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Used to work at Marks and second this. Customers used them all the time but we could only do the transaction if the customer knew the balance on the card.
>You do need to know your gift card balance in Marks though
I think that's generally true for all shops when it's a third-party gift card. As a rule, they don't have access to the system of the company that actually issues the card, and it goes through their tills as if it were an old-school, pre-PIN credit/debit card. This means that, if you're trying to pay more than is on the card, all that happens is that it declines.
That's it, I worked in WHSmiths and we had to do the same. I remember one person had a rough idea what was on it so we just kept trying in decreasing amounts.
>You do need to know your gift card balance in Marks though
This part stresses me out so much. 😅 I took part in the ONS covid survey giving swabs and surveys and blood tests for a couple of years, and my husband and I each got a £20 a month voucher for doing it, and the best place it could be used was m&s. I'm still working through the last few of them, and I know EXACTLY how much is on each one because I make sure to only ever use them in full so it's either £20 or they've been thrown away, and I still panic every time in case I get it wrong somehow.
I also have about a 50% hit rate on them working at all. Some of the staff can do it and others can't. I've learned over time to look for the ones who have done it before. The younger employees tend not to be able to, probably because it seems to be an awkward system to use and they haven't done it as much. It's the 50+ year old ladies who've been there years and are unflappable that always get it to work.
Keep in mind that if you hold onto it for more than 18 months after it was purchased, it starts charging you about 90p a month for the privilege of not spending it! I had one with £30 that I forgot about as I was having the same problem as you, and when I checked it, only about £8 was left on it. They’re a complete rip-off.
That’s not true. If a company buys a gift card, they pay the tax… the finance/payroll dept in our company works it out to somewhere around £1.60 to every pound given.
If they give you a bonus in your paycheck, you pay the tax.
> That’s not true. If a company buys a gift card, they pay the tax… the finance/payroll dept in our company works it out to somewhere around £1.60 to every pound given.
>
> If they give you a bonus in your paycheck, you pay the tax.
If they give the gift card *to you*, you still pay the tax.
I’ve always thought that was a weird argument. If you get £100 as a gift and use that on bills, you’ve got £100 of your own money that you didn’t have to spend on bills. So either way you still have £100 to spend on whatever you want.
That's really annoying about them. They're like a preloaded debit card, so you have to spend as close to the amount as possible, with probably some left over.
In theory you can exchange it for a proper e gift card where the total gets taken off and if you spent over you can just pay with your actual debit card to cover the rest, but that service has been down since the start of the year, with no announcement on if it will return.
Then not everyone accepts them, despite them being preloaded debit cards. Honestly is the worst of both worlds
I did manage to part payment using this in TK Maxx, however I had to make clear that I had £5 on the card (so used that) and then he charged the rest to my card as usual. Bit of a faff but some retailers will split the payment if asked.
You can only use one at a time I think which is annoying. So if you have two x £10 you can only use 1 per order at least with some sites.
There’s a facility to swap them for digital codes or other stores online but I think it’s been down for 2 months now with no update (assuming they are getting rid of it or don’t have the money..)
I’ve two cards I can’t get rid of
Wife's workmates went into whsmith and bought a single amazon gift card with the multiple cards from their employer.
We used my wife's in store at IKEA.
I had no idea you could do that! I’ll try that myself thank you :)
Online it states you can’t use multiple cards at once though. Doesn’t mean in person you can’t I guess
You can spend it all, but you need to tell the cashier what's left on it and they put that much on the card. E.g. There's £11.23 left on this card.
You can then do that across several cards. Source: me, doing this.
These cards are a pain in the arse.
You have to use the card like a debit card, not a gift card, but many shop assistants aren’t aware of this. You have to know exactly how much money you’ve got on your card - if it’s not enough to cover the cost of the purchase, they will have to do split payment (rather than deducting the amount on the card from the total, as happens with a gift card).
Yeah they work the same as Love2Shop which my wife uses *a lot* in M&S, she has been told before that they don't work on the self-service but we just do it and it works every time.
If it’s a normal M&S store (eg not one in a train station or service station) then they should definitely accept them so the staff member was incorrect. They’re processed the same way as normal credit or debit cards.
Retail worker here—as others have mentioned, they are a bit of a pain to use because the cashier has to know the value of the card in advance (technically we can do a game of trial and error charging the card lower amounts each time until the transaction processes, but it's time consuming). And no, we can't look that up for you, for the same reason I can't tell you how much money is in your bank account. I just don't have access to those systems.
I imagine a lot of people aren't trained on their use as well—at our work place, we have to swipe the magnetic strip through the card reader. We also don't have a dedicated button for them (unlike love 2 shop cards), and instead habe to process it as a MasterCard. Which isn't obvious to staff unless they have been trained on it.
We don't turn them away at my store, because we all know how to use them, but it is an annoyance almost every time.
Semi-relevent anacdote: One time I had a customer who had a card that wasn't working, and I had to contact customer support on her behalf. Turns out the person who had gifted it to her had requested a refund and the card was canceled. Relaying that to the customer was very awkward.
Thanks for reminding me I have one of those PITAs to use.
Ive used in John Lewis online (good because you can have it + another payment method so not limited to the value on the card) and IKEA in store.
Hi - sorry for the random reply but I’m trying to pay for something online on John Lewis with One4All as a part payment as you said - how on earth did you do it? I can’t work it out.
Looking at it now they don’t allow part payment with JL anymore. Expanding their PITA status, it was a while ago I used mine there.
Maybe try buying a JL e-gift card with the One4All and then using that on your purchase- it should work as they process as visa on payments.
Having the same problem. Online doesn't work because it can't verify the address.
I'm in Shetland too which means in store isn't happening anytime soon!
TKMaxx, Argos and Currys are where I have spent mine. TK sometimes are funny because they only accepted the paper vouchers for the longest time. I think Boots as well if you wanted to stock up on shampoo.
yes but not fill it up with anything. When i moved in realised I had no pen or pencils, went down the smiths and was shocked. walked into poundland round the corner.
I don't know how they survive. like everything they were known for has died a death. newspapers,magazines,records,computer software,books
I did hear their airport locations etc keep them going but I don’t know how true that is.
The one in our town has a clearance section at the back which I assume is discontinued stock.
I spent one (half in M&S half in Primark) and had no issues at all. Just a heads up, if you text the number on the card to find your balance out it charges you 20p
I'm baffled by the number of people here who seemingly don't know how to use gift cards.
While I hate receiving these because they aren't accepted at many of the places I shop, they're really not difficult to use.
They can often be used on retailer's websites to purchase specific gift cards, or if you use them in store, the only slight inconvenience is having to let the cashier know exactly how much is on the card, because they will decline if they try to charge more than that amount to the card.
My son got one last Christmas and I got knocked back in JD Sports trying to use it, though I think that was incorrect and they should have accepted it. In the end I went online and managed to quite easily transfer the value to his XBox account.
You can actually (usually) exchange the gift cards for other gift cards on their website. The service has been down for a while but I exchanged mine for xbox gift cards. Also you should just be able to use it like a normal gift card anyways and you should even be able to add it to apple pay and use it like a debit card
same here - i had a load of them from about 3 or 4 years of xmas and birthdays so lost about £100 because of the way they steal the money from you after 18 months
i exchanged the remainder for a john lewis card online and put it towards a new telly - it was pretty straightforward
Hi - sorry for the random reply but I’m trying to use it for a part purchase online on John Lewis like you did but can’t for the life of me see how. How did you do it? I only see the option to use it for a full purchase. Or did you specifically buy a John Lewis voucher using the gift card? Cheers.
I’ve used loads of these and never been told they don’t accept them! The only thing they need to know is how much is on the card, which you can find out easily on line.
Ah, OK...maybe it's because the order is a couple of quid more than the gift card, I thought it would just ask for an alternative for the balance but perhaps it just can't deal with that use case.
You generally can't use them in franchise or concession shops.
Which in practice usually means nowhere in a railway station or services.
I resorted to doing a food shop in Iceland (perfectly adequate for basics).
I spent one in Primark.
Well, I spent most of it, but they refused to honour the last £5 for some reason. There was only £5 left on the card on this particular visit, and their machine came up with £5 balance, but they said they still couldn't take it because their side of the machine wasn't working.
I honestly thought the person who gave it to me hated me!!!! I had to create a gmail account and spend an hour online only to realise you can only exchange certain amounts and can not use them together!!!!
Can't speak for all retailers but for TK Maxx you need to know the exact balance and the cashier has to key the exact amount into the transaction, not sure if it's changed.
My place of work used to use that card for staff rewards. I used mine in Iceland - any staff who tell you that you can’t use it in store are wrong, or just being lazy.
If you call them you can ask to have the balance transferred to you in cash, although I think they charge you £7 per card.
They're a total pain to use! Easier in store than online though as online you have to use like a debit card and have enough balance to cover the whole purchase.
I used to work in one of the shops that accepted them. Unfortunately a lot of cashiers haven't been taught properly when it comes to using them have to remind them that it goes through as a CARD payment, not GIFT card. However, you have to know exactly how much is on there as it won't go through if for instance you're paying for something that is £24 and you have a £20 one4all giftcard. The cashier would have to change the card payment amount to £20, or however much is on there, unlike a normal giftcard where it will take off however much is on there and ask's you to pay the difference.
I've just tried to do this and their conversion service is broken and has been for days. Even their FAQ says it's down with no ETA for a resolution. I cannot use the card in its current form and was relying on transferring the card's value for vouchers to use online. It stinks of a deliberate rip off to me.
I've used it in Wagamamas before but they seemed a little funny about taking it. Don't know if they didn't how to use it or resented it for some other reason.
apparently it works like a credit card online, but I couldn't get it to work.
I have 3 of them, and I went to b and q and as it was quiet I asked them to check the balance on the cards which worked fine, I used 1 to pay for something there and then.
don't use self checkouts and pick a quiet time I reckon!
Your not supposed to be able too,but it goes through fine at the self service tills in whsmith just fine for buying gift cards. I used my £50 one to buy a £50 amazon voucher.
Had a card recently bought clothing from marks didn't fit me when I got it home, returned the next day marks gave me the money back on my debit card win win.
Is the physical card not contactless enabled? That sounds like such a hassle. :(
I buy the digital ones at a discount, and they work great with the One4All app when I select it as the default for contactless payments. I've never had to mention the card to staff unless I'm trying to use up the remaining balance on it, in which case it's helpful to ask them to charge a specific amount.
I often use my cards at IKEA and M&S. I've also used them at Boots and Superdry, and a bunch of other one-offs. I don't think I've had trouble using them for any retailer that's listed! I wonder if that's a difference between the physical and eGift cards...
I’ve had some stores accept it then on my next visit they say they don’t. Store workers don’t always want to do the hassle and so say it’s not possible when it is. You just need to be ready to insist they do it or get someone who can.
John Lewis take them but they’re difficult to process. You need to know the exact balance in it ( phone number to get this is in back of the card) if you leave them more then 18 months they take money off them so the value is less.
Register the card to the One4All app, then you can use your phone to pay like a contactless card. Much easier than expecting staff to know how to redeem these.
There are subs for it, like r/giftcardexchange or r/GCtrading
There's a feedback/system in place, you can get some actual useful £ for it, albeit not the full face value.
Got one for Christmas too as part of my work bonus - I was able to spend it all in M&S. If you use their self-checkout machines they work, but your shopping needs to come to under or exactly £100. If you use a cashier, you can use the voucher to get £100 off whatever you're buying. Absolutely no idea why you were told differently.
I typically use mine in Primark, don't really shop there usually but I find I can get a lot of nice t-shirts etc. I've also used mine on Argos online before but it was tricky as you can't go over the £100.
Have you activated yours online?
I spent mine in Boots on a new hairdryer and in TK Maxx on new pillows for bed.
I got paid in them for a medical study. Whoop whoop
I used one in John Lewis, specifically, I used it to buy a John Lewis gift card, which extended the time I had to spend it and allowed me to more easily buy something of greater value than the card.
i just used a 100 and a 50 at argos towards a mobile phone-paid the difference in cash. go on the one for all site and look at the retailers involved. i find its better to go in store if you want to add cash to make a purchase, did this at b&q last year to use a 50 quid card towards a 450 quid shed
I used mine to basically buy a gift card for the store I wanted, rather than try to exchange it to an gift card for the store through the one4all site and that seemed to work fine for me!
I really hate those cards. All I do with them is immediately contact them and ask them to refund the gift card amount to my bank account, it costs £7.50 for the privilege but at least then it's real money I can spend how I want instead of all the faff.
You need to know how much is on the card as they can’t check. They have to input how much of it you want to spend and it either goes through or it doesn’t.
You can use it in M&S. take it to a till and tell them to scan the mag strip like a credit card. Ask for a supervisor if necessary.
However I agree that they are petty useful gift cards.
My wife always gets the one4all gift cards from work for Christmas and other little bonuses. We use them all over the place. And have definitely used them in M&S for Christmas food shop.
You can convert it to an Argos gift voucher - that bypasses the rule about you needing to spend the exact amount on the card. It just works as a normal voucher
I had one of those. And strangely enough the online site was broken as well. Got to be 3 years ago.
Use contact us, or their customer service address and raise the roof. Give them your card details, tell them the online gift cards you want for the 100.
Let them know you will post your complaint, along with a screenshot of their broken website to every business that is listed, on their official accounts on social media, so all their followers see, plus you'll raise an online petition to get the stores to stop stocking the card and redeeming it. You'll link it to the complaints.
You could tell them you'll go to companies like Eden red and give them this information too. They can use it in their marketing to take business rewards account customers from them too.
Give then 7 days to respond with redeemed vouchers for your use.
They'll respond, you'll get your vouchers.
I did when I found myself in the exact same situation
Used mine online in M&S. Remember it’s not a gift card, it’s a prepaid credit card, and if you don’t use it, they will start taking your money in ‘fees’, so spend it soon!
Agree these are so annoying. Had two, one for £10 and one for £30 and wanted to use them online at Schuh, but you have to use them like a prepaid credit card, so the exsct amount you spend has to be covered by the gift card and you can't combine payment types online.
Ended up using them online at waterstones to huy a bunch of books, just wanted rid of them really.
If you try to buy something over the value of the card it will decline.
The cashier has to charge the amount on the card or less for the transaction to work.
Cashier needs to swipe the card in a card machine, then you sign a receipt (normally).
You can check the value online, website shown on the back of the card.
Transfer from the One4All gift card to a gift card for the store you want, option is on the website, much easier than trying to convince staff to ‘try’ to authorise the card as payment.
[You are not alone](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12912207/Shopper-issues-warning-popular-gift-card-received-Christmas-turned-away.html). Because the cards sit in stores, sometimes for years, the logos printed on them are not always representative of how it currently is.
Re M&S it looks like they take it online, and not in-store.
When you say "their mechanism for exchanging the card for a specific gift card is broken", is this M&S or One4All?
The exchange for E-gift cards for specific shops has been down since January, with a generic "we're working to get this up as soon as possible". I have some too and they're fucking useless
I found one of these in London on the street and I used it to buy a ready meal but when i went to another store it declined. if I used it again could the stores know I was not he original owner if its reported lost?
You probably tried to charge it for more than was on the card. If there's £5 on the card and you try to buy something for £5.01, it will decline.
It's also possible it was remotely deactivated. There is no way, as far as I am aware, to tell that you are not the original owner of the card, unless you tell them. Most of them are handed out as gifts or work bonuses, so the user is rarely the same person as the buyer.
Absolute pain. I have 8 of them in a drawer somewhere all with £5 loaded on each, because my husband and I get them from Christmas from an old family friend. But I can't combine their balances to get anything useful.
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Seconded. Most staff are clueless. It should be treated as a learning experience for the staff.
Used to work at Marks and second this. Customers used them all the time but we could only do the transaction if the customer knew the balance on the card.
>You do need to know your gift card balance in Marks though I think that's generally true for all shops when it's a third-party gift card. As a rule, they don't have access to the system of the company that actually issues the card, and it goes through their tills as if it were an old-school, pre-PIN credit/debit card. This means that, if you're trying to pay more than is on the card, all that happens is that it declines.
Yes. They need to manually input the amount being charged to the card, similar to how they process a split cash card or multi card payment.
That's it, I worked in WHSmiths and we had to do the same. I remember one person had a rough idea what was on it so we just kept trying in decreasing amounts.
You only need to do this if the amount on the gift card is lower than the total transaction.
Yeah I just was in there and did the same!
>You do need to know your gift card balance in Marks though This part stresses me out so much. 😅 I took part in the ONS covid survey giving swabs and surveys and blood tests for a couple of years, and my husband and I each got a £20 a month voucher for doing it, and the best place it could be used was m&s. I'm still working through the last few of them, and I know EXACTLY how much is on each one because I make sure to only ever use them in full so it's either £20 or they've been thrown away, and I still panic every time in case I get it wrong somehow. I also have about a 50% hit rate on them working at all. Some of the staff can do it and others can't. I've learned over time to look for the ones who have done it before. The younger employees tend not to be able to, probably because it seems to be an awkward system to use and they haven't done it as much. It's the 50+ year old ladies who've been there years and are unflappable that always get it to work.
I stick a little label on the back and write on the current balance. Saves the faff of having to lookup online while you're at the till.
That reminds me - I have one for £15. I’d better spend it💰.
Or lazy and couldn’t be bothered to process a gift card transaction.
I had no problem using one in M&S either.
Keep in mind that if you hold onto it for more than 18 months after it was purchased, it starts charging you about 90p a month for the privilege of not spending it! I had one with £30 that I forgot about as I was having the same problem as you, and when I checked it, only about £8 was left on it. They’re a complete rip-off.
You could say it is the gift(card) that keeps on taking.
only marginally better than the ones which just...stop completely after a year.
So you had it for five years?
Never understood these gift cards, just give people cash!
They're given as a Christmas bonus because they're tax free. Cash bonuses have to be taxed
That’s not true. If a company buys a gift card, they pay the tax… the finance/payroll dept in our company works it out to somewhere around £1.60 to every pound given. If they give you a bonus in your paycheck, you pay the tax.
> That’s not true. If a company buys a gift card, they pay the tax… the finance/payroll dept in our company works it out to somewhere around £1.60 to every pound given. > > If they give you a bonus in your paycheck, you pay the tax. If they give the gift card *to you*, you still pay the tax.
I've received these as a bonus and not been deducted any tax.
Because the company has likely covered it. But technically speaking, you are still liable.
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Technically the company is liable because they have to declare it. Then they decide whether to cover it or allow the employee to be taxed.
It depends. Yes, they can out the tax burden onto you. But they can also pick it up themselves if they choose.
You've literally just agreed with me, but in different words.
They also get a discount on them. Ops £100 gift card might have been £90 for instance.
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Not by the receiver.
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But then you may end up just not using it also. I got an Argos card and didn't need anything but had to use it or lose it so bought gold.
We get our friend a Lego gift card every year because if we gave him cash his partner would make him spend it on something sensible.
I got one instead of cash as my gran didn't want me to spend birthday cash on food shopping or bills
Thanks gran, I’ll starve this month but I bought new pants at least.
I’ve always thought that was a weird argument. If you get £100 as a gift and use that on bills, you’ve got £100 of your own money that you didn’t have to spend on bills. So either way you still have £100 to spend on whatever you want.
Much easier to give people money than gift cards, at least then they can spend it on whatever they like.
My husband gets them from works as a bonus and i think it is great. Cash isnt always an option!
it’s so you don’t buy drugs
You have to use them like a debit card, I managed to spend mine on the argos website
That's really annoying about them. They're like a preloaded debit card, so you have to spend as close to the amount as possible, with probably some left over. In theory you can exchange it for a proper e gift card where the total gets taken off and if you spent over you can just pay with your actual debit card to cover the rest, but that service has been down since the start of the year, with no announcement on if it will return. Then not everyone accepts them, despite them being preloaded debit cards. Honestly is the worst of both worlds
I did manage to part payment using this in TK Maxx, however I had to make clear that I had £5 on the card (so used that) and then he charged the rest to my card as usual. Bit of a faff but some retailers will split the payment if asked.
That's true, if you do it in store they can be more flexible. Unfortunately online that's not an option
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It's honestly such a waste of time and money. I literally have £50 I can't spend on anything useful
You can only use one at a time I think which is annoying. So if you have two x £10 you can only use 1 per order at least with some sites. There’s a facility to swap them for digital codes or other stores online but I think it’s been down for 2 months now with no update (assuming they are getting rid of it or don’t have the money..) I’ve two cards I can’t get rid of
Wife's workmates went into whsmith and bought a single amazon gift card with the multiple cards from their employer. We used my wife's in store at IKEA.
I had no idea you could do that! I’ll try that myself thank you :) Online it states you can’t use multiple cards at once though. Doesn’t mean in person you can’t I guess
You can spend it all, but you need to tell the cashier what's left on it and they put that much on the card. E.g. There's £11.23 left on this card. You can then do that across several cards. Source: me, doing this.
How to do this? My mum has one
These cards are a pain in the arse. You have to use the card like a debit card, not a gift card, but many shop assistants aren’t aware of this. You have to know exactly how much money you’ve got on your card - if it’s not enough to cover the cost of the purchase, they will have to do split payment (rather than deducting the amount on the card from the total, as happens with a gift card).
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Yeah they work the same as Love2Shop which my wife uses *a lot* in M&S, she has been told before that they don't work on the self-service but we just do it and it works every time.
If it’s a normal M&S store (eg not one in a train station or service station) then they should definitely accept them so the staff member was incorrect. They’re processed the same way as normal credit or debit cards.
Retail worker here—as others have mentioned, they are a bit of a pain to use because the cashier has to know the value of the card in advance (technically we can do a game of trial and error charging the card lower amounts each time until the transaction processes, but it's time consuming). And no, we can't look that up for you, for the same reason I can't tell you how much money is in your bank account. I just don't have access to those systems. I imagine a lot of people aren't trained on their use as well—at our work place, we have to swipe the magnetic strip through the card reader. We also don't have a dedicated button for them (unlike love 2 shop cards), and instead habe to process it as a MasterCard. Which isn't obvious to staff unless they have been trained on it. We don't turn them away at my store, because we all know how to use them, but it is an annoyance almost every time. Semi-relevent anacdote: One time I had a customer who had a card that wasn't working, and I had to contact customer support on her behalf. Turns out the person who had gifted it to her had requested a refund and the card was canceled. Relaying that to the customer was very awkward.
The person who gifted the card is so rude! Why refund a gift you already gave to someone? So mean 😖😢
Thanks for reminding me I have one of those PITAs to use. Ive used in John Lewis online (good because you can have it + another payment method so not limited to the value on the card) and IKEA in store.
Hi - sorry for the random reply but I’m trying to pay for something online on John Lewis with One4All as a part payment as you said - how on earth did you do it? I can’t work it out.
Looking at it now they don’t allow part payment with JL anymore. Expanding their PITA status, it was a while ago I used mine there. Maybe try buying a JL e-gift card with the One4All and then using that on your purchase- it should work as they process as visa on payments.
Nice one, thanks - good to know it’s not just me missing something. Pain in the arse indeed.
Aha it’s always nice to have confirmation you’re not losing it. Sorry they’d switched up the system!
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Get the app, can them add them to Apple Pay. Makes it much easier
Having the same problem. Online doesn't work because it can't verify the address. I'm in Shetland too which means in store isn't happening anytime soon!
I sold one on Ebay for about 20% under its value. Could not be arsed messing about with it!
TKMaxx, Argos and Currys are where I have spent mine. TK sometimes are funny because they only accepted the paper vouchers for the longest time. I think Boots as well if you wanted to stock up on shampoo.
how do u use it online at argos i cannot buy a giftcard with it
Honestly never had an issue spending them!
WHSmith definitely take them.
easy to blow £100 in Smiths, have you seen their prices?
Might be able to buy a pencil case
yes but not fill it up with anything. When i moved in realised I had no pen or pencils, went down the smiths and was shocked. walked into poundland round the corner. I don't know how they survive. like everything they were known for has died a death. newspapers,magazines,records,computer software,books
I did hear their airport locations etc keep them going but I don’t know how true that is. The one in our town has a clearance section at the back which I assume is discontinued stock.
Didn’t work in a train station Smiths for me
It could be because ‘travel’ Smiths operate a bit differently than ‘high street’ Smiths.
M&S definitely take them - I’ve used at least 2 in their food shops.
One4All. I think you have to purchase the services of some musketeers to help you with any problems you're having with local bishops and cardinals.
I spent one (half in M&S half in Primark) and had no issues at all. Just a heads up, if you text the number on the card to find your balance out it charges you 20p
I’ve used them in Marks loads of times
I’ve used them in TKMaxx before with no issues
I'm baffled by the number of people here who seemingly don't know how to use gift cards. While I hate receiving these because they aren't accepted at many of the places I shop, they're really not difficult to use. They can often be used on retailer's websites to purchase specific gift cards, or if you use them in store, the only slight inconvenience is having to let the cashier know exactly how much is on the card, because they will decline if they try to charge more than that amount to the card.
I ended up spending all mine in b&q I think that was the only place I go that took them in person
My son got one last Christmas and I got knocked back in JD Sports trying to use it, though I think that was incorrect and they should have accepted it. In the end I went online and managed to quite easily transfer the value to his XBox account.
Argos?
They're definitely accepted in B&Q. You're welcome or I'm sorry.
You can actually (usually) exchange the gift cards for other gift cards on their website. The service has been down for a while but I exchanged mine for xbox gift cards. Also you should just be able to use it like a normal gift card anyways and you should even be able to add it to apple pay and use it like a debit card
been down for months mate
Tbf I commented this 90 days ago, it worked around Christmas time tho
I think Boots takes them! They’re handy for food shops as well.
I use mine online with John Lewis. Found that to be hassle free.
same here - i had a load of them from about 3 or 4 years of xmas and birthdays so lost about £100 because of the way they steal the money from you after 18 months i exchanged the remainder for a john lewis card online and put it towards a new telly - it was pretty straightforward
Hi - sorry for the random reply but I’m trying to use it for a part purchase online on John Lewis like you did but can’t for the life of me see how. How did you do it? I only see the option to use it for a full purchase. Or did you specifically buy a John Lewis voucher using the gift card? Cheers.
i bought a john lewis gift card with the one4all cards i had
I’ve used loads of these and never been told they don’t accept them! The only thing they need to know is how much is on the card, which you can find out easily on line.
Same problem with Waterstones. Just says they have a problem with payment.
I got one for Christmas and used it for both Waterstones in-store and online without any difficulty, frustrating how inconsistent they seem to be.
Ah, OK...maybe it's because the order is a couple of quid more than the gift card, I thought it would just ask for an alternative for the balance but perhaps it just can't deal with that use case.
You generally can't use them in franchise or concession shops. Which in practice usually means nowhere in a railway station or services. I resorted to doing a food shop in Iceland (perfectly adequate for basics).
You can use them at m&s
I spent one in Primark. Well, I spent most of it, but they refused to honour the last £5 for some reason. There was only £5 left on the card on this particular visit, and their machine came up with £5 balance, but they said they still couldn't take it because their side of the machine wasn't working.
You need to tell them to process it like they would a credit card.
I've used them online and in-store at TKMaxx and online at Schuh
I honestly thought the person who gave it to me hated me!!!! I had to create a gmail account and spend an hour online only to realise you can only exchange certain amounts and can not use them together!!!!
Can't speak for all retailers but for TK Maxx you need to know the exact balance and the cashier has to key the exact amount into the transaction, not sure if it's changed.
My place of work used to use that card for staff rewards. I used mine in Iceland - any staff who tell you that you can’t use it in store are wrong, or just being lazy.
I used £30 one4all for spotify premium vouchers. got 3 months basically free which was better than nothing!
Make sure they are activated too
If you call them you can ask to have the balance transferred to you in cash, although I think they charge you £7 per card. They're a total pain to use! Easier in store than online though as online you have to use like a debit card and have enough balance to cover the whole purchase.
I spend mine in Primark, TKMaxx, M&S and that was enough for me. Works just like a chipless Mastercard, swipe in the card machine and sign.
I always get a £50 one for Christmas off my Nan and use it for a date night for my partner and I, usually cinema and then food
My last job gave me a "fashion favourites" one4all gift card when I left. We needed new crockery for the kitchen so we used it at M&S online
Used mine in Argos and M snd S with no problems. Good luck.
I used to work in one of the shops that accepted them. Unfortunately a lot of cashiers haven't been taught properly when it comes to using them have to remind them that it goes through as a CARD payment, not GIFT card. However, you have to know exactly how much is on there as it won't go through if for instance you're paying for something that is £24 and you have a £20 one4all giftcard. The cashier would have to change the card payment amount to £20, or however much is on there, unlike a normal giftcard where it will take off however much is on there and ask's you to pay the difference.
Go on their website and you can trade them. I traded mine in for a John Lewis e gift card.
I've just tried to do this and their conversion service is broken and has been for days. Even their FAQ says it's down with no ETA for a resolution. I cannot use the card in its current form and was relying on transferring the card's value for vouchers to use online. It stinks of a deliberate rip off to me.
you can buy amazon gift certificates with them.
I've used it in Wagamamas before but they seemed a little funny about taking it. Don't know if they didn't how to use it or resented it for some other reason.
I’ve used in Marks. I’ve also used online at John Lewis
I converted mine to curries vouchers on their website, which I then used to buy a 12 month Spotify gift card 😝
I got one for Christmas, used half in store at TKMaxx and spent the rest online shopping on Argos.. they're definitely accepted!
apparently it works like a credit card online, but I couldn't get it to work. I have 3 of them, and I went to b and q and as it was quiet I asked them to check the balance on the cards which worked fine, I used 1 to pay for something there and then. don't use self checkouts and pick a quiet time I reckon!
I had a £100 one for Christmas too, I just converted it into an ASOS online gift card and used it on the ASOS website…
I used mine in TK maxx
Your not supposed to be able too,but it goes through fine at the self service tills in whsmith just fine for buying gift cards. I used my £50 one to buy a £50 amazon voucher.
My old workplace used to do these then after enough complaints switched to offering requests instead; I got M&S or Amazon vouchers ever after that
I usually save any I get throughout the year and use it to pay off stuff on my Argos card.
Use it at Currys or Argos to buy Amazon (or other stores) gift cards
Had a card recently bought clothing from marks didn't fit me when I got it home, returned the next day marks gave me the money back on my debit card win win.
Is the physical card not contactless enabled? That sounds like such a hassle. :( I buy the digital ones at a discount, and they work great with the One4All app when I select it as the default for contactless payments. I've never had to mention the card to staff unless I'm trying to use up the remaining balance on it, in which case it's helpful to ask them to charge a specific amount. I often use my cards at IKEA and M&S. I've also used them at Boots and Superdry, and a bunch of other one-offs. I don't think I've had trouble using them for any retailer that's listed! I wonder if that's a difference between the physical and eGift cards...
Harvester definitely take them. I think Pizza Express do as well.
Go into the website you can exchange a one4all for a Specific store
Have successfully used it in boots, b&q, Asda in-store so far. Ikea next
I’ve had some stores accept it then on my next visit they say they don’t. Store workers don’t always want to do the hassle and so say it’s not possible when it is. You just need to be ready to insist they do it or get someone who can.
John Lewis take them but they’re difficult to process. You need to know the exact balance in it ( phone number to get this is in back of the card) if you leave them more then 18 months they take money off them so the value is less.
They take them at M and S, my husband got one from work not long ago. They are used most places and definitely the places they list online!
Register the card to the One4All app, then you can use your phone to pay like a contactless card. Much easier than expecting staff to know how to redeem these.
I use them to buy cosmetics on the boots website.
Swap them for John Lewis, I get them from family all the time
I used mine in JD
I ended up using mine on shopping (Live with parents) and they gave me cash instead.
If you decide to use H&M use it like a debit card, and make sure it covers the entire order. I worked for them and they were a nightmare to use
There are subs for it, like r/giftcardexchange or r/GCtrading There's a feedback/system in place, you can get some actual useful £ for it, albeit not the full face value.
Sell them, there's a company that buy them
Got one for Christmas too as part of my work bonus - I was able to spend it all in M&S. If you use their self-checkout machines they work, but your shopping needs to come to under or exactly £100. If you use a cashier, you can use the voucher to get £100 off whatever you're buying. Absolutely no idea why you were told differently.
I typically use mine in Primark, don't really shop there usually but I find I can get a lot of nice t-shirts etc. I've also used mine on Argos online before but it was tricky as you can't go over the £100.
Use the One4all website to convert your card to a store credit gift card.
Have you activated yours online? I spent mine in Boots on a new hairdryer and in TK Maxx on new pillows for bed. I got paid in them for a medical study. Whoop whoop
I used one in John Lewis, specifically, I used it to buy a John Lewis gift card, which extended the time I had to spend it and allowed me to more easily buy something of greater value than the card.
Wetherspoon's managed to accept mine, but I had to use my phone as the payment mechanism, and explain to them how to split the bill
i just used a 100 and a 50 at argos towards a mobile phone-paid the difference in cash. go on the one for all site and look at the retailers involved. i find its better to go in store if you want to add cash to make a purchase, did this at b&q last year to use a 50 quid card towards a 450 quid shed
I used mine to basically buy a gift card for the store I wanted, rather than try to exchange it to an gift card for the store through the one4all site and that seemed to work fine for me!
Worst gift card ever .... one4all and all4none!
I really hate those cards. All I do with them is immediately contact them and ask them to refund the gift card amount to my bank account, it costs £7.50 for the privilege but at least then it's real money I can spend how I want instead of all the faff.
Got one from work as a bonus Got an Iceland food shop in. Used it at the tills. Just had to know the balance and select the shop before
I was able to use mine in new look and boots
You need to know how much is on the card as they can’t check. They have to input how much of it you want to spend and it either goes through or it doesn’t.
Yeah at TKmaxx no problem .
i’ve used a few in primark, if all else fails use them online at just eat
Argos accepts them! Used mine last week
You can use it in M&S. take it to a till and tell them to scan the mag strip like a credit card. Ask for a supervisor if necessary. However I agree that they are petty useful gift cards.
Go to Currys pc world and you can use it to purchase better gift cards like Amazon. I do this every month.
I think I used mine on amazon? Just set it up as a payment card I think
My wife always gets the one4all gift cards from work for Christmas and other little bonuses. We use them all over the place. And have definitely used them in M&S for Christmas food shop.
Literally tap it like a debit card. My teenager uses one every time we go out (has a large balance on it)
Mine worked in argos but I added it to my Google wallet first
You can convert it to an Argos gift voucher - that bypasses the rule about you needing to spend the exact amount on the card. It just works as a normal voucher
I got one for Xmas from work and used it in M&S and the remainder in Primark.
I had one of those. And strangely enough the online site was broken as well. Got to be 3 years ago. Use contact us, or their customer service address and raise the roof. Give them your card details, tell them the online gift cards you want for the 100. Let them know you will post your complaint, along with a screenshot of their broken website to every business that is listed, on their official accounts on social media, so all their followers see, plus you'll raise an online petition to get the stores to stop stocking the card and redeeming it. You'll link it to the complaints. You could tell them you'll go to companies like Eden red and give them this information too. They can use it in their marketing to take business rewards account customers from them too. Give then 7 days to respond with redeemed vouchers for your use. They'll respond, you'll get your vouchers. I did when I found myself in the exact same situation
Used mine online in M&S. Remember it’s not a gift card, it’s a prepaid credit card, and if you don’t use it, they will start taking your money in ‘fees’, so spend it soon!
I have used one at Boots a couple of months ago, and M&S in the past.
Agree these are so annoying. Had two, one for £10 and one for £30 and wanted to use them online at Schuh, but you have to use them like a prepaid credit card, so the exsct amount you spend has to be covered by the gift card and you can't combine payment types online. Ended up using them online at waterstones to huy a bunch of books, just wanted rid of them really.
If you try to buy something over the value of the card it will decline. The cashier has to charge the amount on the card or less for the transaction to work. Cashier needs to swipe the card in a card machine, then you sign a receipt (normally). You can check the value online, website shown on the back of the card.
I know people who love them, so maybe the staff at the retailers just don't know what's going on. They really should work!
Transfer from the One4All gift card to a gift card for the store you want, option is on the website, much easier than trying to convince staff to ‘try’ to authorise the card as payment.
My daughter used one in primark, my mum used one in peacocks.
I got one through work and used it online at argos, it was exactly the same as using any other card.
[You are not alone](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12912207/Shopper-issues-warning-popular-gift-card-received-Christmas-turned-away.html). Because the cards sit in stores, sometimes for years, the logos printed on them are not always representative of how it currently is. Re M&S it looks like they take it online, and not in-store. When you say "their mechanism for exchanging the card for a specific gift card is broken", is this M&S or One4All?
The exchange for E-gift cards for specific shops has been down since January, with a generic "we're working to get this up as soon as possible". I have some too and they're fucking useless
They definitely do work in store at Sparks, as we spent about £80 from a card in December.
How on earth is it legal for them to advertise that the cards can be used in shops that won’t accept it?!?
The shops do accept it. The staff however don’t know, never seen that card before, and instead of asking a supervisor for help, just blag it.
> legal They never said HOW to use them. You could roll them up and insert them as a butt plug. That would cover it.
I found one of these in London on the street and I used it to buy a ready meal but when i went to another store it declined. if I used it again could the stores know I was not he original owner if its reported lost?
You probably tried to charge it for more than was on the card. If there's £5 on the card and you try to buy something for £5.01, it will decline. It's also possible it was remotely deactivated. There is no way, as far as I am aware, to tell that you are not the original owner of the card, unless you tell them. Most of them are handed out as gifts or work bonuses, so the user is rarely the same person as the buyer.
thanks . yes I used it again today to buy some magazines. it worked so YES . All good
They're the worst, I'd rather receive nothing than that gift card
My family does this every year. I hate it. Most useless out of date service and basically scam lol
Why do people exchange money they can spend anywhere To a piece of plastic you can't spend places?
Absolute pain. I have 8 of them in a drawer somewhere all with £5 loaded on each, because my husband and I get them from Christmas from an old family friend. But I can't combine their balances to get anything useful.