“All I want is the £299 I paid,” Yvonne Lewis patiently explained to Crusader after a saga stretching back to October 2023. It was then she had bought her friend Jim an Epson Home Projector from retailer Currys, paying on her credit card, so he could enjoy a big bright screen for his gaming, videos and movies.

However his device would only show intermittent images and blurred colours, so they took it back to his local store. “Then my friend received a gift voucher instead of the money being recredited to my card,” says Yvonne. “The voucher was returned and voided as I tried to get the repayment. I sent proof of my card but was advised because of the time that had elapsed a refund on this was not possible.”

If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk

Yvonne persisted she says, but to no avail. She also showed good faith by purchasing another projector while sorting out the refund in store so her friend did not lose out. Part of this she paid for with a Currys gift voucher.

As well as the various payments, during the return of the item the store was very busy so that might have led to confusion, we told Currys when we raised the matter and were pleased the retailer looked into the matter very quickly.

A spokesperson said: “We apologise to the customer for the inconvenience and the time it has taken to resolve this matter. Following discussions with both parties, the confusion arose due to a mismatch between the name and email address used on the original order – each referring to the different individual parties – as well as the use of both a gift card and a credit card to split the payment. We are now processing a refund of the outstanding £299, along with a goodwill payment of £50.”

“Crusader got us heard and we are so grateful,” a delighted Yvonne responded.

Why vouchers can work well for tech and holiday gifts

Giving and receiving are part of life’s great pleasures, but gifts can be tricky for the giver and buyer if things do not work out. One of the most difficult is when someone buys a holiday for someone else. Travel can be full of hold-ups and then proving a failure in service and getting redress for what is a booking in another’s name can be a nightmare.

Even more straightforward gifts from reputable retailers can have their hitches and perhaps where more expensive technology is concerned consider a gift voucher rather than an actual item as a safer option. Always keep a record and if a store seems especially busy be extra vigilant if doing a return to ensure everything has been recorded correctly.