Got a gift card? Use it before you possibly lose it

Bed Bath & Beyond.She knew the retailer’s Canadian locations were shutting down, but she thought since the stores were still open she could use her cards.She was wrong.“We went to use our gift cards and were told unfortunately that we weren’t able to anymore,” she told Global News. “We contacted BBB to see what kind of options we had about getting our money back for it and we kind of hit a wall.“It was really frustrating.

We were really looking forward to be able to use our gift cards.”Bed Bath and Beyond customers were able to use their gift cards — but only up until March 9.

Read more: Bed Bath & Beyond to wrap up Canadian operations The retailer did post that on its site, as well as send an email to customers signed up for offers.

Wilburn said she wasn’t one of them and had no idea.She did know Alberta has long-standing and specific rules around gift cards and thought business bankruptcies would be included.“We thought in Alberta we were more protected with our gift cards, that we didn’t have to use it right away,” she added.“It was quite a surprise to learn that with bankruptcy you aren’t able to use the gift cards.”The rise of business bankruptcies or insolvencies over the last number of years has been significant and 2023 is shaping up to be another year of losses.Licensed insolvency trustee David Lewis with BDO Canada told Global News there is not much a consumer can do if a business shuts down and they have unused gift cards.“In most cases when a business closes, their gift card is basically worthless,” Lewis said.Lewis said consumers may decide to join the insolvency, but it’s a tough go.