Settle your shop’s voucher obligations
If your solvent limited company issued paid-for vouchers that are still in date, stopping the promised redemption breaches the contract. Refunding the unused balance is the normal remedy when you cannot fulfil that promise.
Start by checking who issued the vouchers and the terms customers agreed to. For your own vouchers, plan how to honour them or fund the refunds owed. For another provider’s cards, ask that provider about its closure arrangements before telling customers what will happen.
Identify the balances and terms
Make a working list of voucher references, unused balances, issue dates and expiry terms. Keep the terms that applied when each voucher was bought, together with any customer correspondence. Review promotional vouchers and store credit separately rather than treating every balance as a paid-for gift voucher. These are practical record-keeping suggestions.
Consumer terms and notices must be fair and clear. You cannot rely on an unfair term to remove your contractual responsibilities.
Work out how customers can redeem vouchers on the agreed terms while you wind down, and budget for refunds where you cannot fulfil the promise. Ask a solicitor about uncertain terms, expired vouchers or a proposed earlier redemption deadline before announcing arrangements.
Tell customers how to redeem or claim
For a practical closure notice, put the arrangements in your shop and on your website. State the planned shop closure date, how vouchers can be used, how to request a refund and what evidence to send. Give a contact address you will continue to monitor for unresolved claims.
Keep copies of notices and correspondence. Record each redemption or refund against the voucher reference, amount and date so your outstanding balance stays accurate. These suggestions help you manage claims; they are not a statutory notice template.
Get advice if your company cannot pay
If your company becomes insolvent, your priorities shift to its creditors. You must protect company assets and avoid worsening creditors’ financial position. Consult an insolvency practitioner about voucher liabilities alongside the company’s other debts.
Take your voucher list, terms and refund records to the adviser. Get advice before making selective refunds, promising payments or accepting further voucher purchases.
For ordinary vouchers issued by the insolvent retailer, holders without applicable protection are unsecured creditors and may receive little or nothing. Check whether the issuer or a protection arrangement changes the position before describing it to customers.
Administrators or purchasers of the business are not obliged to honour its gift vouchers, although they may decide to do so. Direct customers to the appointed insolvency practitioner for current acceptance arrangements and the claims process.
Check separate gift-card schemes
Acceptance at several shops does not by itself establish that a gift card is regulated electronic money: exclusions can apply, including to some shopping-centre gift cards.
Ask the provider to confirm the issuer, applicable protection and what your shop’s closure means for customers. If you issue the scheme and its status is unclear, seek legal or regulatory advice before announcing how balances will be handled.
Deal with vouchers before company strike-off
Voucher holders with unresolved claims are creditors. Settle those claims before seeking a clean strike-off: creditors can object to dissolution or seek restoration afterwards. Strike-off is not an alternative to insolvency proceedings.
For a DS01 strike-off application, your company must not have traded, carried on business or sold stock held for normal trading in the previous 3 months. Settling a debt while winding down is permitted activity; a voucher refund for that purpose does not by itself restart the clock. Other eligibility restrictions also apply.
Within 7 days of applying, send a copy to members, existing and likely creditors (including voucher holders, landlords and staff owed money), employees, pension-fund managers or trustees, and directors who did not sign.
Anyone who becomes a director, member, creditor, employee or pension-fund manager or trustee after you apply must also receive a copy within 7 days of becoming one. This duty continues until dissolution or withdrawal.