John Lewis sitting on £101million worth of cash which belongs to customers

Recent market analysis suggests that Britain's gift card sector will grow from strength to strength in the years ahead.

Forecasts included in the Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence Report 2025-2029 estimate the sector will rise 8.3 per cent in 2026 to £8.8billion, reaching £11.7billion by 2029.

Despite this, research conducted by Ipsos suggests that much of the cash included in these gift cards are not being redeemed with the firm determining that 11 per cent of Britons allowed vouchers to xpire unused in the last year.

Based on this data, this results in the average consumer losing £75.30, with this figure jumping to £86 for younger adults aged between 16 and 34.

This issue over expired gift cards has arisen once again after a north London couple contacted The Telegraph after John Lewis refused to honour £300 worth of expired wedding gift cards.

The pair had been preparing for the arrival of their first baby this summer and had deliberately saved them to buy baby essentials ahead of the birth of their child.

They had also planned to create another John Lewis gift registry for the new arrival after previously using the retailer’s service for their wedding.

However, the couple later discovered the gift cards had expired after two years, with John Lewis refusing to make an exception despite repeated appeals.

The customer urged the retailer to show “care and compassion” given their circumstances, arguing that £300 was a substantial amount of money to lose at a time when they were preparing for a baby.

John Lewis told the customer that expired gift cards cannot be replaced under company policy because they are treated in the same way as cash.

Explaining the decision, the company said gift card balances and transaction histories are stored on its systems and that “an expiry date minimises the amount of storage required for this data”.

A John Lewis spokesman said: “We are really sorry to hear that these gift cards expired and we are unable to replace them.”

The customer also raised concerns that the expiry date was not clearly displayed on the gift cards themselves, leaving recipients unaware of when the balance would become invalid.

After discovering the John Lewis cards had expired, the couple checked several other unused gift cards and found rival retailers offered significantly longer validity periods.

Virgin Experiences had also expired, although the company reportedly offered the customer an additional 14 days to redeem the balance.

Ikea gift cards remain valid for five years, while Amazon gift cards can be used for up to 10 years after purchase.

Some retailers operate even stricter expiry policies than John Lewis, with several major brands limiting gift card validity to just 12 months.

Ryanair, White Stuff, Ticketmaster, Notonthehighstreet, Costa Coffee, and Vue all expire after one year.

Other businesses do not impose expiry dates at all, including Apple Store, Starbucks, Theatre Tokens, and National Book Tokens.

Consumer group Which? has previously warned there is currently no legal minimum expiry period for gift cards in the UK, allowing retailers to determine their own policies.

Several countries, including Ireland and the United States, require gift cards to remain valid for at least five years under consumer protection laws.

Labour has not introduced similar legislation.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: “We expect retailers to be clear and transparent about when their gift cards expire, but there is no legal requirement to extend expired cards.”

While businesses can face enforcement action for misleading consumers over expiry terms, there is currently no obligation for companies to provide longer redemption periods.

Research carried out by Ipsos found 11 per cent of UK adults had vouchers or gift cards expire before they were able to spend them during the past year.

The polling also found affected consumers lost an average of £75.30 through expired vouchers and gift cards.