What happens when a gift voucher expires?

Old gift vouchers are easy to forget in a drawer or wallet until the date on the card catches your eye. Before throwing one away, check how long it has been valid and what the law allows.

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A gift voucher can be easy to forget until you find it months later and spot an expiry date. Before you assume the balance is gone, check when the voucher was issued and whether someone paid for it. South African law gives paid vouchers a defined minimum validity period. A retailer’s printed date cannot shorten that period where Section 63 applies.

A paid gift voucher gets at least three years

Section 63 of the Consumer Protection Act covers prepaid certificates, cards, credits and vouchers issued after a supplier accepts payment. A qualifying voucher does not expire before its full value has been redeemed or three years have passed from the issue date, unless the supplier agrees to a longer period.

The same section treats the unredeemed amount as the property of the voucher bearer to the extent that the supplier has not exchanged it for goods or services. Once the applicable validity period has ended, Section 63 does not require the retailer to extend it.

A retailer can offer longer than three years, but a paid voucher covered by Section 63 cannot be cut down to six or twelve months. If the printed expiry date does that, check the date against the law before writing off the balance.

Check what kind of voucher you have

A voucher bought as a gift is different from a free promotional voucher. Section 63 applies where a supplier accepted payment in exchange for the voucher, which means a complimentary voucher may fall outside this specific three-year rule.

Check the issue date, original terms and any extension offered by the retailer. If part of the voucher has already been used, the unused amount can still be redeemed until the voucher is fully used or its lawful validity period ends. Voucher expiry is one of several consumer rights topics where store terms and legislation need to be read together.

What to do when the expiry date is close

Use the voucher before the valid period ends if possible. If a retailer refuses a paid voucher before three years have passed, save the voucher, purchase receipt or proof of payment, and any written terms that show the issue date.

Ask the retailer to explain the refusal in writing and refer to Section 63 if the printed expiry date is shorter than the legal period. Check any email, app record or account notice as well, because a supplier may have granted a longer validity period.

A paid gift voucher represents prepaid spending with a retailer. The expiry date does not override Section 63’s minimum period. Check the issue date before you write off the balance.

An expiry date is not the entire story. A paid voucher covered by Section 63 gets at least three years from issue, unless a longer period was agreed. Check the date before you give up on money that may still be yours to spend.