Have High Street Gift Cards had their Day

With the demise of Comet, Jessop’s and now doubts hanging over HMV, have high street gift cards & vouchers had their day?

Luckily I had spent my HMV gift vouchers in the week after Christmas. However, what about the people that had delayed their spend?

One friend who had received over £500.00 in Jessop’s vouchers from family & friends towards a high-end camera found to his dismay that once the problems with Jessop’s were announced, vouchers & gift card were immediately voided. The same has happened with HMV vouchers. Comet on the other hand did give a few days notice.

Listening to TV pundits, there may be a number of ways of getting some money back through the Credit card companies, though not if they were purchased with a Debit card. It’s been a costly experience for many high street customers which will make many think that they will not use gift cards again. I for one won’t.

Whilst we may have our issues about useless vouchers, we must not forget that with the demise of these stores, the hardest hit will be the staff who will find it very hard to find new jobs in a continually shrinking high street.