It has been announced that JD Sports are to reissue close to €250,000 in unspent gift card credit to Irish consumers, after it had sold gift cards to consumers with incorrect expiry dates.
The decision to reissue gift card credit comes after the Competition and Consumer Commission (CCPC) contacted JD Sports to discuss this issue.
Under current legislation for gift vouchers, which was brought in in December 2019, gift vouchers must be valid for at least five years. Despite the legislation being introduced, gift cards which were purchased online, were only issued with just a one year expiry date.
According to the CCPC, a statement said they have contacted the UK sportswear retailer, who have admitted this mistake, and have offered to "immediately take steps to remedy the losses to Irish consumers".
Now, JD Sports have announced that 5,604 gift cards with an outstanding balance of €10 or more were cancelled on expiry of the card. These cards were all purchased online between late 2019 and early 2025. But gift cards bought in December 2025 are not affected.
The expiry value of the cards is reportedly worth €246,859, with JD Sports saying that the majority of gift vouchers sold by them in Ireland had the correct expiry date applied, with affected cards only representing a small percentage of the total.
Speaking about this, CCPC Chair, Brian McHugh said: "Ireland has stricter gift voucher rules than neighbouring jurisdictions, with a five-year minimum expiry period" (per the Press Association).
"This case shows why consumers need that extra time to spend gift vouchers. Customers of JD Sports lost out on almost a quarter of a million euro when their gift vouchers expired after only 12 months. Following a CCPC intervention, that loss is now going to be set right".
The consumer watchdog have stated that JD Sports have "cooperated fully" with this, and have until January 4 next year to contact all consumers affected and reissue these gift cards.
Speaking to RTÉ radio, Gráinne Griffin, Director of Communications with the CCPC have said that JD Sports have implemented British consumer law to Ireland for some online customers.
She also explained that all consumers affected will be contacted by JD Sports over the coming weeks, and the sportswear retailer will reissue any vouchers to anyone who have have lost money due to these online vouchers.
