One 4 All Gift Card - Nightmare!

desolate sun

My Mum's friend - an elderly lady - was given a One4All giftcard as a present.
She didn't know how to use it so left it in her house. She was cleaning up some time later, found the card and gave it to my Mum. She asked her did she want it, as she didn't know how to use it and wasn't interested in it.

Anyway Mum asked me to check the balance and see if she could get something online.
So I checked the card - It was originally for €18 but because of non-use charges the balance was now only €11.30!!
One4All charge €1.45 per month for non-use! Imagine that!

What do most people do when they receive gift vouchers? Put them aside and forget to use them! So An Post thinks, how can we make money off this?
I think it's outrageous!

Anyway apart from that, I went online to see what we could get for Mum - settled on a Downton Abbey book for her (from Easons).

I have to say there is a poor online choice for shops anyway but Mum was happy with the book. So went to the checkout to pay - card was refused. Tried several times. Then went and had a look at the T&C's.
You can't buy something of more value than the card!
Fair enough, but when I use Amazon vouchers, I am able to buy something of greater value and make up the balance with a credit/debit card.

So I am unable to use the card unless I buy something for the exact value (or less, but then An Post will get the balance).

Before anyone says - Well you got it for nothing anyway - that's not the point.
It's a terrible scam. :mad:

Does anyone know if you can use the card in a bricks-and-mortar shop (a shop on the list) and buy something of greater value and then pay the balance with cash?
Otherwise it's a waste of money.

meoklmrk91

desolate sun wrote: »

My Mum's friend - an elderly lady - was given a One4All giftcard as a present.
She didn't know how to use it so left it in her house. She was cleaning up some time later, found the card and gave it to my Mum. She asked her did she want it, as she didn't know how to use it and wasn't interested in it.

Anyway Mum asked me to check the balance and see if she could get something online.
So I checked the card - It was originally for €18 but because of non-use charges the balance was now only €11.30!!
One4All charge €1.45 per month for non-use! Imagine that!

What do most people do when they receive gift vouchers? Put them aside and forget to use them! So An Post thinks, how can we make money off this?
I think it's outrageous!

Anyway apart from that, I went online to see what we could get for Mum - settled on a Downton Abbey book for her (from Easons).

I have to say there is a poor online choice for shops anyway but Mum was happy with the book. So went to the checkout to pay - card was refused. Tried several times. Then went and had a look at the T&C's.
You can't buy something of more value than the card!
Fair enough, but when I use Amazon vouchers, I am able to buy something of greater value and make up the balance with a credit/debit card.

So I am unable to use the card unless I buy something for the exact value (or less, but then An Post will get the balance).

Before anyone says - Well you got it for nothing anyway - that's not the point.
It's a terrible scam. :mad:

Does anyone know if you can use the card in a bricks-and-mortar shop (a shop on the list) and buy something of greater value and then pay the balance with cash?
Otherwise it's a waste of money.

You can buy something greater than the value of the voucher in a shop. Also I was voucher for Christmas, valued at €50 I didn't use it until a couple of weeks ago, and wasn't charged anything for non use.

desolate sun

Thanks for reply.

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Also I was voucher for Christmas, valued at €50 I didn't use it until a couple of weeks ago, and wasn't charged anything for non use.

If the card is older than 12 months they will start the monthly charge

meoklmrk91

desolate sun wrote: »

Thanks for reply.



If the card is older than 12 months they will start the monthly charge

That's good to know, thanks. I don't they they should be charging for non use, I mean is it really costing them anything when they aren't used?

ScouseMouse

This must be the most over rated ripoff I have ever read.

You are describing it as a nightmare. I thought it was something serious at first. Then i read the detail.

The card appears to be old, around 18 months, and while other cards may expire,, this one now has a small admin fee.


I'd hate to see you complaining if you had a real loss !

Atlantic Dawn

The best voucher is cash, it's accepted everywhere.

desolate sun

superscouse wrote: »

This must be the most over rated ripoff I have ever read.

You are describing it as a nightmare. I thought it was something serious at first. Then i read the detail.

The card appears to be old, around 18 months, and while other cards may expire,, this one now has a small admin fee.


I'd hate to see you complaining if you had a real loss !

I had a lot of gripes with the card

- Non-use admin fee - which by the way is not small. The card lost almost 40% of it's value due to this 'small' fee.

- Poor choice of online stores

- Unable to buy greater value items online. You must buy exact price to get the real value from the card. Otherwise the extra credit belongs to An Post

- In this case the €2 price of the card didn't affect me, but it may annoy others.

The card is advertised as Spend with Confidence. It's a joke.
It was the most hassle I've had trying to use a voucher online.

If you don't think this is a rip-off, then I'd like to see your definition.

dudara

desolate sun wrote: »

I had a lot of gripes with the card
- Poor choice of online stores

- Unable to buy greater value items online. You must buy exact price to get the real value from the card. Otherwise the extra credit belongs to An Post

In fairness, both of these are issues with the retailers, and not the An Post One4All card. It's up to the retailers to accept the card, and if so, how they want to accept it as payment. In your case, the issue is with Eason.

hfallada

Nothing says I have put little thought into a gift like a one for all voucher. They will know how much is on the card eventually so just give them cash.

sandin

Your first line says "friend is an old lady" so my guess is that the card was nit given to her to use online. So you cannot complain about that.

It wad effectively lost for 18 months - and forgotten about. Most vouchers expire after 12 months but some gift cards allow for a small admin fee to keep it live - clearly stated.

So where's your complaint and where's the ripoff????

cnolan

see my post on other topic.

JakeArmitage

are you supposed to have a 4 digit pin to use these vouchers?

desolate sun

desolate sun wrote: »

What do most people do when they receive gift vouchers? Put them aside and forget to use them!

What? Is that true?

jimmii

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What? Is that true?

Not far off the truth going by my own experience. Seems crazy.

jimmii

jimmii wrote: »

Not far off the truth going by my own experience. Seems crazy.

That's mad. When I get a voucher for somewhere I'm generally itching to spend it :P haha. Even just for the sake of it.

soc

JakeArmitage wrote: »

are you supposed to have a 4 digit pin to use these vouchers?

No. You sign the docket (old style) to complete purchase.

NUTLEY BOY

It is well known that a certain proportion of gift tokens in general will never be redeemed at all or before an expiry date if there is one.

The presence of an expiry date on some tokens really annoys me :mad:

Personally, I make a point of spending them pronto so that there is no loss through inadvertence.