LOVE2shop vouchers can be redeemed at a number of retailers – we explain where you can spend them.
Gift cards can be a great Christmas present for someone who already has everything they need – but you should know all of the risks before buying one.
Gift cards don’t have to be honoured if a shop is struggling financially, which could see you losing the cash altogether if the retailer goes bust.
When a company falls into administration, it’s down to the administrators to decide whether they accept gift cards or not.
It means they could choose to refuse vouchers if they think it’s in the best interests of the company.
Administrators could also decide to accept gift cards at the start of the process, but later stop accepting them.
It’s for this reason that MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis advises against giving them as presents.
But if you’re still keen on purchasing one, a gift card that covers a lot of retailers may be your best shot, given that scores of big-name brands have gone into administration this year.
If you’re thinking about buying a Love2shop voucher, or have one at home, here’s everything you need to know.
Love2shop is a multi-retailer voucher that’s accepted in over 150 stores – it means you’re not limited to buying products in just one shop.
There are four different types of vouchers available: Love2shop voucher, Love2shop gift card, Love2shop e-gift card and the Love2shop contactless card.
It’s important to check which shops are available with each one, as not all retailers will accept each form of voucher.
You should also note that some of the retailers included on the below lists are in administration.
Debenhams says it’ll continue to accept gift cards, but Arcadia group – which includes Topshop, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Wallis – says gift cards can only be put towards 50% of the purchase price.
We’ve asked Love2shop if this applies to their vouchers too and we’ll update this article when we know more.
Love2shop vouchers are paper gift vouchers that you redeem for in-store purchases. It’s not clear if these vouchers can be used for online purchases.
You can buy them online here, with each voucher having an expiry date of between 12 to 24 months.
You don’t need to activate a paper voucher, meaning they can just be handed to the cashier when you’re paying for your goods.
Here are all the places where you can spend a Love2shop voucher:
THERE are around 112 places where you can spend Love2shop vouchers. Here they are:
* Means some restrictions apply – see here for more information.
Love2shop gift cards are plastic vouchers where you can top up the amount to exact price that you want to spend. Buy them online here.
For the below list, you can redeem the value of these gift cards for in-store spends, apart from Argos and Virgin Experience Days where they’re also valid for online orders.
It doesn’t say on the Love2shop website how long each card is valid for.
Here are all the places where you can spend a Love2shop gift card:
SHOPPERS can spend Love2shop gift vouchers in the following 75 places:
* Means some restrictions apply – see here for more information.
Love2shop e-gift cards are delivered straight to your recipient’s email inbox and valid for 12 months.
Your gift recipient will then need to swap the e-gift card for their chosen retailer’s e-gift card. Buy them online here.
Here are all the places where you can spend a Love2shop e-gift card:
HERE are the 35 places you can spend a Love2shop e-gift card:
Love2shop contactless vouchers can be sent to a recipient by text, email, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. You can buy them online here.
Once your recipient has received their voucher, they’ll need to activate it online.
Check the list of retailers carefully, as some places will only accept these vouchers online.
The Love2shop website doesn’t say how long these vouchers are active for.
Here are all the places where you can spend a Love2shop contactless voucher:
HERE are all the places where you can spend a contactless Love2shop gift cards:
If you’re worried about purchasing a gift card, we explain your rights when a company goes into administration.
It’s ultimately up to the people appointed to manage the process to decide whether to allow the use of gift cards or not.
It means you’ll need to keep an eye on the administration process to see what your rights are.
The administrators are allowed to stop accepting gift cards at any point.
If the administrators later decide that you can’t use your vouchers, you should register a claim with the administrations for the value of the vouchers.
This also applies if the company can’t be saved through administration and is later liquidated.
However, you may not get this money back if other creditors are owed money too. You may also only get a portion of the money back.
If the voucher or amount put on a gift card was for more than £100, then it may be possible to claim the money back if it was purchased with a credit card.
This is because the card company is jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
If the voucher was a gift, then you’d need to ask the person who bought it for you to claim the money back.
