Understanding voucher conditions

A voucher is a conditional promise from a seller: if your purchase meets certain requirements, they will apply a stated reduction or benefit. It is not money, and it does not change the underlying price for anyone who does not meet the conditions.

Because it is conditional, the wording matters. Two codes offering the same headline reduction can behave very differently once the small print is applied.

• Minimum spend: the basket must reach a stated value, often before delivery is added.
• Exclusions: sale items, certain brands, gift cards, delivery charges and some categories are commonly excluded.
• Validity period: a start and end date, sometimes with a specific closing time.
• One use per customer, per account or per household.
• New customers only, or existing customers only.
• Account or membership required, so the discount depends on being signed in.
• Channel limits: online only, in store only, or app only.
• Location limits, where an offer applies only in certain areas or branches.

A percentage reduction is usually applied to eligible items only, which is why a basket containing excluded lines may discount less than expected. A fixed-amount reduction is normally taken off the eligible subtotal rather than the final total including delivery.

Offers such as buy-one-get-one or multibuy work differently again: the benefit depends on buying a set combination, and removing one item can remove the whole benefit. Where an offer gives you a credit or voucher to use later, check whether that follow-on voucher has its own conditions and expiry.

Many sellers allow only one code per order, and some prevent a code from being combined with loyalty pricing or an existing promotion. Where two benefits can be combined, the order in which they are applied can change the result.

If a code will not combine with an offer already in your basket, compare the two outcomes and choose deliberately rather than assuming the code is worth more.

Take the stated end date from the seller's own terms rather than from a summary elsewhere. Some offers end at a particular time of day, and some are withdrawn early when a limited allocation runs out.

Paper vouchers and gift cards may have their own expiry rules, which can differ from online codes. Keep the terms you were given at the time, as they are the ones that apply to your voucher.

• Check for typing errors, extra spaces and confusable characters such as the letter O and the digit zero.
• Confirm your basket meets the minimum spend once excluded items are removed from the calculation.
• Make sure you are signed in if the offer requires an account.
• Check the code has not expired or reached its usage limit.
• Look at whether another promotion in the basket is blocking it.
• If it still fails, contact the seller's customer service, as only they can confirm how their own code behaves.

If you return part of an order that met a minimum spend, the seller may recalculate the discount, so the refund can be less than the price shown on the item. Where a voucher was single use, it is not always reissued after a return.

Check the seller's returns policy on this point before ordering something you may send back. This is general information rather than advice on your rights in a specific case.

Codes shared outside official channels can be out of date, intended for a specific customer, or simply incorrect. A code that requires you to enter card details before showing a basket total, or that arrives in an unexpected message, deserves particular caution.

Whenever you use a scannable or printed offer, look for the plain-text alternative and the terms printed alongside it, so you know what you are presenting.

Read the conditions, work out the total you will actually pay, and confirm the reduction has been applied before you complete the order.

Prices, eligibility, availability and terms are set by the retailer or provider and must be checked with them. Filbri does not cover the whole market, does not guarantee savings and does not claim that any voucher is the cheapest or best option for you.