Q: My partner recently organised a surprise party for my birthday. One of my friends gave me a birthday card with a receipt that amounted to €100.

On that same evening, this receipt was lost. It might have been mistakenly thrown away with the wrapping paper.

I approached the company which issued the gift voucher but was told that they cannot help me. I even gave them the exact date when the voucher was purchased and that it was paid by a debit card.

However, they insisted that once a voucher is lost it cannot be reprinted.

Do I have any rights in this situation?

A: In these situations the law does not give you the right to claim a remedy from the voucher’s seller.

Since the voucher was not personalised, losing it was the same as losing cash. If someone finds the voucher you lost, they may redeem it from the seller.

Hence, unless the seller willingly issues another voucher, legally you do not have the right to make such a request.