By Samantha
In August I received a gift card for Glow Hair & Nails in Calgary that was worth approximately $50. In Oct I went for a pedicure, and after my pedicure was finished, I tried to pay with my gift card. The manager/owner began to tell me that she just recently purchased the company and that the previous owner did not pay for any of the outstanding gift cards. She said they have hired a lawyer but cannot find the previous owner, and that they have already received over 100 cards since they’ve taken over. She would not accept my card, and said “her girls have to be paid”, and that she would give 10% discount. I paid the bill and walked out of there fuming. Is it just me or is that the risk you take when you assume another company’s name?? Why should the customer be penalized for their poor business decisions.
Ashley says...
I agree, it does not seem fair that you are penalized because the company was taken over by a new owner. Not sure if there is anything that can be done but I checked on the Better Business Bureau website and they are listed on there (although not accredited with BBB). It does give the option to file a complaint about the company on the BBB website. You could try doing that, and see if maybe they can help you. There should be some sort of restitution given to customers who have purchased a gift card for a company that either goes bankrupt or is bought out.
Sally888 says...
Thats such bad business! Almost seems like a scam to me. What a great way to make money on giftcards. If they weren’t accepting previous gift cards then that needed to be posted clearly when you walked in and at the cash.
Jenn says...
A similar thing happened to me regarding tanning minutes. All of a sudden the tanning place was closed and a few weeks later it reopened with a new name. I went in to ask about my minutes and the girl told me it is a new company and my minutes are gone. However, a few weeks ago I went into a different store in the same strip and got to talking with the girl that works there, and she told me it is the same people who own the new tanning salon. . .
So they can just close down for a few weeks and change the name and take away my minutes? Not worth my time to try and get the minutes back, but unsettling that they can do that.
Ciel says...
If the first version of the company was a corporation or limited liability company, and it goes out of business, it’s liabilities are limited to corporate assets. It is very possible for previous owners to set up a new company (limited) and buy the other company’s assets or lease and set up as a new store or business.
Check the Consumer act in your province–I recall that in Ontario, there was a blurb about gift cards and how they can be honoured during business changes or not.
Rach says...
I used a groupon for the upgraded silk lashes in October and they gave me the cheaper mink lashes instead. This is a scam…they are going to lose business if they keep up this kind of “screw over the customer any way you can” type of work ethic.