NatWest takes the ‘ouch’ out of voucher

Brits will waste more than £105 million this Christmas buying gift vouchers for people who won’t use them, according to new research.

And the recipients of a further £40 million worth of vouchers will say ‘thank you very much’ and then ask for a cash swap.

Half the 1,600 people surveyed for NatWest said they feel restricted when they get a voucher and 20 per cent have still got unused vouchers from last Christmas.

NatWest carried out the research ahead of the launch of its Gift Card, which can be ‘charged’ with cash once and then redeemed at hundreds of thousands of stores, home and abroad, giving people much more choice.

The poll revealed that 57 per cent of recipients end up buying something they don’t really want, just to get rid of the unwanted voucher. But what really annoys two thirds of Brits is when shops refuse to give them change in cash but hand over yet more vouchers, or don’t give any change at all.

Any value between £10 and £250 can be loaded on to the NatWest Gift Card and it can then be used as many times as desired until all the money on it has been spent.

Helen Page, NatWest Marketing Director, said: “As Christmas can pose a real challenge for even the most imaginative shopper, we have launched the NatWest Gift Card to help ease the stress of finding the perfect present for those 'difficult to buy for' friends and relatives.”

Top of the list for handing over gift vouchers at Christmas are aunties, followed by parents.

People most likely to give gift vouchers:

Aunties
Parents
Friends
Grandparents
Children
Uncles
Boyfriend
Girlfriend