AIBU to ask a restaurant to honour an expired gift voucher?

[Mum2BeRants]

So gutted and just need space to rant! I’m going to email the restaurant but unsure whether to go for begging or complaining!

Bought my partner a £50 voucher for his favourite restaurant as a birthday gift. This wasn’t cheap for me as I was 8 months pregnant and on maternity allowance and we had a lot of unexpected joint costs this year. But I wanted to buy it as he sadly had to miss a special event on his birthday when we thought I’d gone into labour on the way there!

Anyways gave birth a few weeks later, obviously not in a place to immediately use the voucher. Baby’s now 8 months so started looking at booking and it’s EXPIRED!! I can’t believe it. 6 month expiry date. I completely took it for granted that 12 months would be the absolutely soonest expiry, more likely 2 years+. Wasn’t a priority to double check in the midst of new born baby chaos and recovery.

What a punch in the face.

Didn’t say 6 month expiry in the email receipt. And just in tiny small print on the website.

I don’t think we’ve got a leg to stand on but also don’t think I have anything to lose sending an email pleading with them for mercy! Anyone else had similar and had any luck?

Why though? Just discuss it beforehand. You were rude for no good reason.

Your review wouldn’t make me think negatively of the restaurant, or put me off, it would just make me think you are a moron?

I’d 👎 your review as unhelpful.

Nice,

But the six month limit wasn’t printed anywhere on the voucher?

I agree. It's silly that the expiry is not written on the voucher.

You can ask, but they aren’t obliged to.

We’re not Ireland or America. Best you can do is a lighthearted email asking for goodwill.

Don’t bang on about a baby as Thry won’t be interested - just say you forgot.

It’ll be yes ir no.

Really funny. I'm on a website for doctors and one has come on saying their voucher hasn't been honoured as it's out of date by a few days. It was six by Nico restaurant. Not the same person but interesting. I've had a few vouchers as presents and I now check their expiry dates religiously and book them. We got several as wedding presents so had to use them quite quickly over a year.

How did you find out it had expired?

I’d ring them and explain. Say you’re regulars and you’ve had a baby etc. We had one for a local Italian that closed down and the new owners honoured a voucher we had. It’s good for business

I'd just tell them that I'd bought a voucher on x date, got distracted with the arrival of your new baby and noticed it had expired. I'd love to visit them and wondered, since it was just recently expired, if they wouldn't mind extending the date of the voucher a little, so I could still use it please? (Something along those lines).

That way you ask nicely, take personal responsibility for your mistake instead of blaming them, and keep it short and sweet.

I'm afraid a bad review over an expired voucher wouldn't be a problem for me because I'd see it as a failing on the part of the person posting the review, and dismiss it as sour grapes.

ai can help you draft something for this with the right tone

I got given a voucher which had been purchased from Groupon. It had a two month limit!

I think 6 months is short too! There’s no harm in contacting them and asking them to extend it. Extenuating circumstances and all that. Good luck!

Literally no one thinks ‘oh they’ve given me a cash transfer, how impersonal.

Most do

If only they had been thoughtful enough to restrict where I can spend it and how soon I must use it

Very few think this way.

Interested to hear how you got on. I think it would be harsh if they didn't honour it.

Ooh Auntie Sue has bought me a Boots gift voucher ❤️ it really touched me that she knows me so well and that I use toiletries. How splendidly personal.

…Goes to Boots to buy to stuff that’s cheaper in Tesco, looks in bag - FFS, where did I leave auntie Sue’s voucher!

Even right down to your last post here, you're still blaming the restaurant. They are at no way at fault here, you are @Mum2BeRants

And don't do as a pp suggested and berate them on Trust Pilot etc, because that's a horrible thing to do, and they will have every right to tell Trust Pilot to take the review down. They could even do you for libel.

I'm also not a fan of vouchers actually. DH got one for his birthday earlier in the year from one of our DC, and it covered about 25 different stores. He couldn't find anything he wanted in any of these stores and couldn't use it. So I had it, and managed to buy something I wanted with the money, and he bought something online that he wanted for £30, and just got it with his debit card.

.

From Citizens Advice:

Expiry Dates: UK retailers are not required by law to offer a minimum validity period (unlike in Ireland or the US). However, most major retailers voluntarily adopt the UKGCVA (Gift Card & Voucher Association) recommendation of a minimum of 24 months.

Have you asked them!?

6 months is standard for restaurants , likely big chains may do longer some times but it’s an impact on cash flow, the restaurant has done nothing wrong, arguing the font was too small and it should have been more prominent is embarassing. They won’t give a shit about your feedback

email them and say you’ve an expired voucher, you had a baby, is there any way to honour it as it’s your husbands birthday , don’t go on it’s a big spend for you as they will then know you won’t be a regular.

ultimately uou both made a mistake, of course you check the expiry date when buying a voucher, they may say yes, they may say no, accept it with grace if they say no, and don’t go havering on about short expiry dates and too small font, they will just roll their eyes and think they dodged a bullet.

Retail is different, this is a restaurant.

Just to be clear, as someone mentioned Groupon. If you have bought something on a deal, or through one of those 'Experience Day' companies, the company actually giving you the experience/meal/ manicure don't see any money until the voucher is presented to them for a percentage of what you paid for the gift.
If the voucher has expired, they will literally get nothing for providing the service. So please don't assume 'they have already been paid' unless it is one of their own vouchers sold in-house.

If it helps, retail is selling goods to the public, usually in shops. Restaurants legally and commercially are defined a food industry or hospitality.