBiscuit · 20/12/2017 09:36

Elton I was thinking that too, but presumably they could refund to whichever credit or debit card op used to buy the replacement vouchers?

passemoilevin · 20/12/2017 09:38

Really hope you get a good outcome OP. What an absolutely shit thing to happen just before Christmas Sad