People in the UK waste £250 million annually on store gift cards they never use, according to industry figures. Annual sales of the cards exceed £4 billion, with about half given as personal gifts and the rest by businesses.
However, 6% of the value on the cards is never redeemed, partly because they expire after a fixed period, which can be as short as one year. The UK Gift Card and Voucher Association says many shops extend the expiry date each time the card is used.
Andrew Johnson, director general of the association, told BBC Radio 4's Money Box: 'For a retailer, a gift card or voucher remains a liability on the books so at some point it makes good financial sense to remove that liability.' He noted that most people use their cards within six months of receiving them, and retailers benefit as customers typically spend an additional 40% when using a gift card.
Some of the unused £250 million represents leftover change on cards, such as a £20 card used to buy an item for £18.99, leaving £1.01 unspent. Many people are unaware of expiry dates, often because the information is in very small print on the back of the card.
Mick Wannell told Money Box he was surprised when he could not use his card: 'When I tried to use it I was told it was empty. But it had only timed out because the card had not been used for two years. But there was unspent money.' His card had a warning in the terms and conditions that it expires '12 months after purchase' or 'two years after it was last used,' but the print was small and no specific date was indicated.
