mexx takeover and vouchers??

Mrs daithi went into mexx(Galway0 today with a voucher to be told that they are now known as mexx international, and that they won't redeem any previously issued vouchers-has anyone had this expereience with this chain?? daithi

Ouch..... Surely if they have been bought over they would have bought the creditors as well (are you not a creditor when you have a voucher). i am assuming you mean a paid-for voucher and not a coupon from a magazine.

If the business was taken over as a going concern and did not close down then I can't see how they can do this. As the previous poster said all gift vouchers and credit notes outstanding for a retail business should be shown on the balance sheet as a creditor. If you buy a gift voucher the shop does not sell you anything you are just giving them a loan of your money until you or the person you give the voucher to goes and buys something thats when the sale takes place. If the business closed down for a period they would ahve had to advertise to all creditors.

I don't think a credit note and voucher are the same thing. I had thought that a voucher holder could be considered a creditor initially, but when you think about it, they are not. A credit note gives you a claim on goods that you have had to return or never received, a voucher is effectively a 'good' in itself. From an accounting point of view the holder of a voucher would not appear to me to be a creditor.

Having said that, I feel that Mexx/Mexx International should honour the voucher, have you contacted the ODCA to find out exactly what your rights are in this regard? It does appear that recipients of gifts are not deemed to be 'consumers', so I'm not sure how this affects your case.

This link doesn't give much in the way of info, but worth having a look

[broken link removed]

From an accounting point of view the holder of a voucher would not appear to me to be a creditor.

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If I buy a voucher I can't see why it does not give me a claim on the company to buy its products. I have made a legal agreement with the company that in return for the sum of money paid over for the voucher that I, or AN Other, can purchase the good or service from that company subject to the expiry date.

The contract is between the purchaser of the voucher and the company so the purchaser would have to make any potential claim.

[edited to include reference quote and additional sentence.]


Marion

the supply of goods for vat purposes does not arise when the gift voucher is sold but only when the gift voucher is exchanged for goods. Therefore the supply of a gift voucher goes straight to the balance sheet until it is exchanged for goods so yes the holder of a gift voucher is a creditor albeit very low down the chain in an insolvency situation.

angie said:

the supply of goods for vat purposes does not arise when the gift voucher is sold but only when the gift voucher is exchanged for goods. Therefore the supply of a gift voucher goes straight to the balance sheet until it is exchanged for goods so yes the holder of a gift voucher is a creditor albeit very low down the chain in an insolvency situation.

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Fair enough, i'd actually never come across vouchers issued in my time in audit.

So back to the OP-did you contact the ODCA to see what their position is in relation to the gift voucher?

looking at the ocda site, there doesn't seem to be much we can do..I could try going in to the store and buy another voucher and see if they're identical...other than that, a stern letter to the regional offices will be in the offing in the new year.Thanks btw, for the ocda link, and Happy Christmas to all...daithi