Gift card questions arrive when the cards are used, usually after the holidays. This is a shorter version of the guide to what applies and which answers customer service needs ready.
Short answer: The company sets a gift card's validity, but if none is stated it lasts ten years, and the company must show the customer was told. A card bought online can be cancelled within 14 days, one bought in a shop cannot. A lost physical card loses its value, and in a bankruptcy cards usually stop being valid. Write the answers in the help centre before Christmas.
How long is a gift card valid?
As long as the company decides, and if nothing is stated it is valid for ten years. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, the company sets the terms and the validity period itself, but if no validity period is stated the gift card is valid for ten years. The shop also carries the burden of proof that the customer was told the validity period at the time of purchase.
That has two consequences for customer service:
- The answer depends on what applied when the card was bought, not on today's terms. If you changed the validity period during the year, whoever answers needs to know which cards fall under which rule.
- An expired card is not always expired. If you cannot show the customer was told the validity period, for instance because it was not on the card or in the order confirmation, you will struggle to claim the card has expired. Let someone with authority judge those cases, following your escalation procedure.
Print the validity period on the card, at checkout and in the order confirmation. It is the easiest way to avoid the discussion in January.
Can the customer cancel a gift card purchase?
Yes, if the card was bought online, but not if it was bought in a shop. The Swedish Consumer Agency says a gift card bought at a distance can be cancelled within 14 days, and that the unused amount is refunded the same way the customer paid. Shop purchases never carry a statutory right of withdrawal, although some shops offer returns voluntarily.
The information about the right of withdrawal must be given before the purchase. According to the agency's overview of information requirements for distance contracts, the company must state, among other things, how long the withdrawal period is, how the customer withdraws and that a withdrawal function exists and where to find it. If the information was not given correctly, the customer can get up to one extra year to withdraw. What the withdrawal function means for customer service is covered in the article on the withdrawal button.
What applies when a gift card has been lost?
If the physical card is needed to use it, the value is lost when the customer loses it. That is the Swedish Consumer Agency's position, and customer service needs to be able to say so plainly, kindly but without promising anything else.
For digital gift cards with a code that can be traced to an order, you have more options. If you can see the purchase and the code has not been used, you can choose to resend it, or block the old code and issue a new one. That is a decision you make in advance and write into the terms and the procedure, not something each agent decides alone.
Can the customer get their money back or change?
No, not as a right. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, customers cannot count on getting cash in change if the purchase costs less than the card's value; the shop decides. Usually the remainder stays on the card.
Two things customer service should be clear about:
- The right of withdrawal is the exception. A gift card bought online can be cancelled within 14 days, and then the unused amount is refunded.
- The terms decide the rest. If they say the remaining value stays on the card, that is the answer. If they say nothing, take the question to whoever owns the terms instead of inventing a rule in the inbox.
Can the gift card be used in sales and on Black Friday?
Your terms decide. The Swedish Consumer Agency does not cover the question on its gift card page, which is exactly why it needs to be in the terms before the card is sold. If the gift card cannot be used on discounted items, or together with a discount code, that should be clear when the card is bought, not only when the customer tries to pay.
This question rises around campaigns. Customer service needs a ready answer that says what applies and where it is stated, and checkout needs to give the same answer as the help centre.
What happens to gift cards if the company goes bankrupt?
They usually stop being valid. The Swedish Consumer Agency says gift cards usually stop being valid in a bankruptcy, that consumers often have little chance of getting their money back, and that the customer can lodge a claim with the bankruptcy estate. For customer service the main thing is not to promise anything: questions about gift cards in a company in difficulty belong with management or the administrator, not in the inbox.
Which answers should be in the help centre?
Six answers cover almost every question, and self-service can handle most of them without a person:
| Question | The answer is based on | Can self-service answer? |
|---|---|---|
| How long is my gift card valid? | Your terms, and ten years if no period was stated | Yes, plus balance and date through a lookup |
| Can I cancel the purchase? | 14 days for online purchases, no right in a shop | Yes |
| I have lost my card | Value is lost for physical cards; your procedure for digital codes | Partly, digital codes need a check |
| Can I get my money back? | The terms; no right to cash in change | Yes |
| Does the card work in the sale? | The terms | Yes |
| My card has expired | What was stated at purchase and whether you can show it | No, goes to a person |
Write the answers with the answer first and the condition after, following the principles in the article on writing help articles. In Supportifier the help centre and the chat answer from the same reviewed articles, so the gift card question gets the same answer in both channels. More questions to prepare for the holidays are in the article on Christmas trade.
When the question is really about a return or a refund rather than the card itself, the flow can be automated, as described in the answer on automated returns, refunds and credit notes.
What to do
- Read your gift card terms and check they cover validity, withdrawal, lost cards, remaining value and campaigns.
- Check where the validity period appears: on the card, at checkout and in the order confirmation.
- Decide the procedure for lost digital codes: when you resend, when you block, and who decides.
- Write the six answers in the table above and publish them in the help centre before Black Week.
- Make expired cards a ticket type of their own that always goes to someone with authority.
- Review the gift card questions in February and adjust the terms where customers misunderstood them.
Sources
- Presentkort och tillgodokvitto — Swedish Consumer Agency, read 2026
- Informationskrav vid distansavtal: regler för företag — Swedish Consumer Agency, read 2026
- Julhandelsrapporten 2026: Köpstarka hushåll lyfter julhandeln till rekordnivåer — HUI Research, 2026
The full article, including common questions, is on supportifier.se: Gift cards in customer service: how to answer the questions
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