Many of us will have found an old gift card in a drawer, only to find it’s out of date and can’t be used any more. But in some cases, you might still be able to spend the money that’s on it.

One of the most popular gift cards on the market is One4all, a multi-store gift cards. It can be spent online and in more than 55,000 shops across the UK and can be loaded with anything from £10 to £120.

Cards come with an expiry date (and this is increasing on newer cards to eight years) BUT, it turns out that even once they've expired, they can still be used.

So One4all cards can be used even after they expire?

Yes. A spokesperson for One4all confirmed: "That is correct – there is no expiry date on the money loaded onto a One4all Gift Card. One4all Gift Cards are prepaid cards which operate on the VISA network as such funds on the cards are classed as electronic money and therefore will not expire. Dates on our cards relate to the validity period of the card (plastic or board) and not the funds on the card itself."

They added: "If any of our valued customers have a gift card that needs to be updated, we can easily replace the gift card free of charge and transfer the balance of their existing card to the new one, so they can continue to enjoy spending on thousands of brands."

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So I can just leave them forever?

Yes, and no. Users who find an old card might notice that money has been taken off it, even if it is still in date. This is something that happens after 18 months, and it's something they refer to as "nominal processing charges" in their T&C. We asked them to tell us more about these:

"We want our card holders to treat themselves and spend with hundreds of British retailers on thousands of brands – and it’s best to do that within 18 months," said their spokesperson. "After that, there’s a nominal 90p monthly charge."

So, a £10 card that remains unused for an additional 12 months - on top of the initial 18 month period - will reduce to zero value. But, all is not lost.

How can I spend my money?

The card operates a ‘no quibble policy’ and have said they will refund to the account or card any money they have taken off in nominal processing charges, and give shoppers a way to spend even expired cards.

The spokesperson confirmed: "That is correct – in both cases readers can contact our customer service team via our website https://faqs.one4all.com/article/111-i-still-need-help-how-can-i-contact-you  or call 0370 084 4444."

Why do One4all take 90p a month even if I haven't spent a penny?

We asked them this - although it's important to note that this is only is taken after 18 months. We also asked if it reflected an extra expense incurred after that period by One4all.

Their spokesperson responded: "The FCA requires us to conduct business and provide services that align with its strict guidelines. To provide what we believe is the highest standard of consumer protection and compliance for the One4all programmes, we process our gift cards in secure environments which means funds loaded onto our gift cards are safeguarded, and secure from general creditors, in the unlikely event of administration. The significant costs of this, along with ongoing Visa, processing, and compliance costs, are covered if a gift card is spent with a retailer.

"One4all operates off a commission-based business model and only earns commissions when a One4all Gift Card is spent with one of our retail partners – however our significant business operational costs, still need to be covered. This is why we apply the nominal charge after a period of 18 months, to help recoup some of these costs.

"Most people spend their gift cards within three to six months and never experience a monthly charge."