The Sharper Image Not Honoring Gift Cards, Certificates
So that The Sharper Image bankruptcy filing won't affect the stores, you think? Not so. A source just got back from a The Sharper Image where he tried to use his $150 gift certificate he received for Christmas. Instead of a bag full of scale model Lamborghini Countaches he was handed this in return: a letter explaining that his gift certificate would not be honored. Those are the hot winds of the ironic breeze.
The customer added, "The manager told me she already has a new job as internally they were told it is totally over."
(You can click the image for a larger version.)
Previously • Disconcerting: The Sharper Image Is Kaput [BBG]
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That is essentially fraud if you ask me! It may be a gift card, but that card represents $150 dollars already given in payment to the sharper image. There must be some law about this. That guy should contact the BBB and whoever else is necessary to make the store make good on its promise.
Someone posted a comment on my blog about the gift cards not working on the site. Sounds like it is much worse than that! Sharper Image says, "Thanks for the money!"
My prediction is additional lawsuits against Sharper Image. Expect one from the investors. Expect one from the consumers.
People are freaking sheep. Its a LAW.
Q What happens if the seller of the gift certificate or gift card files bankruptcy?
A A gift certificate or gift card sold by a seller that seeks bankruptcy protection may have no value. However, the holder of the certificate or card may have a claim against the bankruptcy estate.
Sellers that file "Chapter 11" (reorganization) bankruptcy intend to stay in business, so they typically will ask the bankruptcy court for permission to honor gift certificates in an effort to maintain good customer relations.
If the bankruptcy court does not allow gift certificates or gift cards to be honored, or if the seller files "Chapter 7" (liquidation) bankruptcy, holders of gift certificates or gift cards are creditors in the bankruptcy case. They have relatively high priority among unsecured creditors in a Chapter 7 case, and may receive some percentage of the certificates or card’s value, but only if the bankruptcy estate has enough assets to pay claims.
For whatever reason the media is completely against Sharper Image. Everything they release is completely biased.
I would take this as my authorization to shoplift, up to the value of the gift card.
I'd be pretty darn upset...
If someone got me a Sharper Image Gift Card. Unless it were for the full amount of the killer chair with the massager things in it. Then I'd probably already have it. I'd be posting from it.
A shame all around.
Those who got these for Christmas, tell your gift giver asap. Typically, you're within the window still (just barely) to have your credit card company reverse the charges. Let them deal with it.
I think you hit the nail on the head, CoffeeGeek. Most gift cards would have been bought with credit cards. I suspect credit card companies might allow even a little more latitude for Xmas purchases. Offer to send them the cut-up gift card and that might be an easy way out of this mess.
Buying a gift card is essentially making a loan to the issuing store. If they go bankrupt, you're a creditor with a claim against the company's assets in bankruptcy court, the same as a bank, contractor, or supplier. The court will decide how much you get, if anything, when the bankruptcy is settled.
Mr. Airship is correct. Even worse, it's an INTEREST-FREE loan, to a creditor who will try to weasel on the debt even under the best of circumstances.
This is reason #47 why gift cards are dumb.
Even dumber: Visa/AMEX etc. "gift cards." You pay an up front fee and then pay an ongoing 'maintenance fee' over time. It is possible to buy one of these stupid cards and have it eventually become worthless without ever using it. Simon Malls is nortorious for these kinds of gift cards. Scam of the decade.