{"id":1945,"date":"2017-04-24T14:07:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T14:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/?page_id=1945"},"modified":"2025-01-06T15:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T15:42:09","slug":"gift-vouchers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/gift-vouchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift vouchers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Irish consumers are protected when buying gift vouchers. The law does not apply to every kind of gift voucher. Make sure you check which type you have and what rights apply. Gift vouchers are also known as gift cards.<\/p>\n<p>Your consumer rights include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A minimum expiry date of five years<\/strong><br \/>\nThe expiry date should be provided to you in writing or in an email.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You do not have to spend the full amount in one go<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you use only part of the gift voucher and the balance left is more than \u20ac1, the business should refund the difference. They can do this by cash, electronic transfer (debit\/credit card) or give you another voucher. The expiry date must match the original gift voucher.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You can use more than one gift voucher at a time<\/strong><br \/>\nFor example, if an item costs \u20ac100 and you have two \u20ac50 vouchers, you can use them both to pay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you buy a gift voucher from a business elsewhere in the EU, the five-year expiry rule may not apply. There are no EU wide requirements. Make sure that you check the terms and conditions around the expiry date in advance.<\/p>\n<h2>Types of gift voucher included<\/h2>\n<p>Not all kinds of gift vouchers are covered by the legislation.<\/p>\n<section class=\"prosconswrap\">\n<section class=\"row\">\n<section class=\"col-md-6 col-sm-6\">\n<section class=\"pros\">\n<h2>Covered<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>One store voucher \u2013 for a particular shop or chain of stores, accepted nationwide.<\/li>\n<li>Shopping centre gift cards &#8211; can only be used in the shopping centre and not in shops elsewhere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"col-md-6 col-sm-6\">\n<section class=\"cons\">\n<h2>Not covered<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Gift cards that are not limited to one shopping centre \u2013 can be used there and in businesses elsewhere.<\/li>\n<li>Online deal vouchers \u2013 a discounted voucher bought for a specified good\/service or experience that must be used within three months or on a specific date.<\/li>\n<li>Electronic money cards \u2013 prepaid debit cards that can be used anywhere a standard debit\/credit card is used. These fall under the Money rules.<\/li>\n<li>One4all gift cards \u2013 can be used in a wide range of retailers.<\/li>\n<li>Loyalty schemes \u2013 money coupons a business issues to customers for their loyalty<\/li>\n<li>Credit Note \u2013 when you return an item to a store, and they give you a voucher or credit note<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/endcons--><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/col-sm-6--><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/row--><br \/>\nWhen buying a shopping centre voucher or gift card, you should check the terms and conditions. If the gift card is a pre-paid Visa or Mastercard, it may not be covered by gift voucher rules.<\/p>\n<section class=\"\"><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<h2>Gift voucher FAQs<\/h2>\n<div id=\"accordion-1\" class=\"accordion no-js\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t1\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-initialstate=\"closed\">\n\t\t\t\tI was given a gift voucher with no expiry date. Should it not show one?\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c1\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The expiry date does not have to be printed on the gift voucher itself. The business must inform you of it by email or in writing. It should be at least five years from the date you bought it. Be sure to check the terms and conditions of the gift voucher if it is one of those not covered by the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t2\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-initialstate=\"closed\">\n\t\t\t\tThe business closed before I got to spend my gift voucher. Do I have rights?\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c2\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>You are left with little protection unfortunately when a company goes out of business. You may even lose your money. Circumstances will vary depending on whether the company closes, goes into liquidation, examinership or receivership. Such businesses typically end up owing multiple debts and you may find yourself down the priority list.<\/p>\n<p>If you paid the company with your debit\/credit card before their business ended, ask your bank about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/disputed-card-transactions-chargeback\/\">chargeback<\/a>. Find more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/companies-going-out-of-business\/\">companies going out of business<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t3\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-initialstate=\"closed\">\n\t\t\t\tI lost my birthday gift voucher. Can I get it replaced?<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c3\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Losing a gift voucher is no different to losing cash. Businesses do not have to replace it for you. If the voucher was made out to you specifically and cannot be transferred, the business may give you a new one. You should check with the store you bought it from.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t4\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-initialstate=\"closed\">\n\t\t\t\tI bought a gift voucher on a deal website for a discounted hotel break. Is my contract with the website or the hotel?\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c4\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Deal websites let you buy gift vouchers for goods, services and experiences from other businesses. For example, a photobook, beauty treatment, meal out or museum experience.<\/p>\n<p>Your contract is with the deal website providing you do not have to go to a third party to redeem the voucher. This is the same as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/buying-online\/\">buying online<\/a> from any business.<\/p>\n<p>Where a third party is involved, you enter two contracts \u2013 one with the deal website for your valid gift voucher and the other with the business providing the service. You have the same consumer rights as with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/contracts-and-services\/contracts-and-services\/\">buying services<\/a> directly from any business.<\/p>\n<p>In the query above, you have a contract with the deal website and a second contract with the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t5\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c5\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-initialstate=\"closed\">\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m thinking of buying a discounted voucher for a virtual reality or helicopter ride experience. The expiry date is six months. Do \u2018experience\u2019 vouchers like this fall under the legislation?\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c5\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Experience vouchers are often sold as discount vouchers by a business. You can buy them from the business directly or through a deal website. You pay the deal website the price and redeem the voucher with the third party business.<\/p>\n<p>Where the voucher treats you to a specific experience and the expiry date is more than three months, the legislation will apply. If it is an online deal voucher for an experience that must be used on a particular date or within three months, then it is excluded. Our helicopter ride example (six month expiry) therefore falls under the legislation and is valid for five years.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From 2 December 2019, new legislation is in place which gives consumers more rights when it comes to gift vouchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"parent":12505,"menu_order":60,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-1945","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-gift-vouchers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>Gift vouchers - CCPC<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Consumer rights for certain gift vouchers are set down in law. 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