Coles Supermarkets comes to the rescue of shoppers by offering to exchange Dick Smith gift cards

Consumers who are about to run out of money after Dick Smith announced it will not honour gift cards a few days ago now have something to be happy about. Coles Supermarkets has agreed to exchange Dick Smith gift cards bought from its supermarkets for Coles gift cards of equal value.

The supermarket chain also denied promoting Dick Smith gift cards, some of which were worth thousands of dollars, when Dick Smith was going through financial hardship. It said that the deal of 10 percent extra value was decided by Dick Smith and not by Coles.

The announcement made by the retailing giant on Friday, Jan. 1, means that the gift cards, many of which were intended for Christmas, will not be worthless now. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Coles even wrote to McGrath Nicol, Dick Smith’s administrator, pressuring him to honour the outstanding gift cards.

Coles, along with other gift card vendors, previously said that it would not be able to honour a gift card as the funds were already sent to Dick Smith. However, Coles appears to have changed its mind, and as a “gesture of good will,” it announced on Jan. 1 that Dick Smith gift cards bought from its stores after July 1 will be eligible for exchange with Coles gift cards of the same value.

Administrator Nicol was called in on Tuesday by Dick Smith, and Ferrier Hodgson was appointed as receiver by its lenders. Hodgson announced that the retailer would not be refunding deposits or honouring gift cards, prompting a public outcry.

Meanwhile, customers who bought Dick Smith gift cards from Woolworths or other retailers are not going to get the same benefit as of yet. However, it is understood that the Woolworths had a discussion with Hodgson over the gift cards sold to customers through its supermarkets.

Coles stopped selling Dick Smith gift cards immediately after it learned that the business had run into voluntary administration.