Q: I recently purchased a voucher to give as a gift. After buying it I noticed that it expires after six months. Is this legal? Why should gift vouchers be limited with an expiry date?

A: As long as the expiry date is clearly written on the gift voucher’s terms and conditions, it is not illegal. A gift voucher is not the equivalent of cash. Hence, when a gift voucher is purchased it is like purchasing a product and it has to be used as per the terms and conditions written on it.

When purchasing a gift voucher we consumers have the responsibility to shop around and look for shops that sell vouchers that either do not expire or offer vouchers with long expiry dates.

Once a voucher is purchased then we are obliged to adhere to its terms and conditions. If an unused voucher is about to expire we consumers should make sure to use it before it expires or request the seller to extend it. The seller is however not legally obliged to accept such a request.

In situations where sellers try to impose new conditions on purchased vouchers or do not honour the vouchers’ terms and conditions, such as for instance trying to impose an expiry date on vouchers that when purchased did not have an expiry date, consumers may seek redress by lodging a complaint with the Office for Consumer Affairs.

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