Erin McCarthy | The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
Ashley Battista Ridolfi had been saving her spa present card for the ultimate weeks of her being pregnant.
Her husband gave it for her birthday in February, figuring out she’d take pleasure in a premium therapeutic massage — valued round $150 — at Toppers Spa, a spot she’d patronized a number of occasions previously 5 years.
Ridolfi, 37, of Eagleville, Pennsylvania, considered the unused present card instantly when she noticed an article final week in regards to the regional chain submitting for chapter and shutting all its areas.
“I had not had the opportunity to use it yet, and I was planning on using it in the next six weeks or so,” she stated Thursday.
Ridolfi, a gross sales and advertising director, stated she hasn’t been capable of finding contact data for the corporate on-line. She took to a Facebook group of Toppers prospects, a discussion board the place different customers wrote that that they had lots of to hundreds of {dollars} in unused present playing cards or account credit, and requested if anybody had heard what to do with unused present playing cards.
“Nobody had any recommendations for me,” she stated.
Turns out, even shopper advocates don’t have 100%-success-guaranteed options for customers left with unredeemed present playing cards to locations like Toppers Spa, Bed Bath & Beyond, and different companies that shutter abruptly.
“If you receive a gift card, you should try to use it right away,” stated Chuck Bell, monetary coverage advocate at Consumer Reports. “Once you have it and they’ve gone out of business, you don’t have a lot of options. Now what’s going to happen often in the bankruptcy process, they’ll allow you to file a claim, but you’ll get behind a long line of other creditors,” together with landlords and workers with unpaid wages
Often in these circumstances, he stated, customers don’t get any of their a refund.
“There is nothing under federal law that protects consumers if they have gift cards to a business that goes out of business,” stated Teresa Murray, shopper watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “That being said, there are things people can do.”
Try the corporate and its rivals
See if yow will discover any contact data on-line for the enterprise, its company workplace, or a mum or dad firm if it has one, and attain out to them straight about your scenario.
The Inquirer couldn’t discover contact data for Toppers officers, and an legal professional representing the corporate didn’t return a request for remark.
Consumer consultants additionally advocate calling round to close by rivals. Ask in the event that they’d honor your present card.
“Sometimes competitors will honor gift cards just to be nice,” Murray stated. “And they figure they’ll develop some new loyalty.”
Contact state shopper safety officers
Experts advocate submitting a grievance with the patron safety division of your state’s legal professional basic’s workplace.
In Pennsylvania, residents can do that on-line . They may also electronic mail [email protected] or name 1-800-441-2555.
“Depending on the nature of how the business is winding down, we may be able to mediate, and if not, we can provide some helpful information and retain their records for our files for any future use,” stated Brett Hambright, spokesperson for Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.
Sometimes, he stated, the workplace can direct you to different distributors who’ve agreed to honor the present playing cards, or get the unique enterprise to refund your cash. Other occasions, he added, they will work together with your bank card firm to problem a chargeback.
New Jerseyans can attain their state’s Division of Consumer Affairs by submitting a grievance on-line , calling 973-504-6200, or emailing [email protected].
Every 12 months, the division receives “numerous” complaints about present playing cards, stated Lisa Coryell, a spokesperson for Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
But “once a store enters bankruptcy, the division is unable to get consumers refunds for unused gift cards,” she stated. “Consumers who do not use their gift cards before a store’s closure or their established deadline may be able to file a claim with the bankruptcy estate for the value of the card, but it is difficult to know whether or how much they might recover from such a claim.”
Ask a couple of bank card refund
If you’re shut with the one who purchased the present card, otherwise you purchased it your self, the purchaser could possibly get their a refund, Murray stated.
“If you bought with a credit card within 60 days of the statement that transaction appeared on, you can get your money refunded,” she stated. “That is always guaranteed by law if you bought it in that time frame.”
Take observe for the longer term
To keep away from being left with unused present playing cards, consultants advocate utilizing your present playing cards as quickly as doable.
“It’s nice to save gift cards for a special occasion or something you really want to buy. Don’t hold onto it too long,” Murray stated. “Figure out a good time to go out to eat. … Think of something you wanted to buy.”
If you realize you haven’t used a present card but, maintain your eyes and ears open for indicators {that a} enterprise could also be struggling. If there are fewer automobiles than standard within the parking zone of a restaurant or a retailer is lowering its hours, it’s possible you’ll wish to use a present card there rapidly, Murray stated.
Companies typically, although not at all times, announce they’re closing shops a month or so prematurely, Bell stated, and supply no less than a short window during which prospects can nonetheless use present playing cards. Bed Bath & Beyond, for instance, gave folks a pair weeks to make use of present playing cards.
When shopping for present playing cards for others, maintain the following tips in thoughts, too.
Large nationwide chains are generally safer than area of interest native companies, Bell stated, although “we’ve seen some pretty big failures of companies in recent years.”
If you wish to get rid of all gift-card-giving anxiousness, Bell stated with amusing, bear in mind this saying: “Nothing says ‘I love you’ like cold, hard cash.”
“Cash doesn’t expire,” he stated. “It’s good anywhere.”
“The problem culturally is people feel like cash shows a lack of imagination,” he added. “I think it shows a certain amount of thoughtfulness. You’re giving something that gives the user a tremendous amount of flexibility.”
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