Take the silly out of the silly season and know your rights when it comes to choosing and purchasing gifts.
Make it a safe and happy holiday!
vouch for it
Gift vouchers are a solution to taking the stress out of picking a gift – but they’re not perfect. If you lose a voucher, it’s too bad. The exception is if it’s made out to a person and marked “not transferable”, which means the trader might have a record of it. Also, keep track of the expiry date, because once it’s passed, the trader has no obligation to honour the voucher. And if the business goes bust or changes hands, the voucher might be worth no more than a piece of paper.
Gift cards
These are pretty much the same, but in a credit-card form. They may cost extra in fees to use, for example to check your balance. They also tend to have an expiry date, but it might not be shown on the card, so check this when you buy it. Also, the store might be able to cancel the card.
Returns and exchanges
You can always give the gift of the easy return. You’ll need to arrange this before with the retailer. Generally, you’ll need a proof of purchase, such as a receipt, and the item should be unused and packaging sealed. Remember, there’s a time limit on returns, so make sure your recipient is aware of this.
Safety standards
A third of children’s products we’ve tested over the past five years have had serious faults. Some electronic goods, especially ones bought over the internet, might be hazardous if they don’t comply with New Zealand safety standards. Check kids’ stuff is covered – look for Australia/New Zealand (AS/NZS), British (BS), American (ASTMor CFR) and European (EN) standards. And be careful when buying second-hand – even those covered might be out of date or damaged. Make sure you have proper instructions for setting up nursery products, so you can do it correctly and safely. Check the voltage of electronics – they must be 230 volts and 50 Hertz to be safe. Legal electronics should have a Supplier Declaration of Conformity.
Sale items
Boxing Day sales are the gift after Christmas, but keep your head and shop savvy. Check prices at more than one store to make sure items really are a bargain. You can do that easily online or look through your newspaper. Make sure you really want the things you buy, because you can’t return them just because you’ve changed your mind. And, most of all, just because something’s on sale doesn’t mean the trader can get out of the Consumer Guarantees Act – they still have to put things right if the item is broken or defective. The only exception to this is if they stated clearly this is the reason the item was on sale.
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