2 weeks Ago
Voucher giant Buyagift has 8,000 unhappy customers: TONY HETHERINGTON investigates By Tony Hetherington, Financial Mail on Sunday Updated: 22:58 BST, 26 October 2024 e-mail View comments Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. Mrs W.
E. writes: Buyagift has taken £200 from my banked vouchers. There is no way of contacting anyone except online and they are not answering.
We have saved these gift vouchers so my 81-year-old husband and I can have a few days away. I don't know where to turn if Buyagift won't even speak to me. Cut off: A reader's £200 in Buyagift vouchers disappeared from her account, and then she couldn't get help from the company's online chatbot Tony Hetherington replies: Buyagift is an online voucher company.
Short of ideas for Christmas? Give friends a voucher they can spend on a host of things such as restaurant meals, spa days, or a hot air balloon trip. Can't think what to give a family member for that big birthday? A Buyagift voucher can put them at the controls of a Spitfire. That's if all goes well, of course.
And on the face of it, there is no reason to worry. Buyagift is run by Experience More Limited, part of the Moonpig greetings card group. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 2 Next TONY HETHERINGTON: Dodgy car number plate firm Click4Reg has.
.. TONY HETHERINGTON: Linc Drinks is no sparkling investment Did my 94-year-old dad's cannabis investment go up in smoke?.
.. Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP What you need to know about money every week: This is Money podcast Yet £200 in vouchers you had saved simply disappeared from your account without explanation.
When you tried to resolve this through Buyagift's online chat service, you were firstly cut off and then you were told nothing could be done. You also threatened to report the matter to the police as a theft. I then found for myself what you had been up against.
Buyagift's website offers no phone number or email and it warns: 'We aren't able to respond to letters sent via post.' There is a 'contact us' page but this simply offers access to Buyagift's own list of Frequently Asked Questions. If a subject is not there, the customer's question is pointless.
There is a chatbot, but however I tried to pose my questions, I was met with a question in response. Did I have a Buyagift voucher already? No, I didn't. Did I want to buy a voucher? No, I didn't.
Since I had no vouchers and planned to buy no vouchers, the chatbot was not interested in anything I said. Bizarrely, the customer service page then asked: 'Was this article helpful?' On the day I tried to use it, a footnote announced: '916 out of 8,960 found this helpful.' So more than 8,000 people tried to get sense out of Buyagift's FAQs and chatbot, and they got nowhere! However, 24 hours after you threatened to call the police, a Buyagift customer services agent messaged you, saying: 'Our mission is to deliver happiness, and I can see that we have fallen short on this occasion'.
He gave his email address, which let me ask for details of his firm's press spokesperson. And to my surprise, he responded. I wish I could say that this was a genuine turning point but Buyagift could put the mafia's code of silence to shame.
I set out all the details of your complaint, and I added my own question about why Buyagift made it so hard to contact them. Despite a further nudge a week later, Buyagift has failed to offer any comment or answer questions. I also wanted to ask the firm about a check I made on court records, which turned up a couple of judgments against it that are listed as 'unsatisfied'.
This means either that the company did not settle its debts promptly or it could mean that it never paid up at all. There is a happy ending for you, though. Despite failing to come up with any explanation, the customer services staffer made good on your vanished vouchers.
You told me: 'Thank you so much for your fast intervention which prompted a highly satisfactory response.' A good outcome but there is no reason to believe exactly the same problem will not happen again. WE'RE WATCHING YOU A firm that published a lengthy list of false claims to promote a £4 million share offering has been compulsorily struck off.
In 2022, Orange River Wealth LLP marketed shares in its sister company, Orange River Capital Ltd, promising a fixed annual dividend of 15 per cent. Cash raised from investors was said to be invested in a cannabis farm in South Africa. I sounded the alarm at the time after finding the offer document claimed the support of a Financial Conduct Authority-registered stockbroking firm that was in liquidation.
It also named a director who had quit Orange River Capital. The biggest red flag was that control of both Orange River companies remained with one man, director Lee Farbrace. The document listed five firms he had run but left out a sixth that cost investors heavily.
The Orange River scheme has gone the same way. Promised 15 per cent dividends have not been paid and last February investors were asked for another £1 million by Farbrace. There are court judgments against both of Farbrace’s companies and proceedings have begun which may result in Orange River Capital also being compulsorily struck off.
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected].
uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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