Argos(NI) & Euro Gift Cards

chasm

I thought id post this on here to see what others thought...
As anyone who shops in Argos in the North knows, they accept Euro, unfortunately they do not accept their own Euro Argos gift cards though. I had €250 worth of vouchers to spend before Xmas but as they wouldnt accept the vouchers, i decided if i was going to have to pay cash i would go elsewhere!

Anyway i emailed Argos and asked them why they will accept Euro but not their own Euro gift cards, i received a reply today, and having read it twice im still a bit by it tbh, perhaps the Xmas spirit is still in my system:D

Here's the reply:

"When you pay in cash with Euro you would be using them at the exchange rate for euro at the time of purchase, as gift cards are a pre pay item you may not get the same value the card was purchased at due to the changing exchange rates."

dudara

What they're doing is protecting themselves against exchange rate fluctuations.

When you buy with Euro in cash, you get whatever exchange rate is available in the store on the day. No problems there. The shop accepts that and so do you.

When you buy with Euro vouchers, you're happy to accept the exchange rate on the day. However, the shop has already received payment for those vouchers. If the exchange rate has moved in such a way that you now have the equivalent of E110 compared to the day the vouchers were bought, then they're not happy with that.

Hope that helps - it's my theory on why they won't let you spend them.

snappieT

(Ex-Argos employee)
We were always told that it was due to an EU rule regarding inter-currency electronic funds transfer (i.e. that Argos didn't have the appropriate "banking" license, or whatever). Don't fully know if there's any truth in that.

In the days of the paper vouchers, Sterling gift vouchers were accepted here and vice versa, so I suspect it's nothing to do with exchange rates.

However, the shop has already received payment for those vouchers.

That's not how it works from what I remember. Buying the voucher is just a "funds transfer", a sale hasn't happened until the item is bought with the voucher.

dudara

snappieT wrote: »

That's not how it works from what I remember. Buying the voucher is just a "funds transfer", a sale hasn't happened until the item is bought with the voucher.

I'd agree with you there. A sale isn't recorded until an actual good is purchased. Until then the voucher value is probably recorded in some form of temporary liability account.

However, Argos have still received the cash for those vouchers, and that is valued using exchange rates. Given that vouchers may not be redeemed for anything up to a year, there could be a significant shift in exchange rates between the voucher purchase and usage.

But to be honest, it's all surmising on my part.

chasm

Thanks for the replies, Guys.
I can't help but think though, that by refusing to take them up north it means i have to use them in their stores down here and pay more for the same item.
Will be applying for different vouchers from shop and scan next time that's for sure