Reader’s question
We recently got married and I received a very generous gift from my work colleagues, in the form of a £350 John Lewis e-gift card. However when I went to use it, it looked like someone else had spent most of the cash on the gift card. It wasn’t my colleagues and it wasn’t us. We’ve kept it in a safe place, so it is unclear how someone else accessed this information.
I’ve contacted John Lewis, but they are unwilling to help or provide any information that I could pass on to the police (they told me when the money was spent, but no info on what was purchased/what the delivery name or address was etc.)
They told me to raise it with Action Fraud, but without this detail Action Fraud haven’t been able to action anything. Do I have any rights to challenge John Lewis on this, given I haven’t done anything wrong?
Edward, 36
Stratford Upon Avon
Martyn Responds:
Never underestimate the creativity of fraudsters. Just when I think I’ve heard it all, along comes another scam that’s both horrible and ingenious.
Gift card scams – where fraudsters steal the money credited on your card – have exploded in recent months as awareness of the con grows. It seems like this particular scam has been around for quite some time, but as in this case, retailers and gift card brands have been fobbing off their customers.
The good news is the retailer that sold the card is responsible for the missing credit under the Consumer Rights Act, though far too many claims are being rejected due to widespread confusion about how the scam works. Here’s what’s going on.
This scam is known as ‘gift card draining’ It’s been endemic in the USA for some time now, with $217 million stolen in the last year, largely using this method.
Gift cards are usually displayed on racks in prominent places in supermarkets and shops. Though they often have different designs, most include a long number that identifies the specific card and a code hidden behind a sliver, ‘scratchable’ or ‘peelable’ cover. On occasion, the card might be enclosed in cardboard.
Without going in to the finer details, it’s possible to obtain the identification codes for multiple cards and record them while they are on the racks. Then all the fraudster needs to do is wait for a few weeks for someone to buy the cards and load them up with money – at which point they spend the credit before the recipient notices*.
However, in this case it’s an e-card that has been intercepted. This makes things a bit more complicated as the card was not on public display when it was compromised – but the principle is still the same.
The Consumer Rights Act – the law from which we get most of our shopping rights – states that when we buy goods or services, they must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, as described and last for a reasonable length of time. The compromised cards are clearly not of satisfactory quality (they’ve been tampered with) and are not fit for purpose (the fraudster is able to steal the money from them as a result of the security breach). Soyou should be able to get a refund.
You’ll need to obtain an overview of the money that was spent on the card and where it took place, then sign a disclosure confirming that you did not spend the money. The people who bought the card will need to pursue the complaint on your behalf.
But if you get turned down, threaten to go to the small claims court. The retailer is shirking it’s responsibilities.
*No fraud was committed during the research in to this article.