Gift cards in customer service: how to answer the questions

Gift cards are sold in November and December and used in January, and that is when the questions arrive: is the card still valid, can I cancel the purchase, what if I have lost it, and does it work in the sale. This year's Christmas trade will be large. According to HUI Research's Christmas Trade Report 2026, Swedish retail is expected to sell about 104 billion kronor in December, and during Black Week households spend just over 12 billion kronor more than in an ordinary week. This article covers what applies to gift cards in Sweden and how customer service answers correctly every time. It is not legal advice; check your terms with whoever is responsible for them.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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:

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.

What to do

1. Read your gift card terms and check they cover validity, withdrawal, lost cards, remaining value and campaigns.
2. Check where the validity period appears: on the card, at checkout and in the order confirmation.
3. Decide the procedure for lost digital codes: when you resend, when you block, and who decides.
4. Write the six answers in the table above and publish them in the help centre before Black Week.
5. Make expired cards a ticket type of their own that always goes to someone with authority.
6. Review the gift card questions in February and adjust the terms where customers misunderstood them.

Common questions

Is a credit note the same as a gift card?

In practice, yes. The Swedish Consumer Agency describes a credit note as a means of payment with a set value and a validity period, and the same rules apply as for gift cards: the terms decide the details, and if no validity period is stated it is valid for ten years. The difference is usually how it came about, after a return rather than a purchase, which can affect what the customer expects.

What do we reply when a customer brings an expired gift card?

First check what was stated when the card was bought. If the validity period was on the card or in the order confirmation, you can refer to it, kindly and with the date. If you cannot show the customer was told the validity period, you will struggle to refuse, because the shop carries the burden of proof. Send such cases to someone with authority to decide, rather than letting whoever replies decide alone.

Can the chatbot answer gift card questions?

The general ones, yes: validity, withdrawal, what applies in sales and what to do if the card is lost. Questions about a particular card's balance need a lookup in the checkout system, and expired cards need a judgement. Let the chat answer the rules and hand over to an agent when the question concerns a single card that cannot be looked up.

Can we change the terms for gift cards already sold?

Be careful. The Swedish Consumer Agency says the company sets the terms itself and that the shop must be able to show what the customer was told at purchase, but the page says nothing about changing the terms for cards already sold. Assume the terms that applied at purchase apply to the card, and check with whoever is legally responsible before changing anything for cards already sold.

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