Thousands of customers are being caught in the crossfire as more Canadian retailers go bankrupt this fall. Many B.C. residents are finding themselves stuck with gift cards that are suddenly worthless.
Several viewers have called CTV consumer reporter Lynda Steele after discovering that Please Mum and Blockbuster are refusing to accept pre-paid gift cards, even though the stores are still open for business.
Amanda Nagata got a $50 gift card to the store Please Mum as a recent baby shower gift. When she went to cash it in, she was told the store wouldn't accept it because the chain had filed for bankruptcy.
"When I kept trying every few weeks I kept getting the same answer -- nope, nope, nope -- and to this day I still haven't been able to use the gift card which was a gift from my friend," said Nagata.
Bjorn Storness-Bliss has been a Blockbuster customer for three decades but when he went to use his $100 gift card at a Surrey store recently, he was told it was worthless because the chain had been placed in receivership.
Storness-Bliss is really upset because he claims staff admitted to having advance knowledge the store was closing, but didn't give customers a chance to use their gift cards before it was too late.
"Obviously the staff people and the people who manage the company knew well that they were going to go bankrupt and they still took money in," he said.
When it comes to gift cards, B.C. legislation prohibits expiry dates and fees in most cases, but once a business files for bankruptcy, federal laws apply, leaving B.C. consumers unprotected.
"It's important for consumers to be aware that there are stores that are closing. They may be caught in a situation over and over again and that's where you really need to make a difficult choice around are gift cards the best solution for you?" said Manjit Bains of Consumer Protection BC
Nagata is not so sure anymore.
"I feel really leery about gift cards, and I still have a few gift cards for other places, so now I want to just quickly use them and not carry them anymore," she said.
And Storness-Bliss wants new legislation to make sure businesses have to honour their obligations to consumers.
"I think the laws should be changed. I think that the consumer has to be protected. Right now the laws don't protect the consumer whatsoever," he said.
We tried contacting Blockbuster, but got no response. The CEO of Please Mum declined our request for an interview.
Consumer Protection BC says if you have a gift card you can't use because a company has gone into receivership, it's important to follow up with the superintendent of bankruptcy to see what your options are, or if you're able to file a claim as a creditor.
With a report from CTV British Colubmia's Lynda Steele
