Store No Longer Accepting Gift Cards As It Closes All Locations

It was less than a month ago, February 25th, that Joann Stores made the announcement that they'd be closing all 800 of their locations from coast-to-coast, including the stores here in the state of Illinois. That announcement came on the heels of a previous statement from the company that said only 500 of their 800 would close.

As you might imagine, this didn't sit well with fabric and craft shoppers in America:

As If Closing All Of Their Stores Wasn't Enough, Joann Stores Have Really Ticked Off Customers With Their Gift Card Policy Regarding The Store Closures

After announcing that all 800 stores instead of the initial plan of 500 would be closing their doors forever, Joann threw in another pronouncement that is really upsetting shoppers:

Joann gift cards would no longer be accepted by any of their stores. (special discounts for Girl Scouts, teachers, military, and healthcare will no longer be honored, either)

The reaction has been pretty much what you might expect it would be:

Not Accepting Gift Cards Is Not Only A Crappy Thing To Do To Your Longtime Customers, It Appears As Though Doing That Is Illegal In Several States, Including Illinois

Illinois law says that gift cards cannot have an expiration date, with a few exceptions like gift cards for specific food products. That makes sense, especially if the gift card is good for a limited time food offering from a chain restaurant--but we're not talking about limited time food products here.

Other states have varying rules, and from what I could gather, Federal law in the United States says that most gift cards have to be useable for 5 years after they're issued. There's been no word on potential lawsuits over the gift card policy, but what do you get if you sue a bankrupt company that's closing all their stores?

If You're Someone Still Holding A Joann Gift Card, You May Not Get To Use It--But You're Not Alone In Being Outraged By This Move

After popping around social media looking for Joann shoppers leaving their thoughts in comment sections, I thought I'd share a couple:

• I just want you to know how incredibly upsetting it is that you cut off our ability to use gift cards. Regardless of the fact that you are closing, your business took money and now refuses to give the product in exchange for it. Wrong.
• It’s a disgrace. My 10 year old granddaughter has a gift card and was so upset she couldn’t use it. For that reason I won’t be shopping their sales. Right now the sales are pathetic anyway.
• My daughter is in tears because she can't use the Joann gift cards I gave her last Christmas. Bad move.