| Your personal background. |
|---|
 Christmas will be different
for all of us this year, for obvious reasons.
 More of us will
be shopping for Christmas online, whether to avoid the shops or because we won't be travelling and want to send items directly.
What do you need
to know to make the festive shopping a success?
Our columnist Helen Dewdney, aka [url=][/url], provides all you information, advice and tips you need
to know about shopping online this Christmas.
[img][/img]
Online shopping rocketed throughout lockdown and there are signs that the upward
trend is continuing as we head towards Christmas
With the high street shopping experience still not as it was,
retail outlets are not seeing pre-pandemic sales levels.
Non-essential shops are shut in England's lockdown,
which ends on 2 December, most of the country will
then go into restrictive Tier 2 and Tier 3, but shops will reopen.
Nonetheless, online shopping rocketed throughout lockdown and there are signs that
the upward trend is continuing.
When buying offline or online it is important to keep your wits about
you and know your rights
And remember Black Friday may be tempting and there are certainly
some good deals out there this year, but be warned.
Research undertaken by This Is Money last year showed Black Friday sale items can be more expensive
on the day of the shopping event.
So make sure you have carefully price checked items before
leaping in.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
[img][/img] We need to
replace the ageing double-glazing at our home -... [img][/img] On the
hunt for investing bargains? Check out these eight... [img][/img] Even energy firms join the Black Friday craze:
British Gas... [img][/img] Black
Friday shopping guide: Here are 13 tips to help you...
Share this article
Share
25 shares
Gift Cards
The gift card market is now worth about £7 billion a year in total, according to trade body for the gift card and voucher industry, the Gift Card and Voucher Association.
A spokesperson for the Association said: 'Shoppers are spending their
gift cards quicker than ever, with 98.6 per cent of UK shoppers
spending their gift cards within a year and 50.3 per
cent redeeming them within a month of receipt.
'Whilst it may be more tempting than ever before to give gift vouchers this Christmas there are a
number of things to consider particularly this year.'
1) Often it is grandparents giving children gift cards.
They don't like the idea of just giving cash and sometimes feel that if they hand over money in a shop it is
more of a present than cash. However, remember that those younger children go
out shopping less often than adults and currently are even less likely to do so.
2) You may find gift cards on auction sites.
Useful guidance can be found on [url=][/url] but be extra careful about verifying the authenticity of what's on offer before buying.
3) Remember, your consumer rights stay the same.
If the item your recipient buys with the card is not of satisfactory quality, not
as described or didn't last a reasonable length of time, then under the Consumer Rights
Act 2015 they can take it back within 30 days for a full refund.
After that time a repair or replacement may be offered.
But they will get refunded using the method by which
they paid, so the money will go back onto the gift card.
4) Give the receipt with the card and tell the recipient to
keep it in a separate place to the card.
If they lose the card they will still have the details so that if they act quickly
enough the store may be able to cancel the card.
But in essence a gift card acts like cash. They can check the balance and
with many companies also extend the expiry date.
5) It is a sad truth that we have seen many retail companies struggle this year and a number have gone into administration.
If your recipient has a gift card for a company that goes into administration it
is unlikely that they will be able to use the card.
They will at the bottom of a long list of creditors. Consider giving cash or an old-fashioned cheque.
And if your bank no longer issues cheque books, firstly complain and secondly find a creative way of giving the money.
For example, transferring the money into your offspring's account and
asking them to put the cash in a card for your grandchild.
6) If you buy something online (or actually anywhere that's not on the retailer's premises) then under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you can return the
item(s) for a full refund.
You have 14 days to notify the company and 14 days to return the item.
Whether you pay return postage will depend on the company's terms and conditions.
(There are a few exemptions to this such as bespoke items).
If it is in the company's terms and conditions that you pay return postage this will be the case
unless the item is in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as above,
then it has to pay. |
| Your feedback on this profile |
|---|
| Recommend this profile for User of the Day: |
I like this profile |
| Alert administrators to an offensive profile: |
I do not like this profile |
|
| Account data |
View |
| Team |
None |
|
