UPDATE: JB Hi-Fi has now confirmed that they’ll allow gift cards for Xbox Series X/PS5 pre-orders.
Following on from our report yesterday that JB Hi-Fi is only giving customers who pre-ordered the PS5/Xbox Series X less than five days to completely pay off their orders, without the use of gift cards being allowed, Byteside has done some incredible work with looking at the legalities around this.
Speaking to Choice’s Head of Policy, Julia Stewart confirmed that “gift cards are meant to operate like cash”. “Any onerous restrictions on gift card use have to be clearly explained at the time of purchase [of the gift cards]. JB Hi-Fi has clear terms and conditions for gift cards with no information about restrictions.” Stewart continued.
Stewart went on to go as far as saying that “JB Hi-Fi is at real risk of breaching the consumer law here by misleading customers about gift card terms and conditions”.
It’s unclear if JB Hi-Fi will change their stance on this, but it seems unlikely with a number of those who pre-ordered already being paid. It’s likely require them to be refunded, to give them the opportunity to pay with gift cards if things does change.
We understand that JB Hi-Fi is using a new online payment portal for these pre-orders, which has limitations that don’t apply when using the regular JB Hi-Fi checkout system.
