Coles and Woolworths Will Accept Your Dick Smith Gift Cards
Coles beat everyone to the punch yesterday, announcing that they’ll bail out Dick Smith customers with unused gift cards after the company transitioned into voluntary administration. Those with vouchers, many gifted over the Christmas period were left in a dire mess following the move by Dicks to shut-up shop due to their poor financial position.
The supermarket chain has now been joined by Woolworth and both will exchange the now defunct Dick Smith vouchers – but only for those originally purchased through their stores.
In a statement released on Friday by a Coles rep, they said the move was “a gesture of goodwill to our customers” and that all cards purchased at Coles between 1 July and the company going into administration could be redeemed for Coles gift cards of equal value. This offer is based upon the customers being able to provide proof of purchase at a Coles store. It is not clear if the deal is exactly the same for those bought at Woolworths.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that both retailers, particularly Coles, are putting the heat on team-Dick to refund the cards themselves a result of pushing campaigns out through the supermarkets over Christmas. The paper reported:
Sources close to Coles say the electronics retailer was the driving force behind the December campaign, and ran these types of promotions through Coles and rival Woolworths several times a year.
As a result of consumer frustration, a barrage of abuse is being launched at both Dick Smith and their poor unassuming staff (the ‘techsperts’). At least one store was forced to call the police after angry shoppers occupied the shop.
Department store Kogan have also weighed in, promising $25 of credit for use in its store if customers post their vouchers to them. Third party gift card re-seller Prezzee said it would exchange the now redundant gift cards for a retailer’s gift card offered on its app. Slowly but surely, we hope everyone finds resolve from this Dicky situation.