I am a keen gardener and was fortunate to receive more than £150-worth of Wyevale garden centres gift cards for my recent summer birthday. I had specified that retailer as there has been a large one near my home for many years. However, when I visited last weekend I was shocked to see that it is now a Dobbies garden centre.
I was finally told that I could not use the cards there but that I could do so at other centres. However, the three “relatively” near me are a considerable drive away. This all seems unfair as it is hardly my fault that the company has changed hands.
SR, Leiston, Suffolk
This was unfortunate timing as the sale of this centre to Dobbies – one of five Wyevales sold off recently by its private equity owners – was only completed two and a half weeks ago. You were not told that customers can actually redeem their gift cards online as well as in any Wyevale garden centre following any sales of local centres (which are ongoing).
The company says: “There are still more than 100-plus Wyevale garden centres in operation. Huge efforts have been made to communicate this to the company’s Garden Club members – obviously there are fewer avenues to communicate to other affected consumers. We would stress that no one will lose the value of their voucher as a result of the sales.”
Wyevale’s gift cards have a two-year expiry date. But given current retail turmoil we would again urge readers holding cards to spend them as soon as is practical.
A Wyevale spokesperson said: “Customers are at the heart of our business, and their loyalty and support is very important to us. Once a customer’s local centre has changed ownership gift cards can be redeemed in a way that suits them best, either online or in-person at their nearest centre. To redeem gift cards online, we ask customers to contact customer services who will provide a specific code.
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