Get Gephardt: Utah woman ‘frustrated’ with offer made by new owner of Bed Bath & Beyond brand for her now worthless gift cards

SALT LAKE CITY — Last month, the KSL Investigators reported on Cindy Soderstrom’s frustrations over gift cards. She is sitting on several hundred dollars’ worth of unused Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards she assumed were worthless when the company went bankrupt and shuttered its stores.

But then, the company seemed to come back from the grave. As I reported, Bed Bath & Beyond’s brand was bought by Overstock, and the two brands were folded into a company called, Beyond, Inc. One result was the retailer website BedBathandBeyond.com was brought back and once again, had things for sale. But Soderstrom was told those Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards she’s holding onto are still no good.

“It’s my hard-earned money and the words, “Never Expires” meant something to me,” she said of that promise printed on the back of her gift cards.

Beyond, Inc. did not respond to me for their comment on that initial story, but after it aired, I heard from a company spokesperson. She told me that my initial story was accurate: They acquired Bed Bath & Beyond’s assets, but “none of the liabilities … including … gift cards.” She said the company is in “a tough position” saying they cannot “legally honor …legacy Bed Bath gift cards.”

‘Platform-wide coupon’

Still, she asked me to put her in touch with Cindy Soderstrom, because they wanted to do something for her. And that spokesperson followed that up by telling me, “We were pleased to be able to offer her (Soderstrom) a platform-wide coupon, good through the end of the year, for 25% off her entire order, which is not insignificant.”

“Really? I’m glad they didn’t tell me that” Soderstrom said of the use of the words “not insignificant” to describe the offer.

I caught up with her afterward, and she showed me the offer she received was identical to offers the company is pushing out in ads and emails.

“I’m frustrated,” she said. “It’s almost like a slap in the face.”

In the end, Soderstrom’s pile of Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards she was told would never expire when she bought them remain worthless.

When a company goes bankrupt the way Bed Bath & Beyond did, anyone holding onto a gift card from the chain becomes, in legal terms, an “unsecured creditor.” That means they would likely not get paid unless the business liquidated at such an amount that there were extra funds to pay them. With Bed Bath & Beyond, that did not happen.