DOUGLAS Polska has implemented a shorter validity period for newly activated gift cards under terms effective October 1. Cards activated from that date carry one year of validity measured from the end of their activation calendar year, instead of the previous five-year period.

The calendar-year basis matters: the stated period is not simply 12 months from the day a card is activated. In both formulations, validity also ends if the balance is exhausted.

The data behind the story

Douglas Poland initial validity after the activation year

Matching clause II.5 in the previous and current official Polish terms. The clock starts at the end of the activation calendar year.

Years after activation-year end
Sources
Previous Douglas Poland official terms; Current Douglas Poland official terms

Contract durations, not five versus one years measured from purchase. Clause IX.9 separately limits the amended terms to cards purchased from their effective date. No inference about expired balances or every previously purchased card.

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Douglas Poland initial validity after the activation year (Years after activation-year end)
CategoryYears after activation-year end
Previous terms: August 28, 20255 Years after activation-year end
New activation cutoff: October 1, 20261 Years after activation-year end

The new terms separately reduce the available extension for unused balances to one year. The preceding terms, effective from August 28, 2025, provided a further five-year extension.

The change has a defined scope. Clause II.5 identifies the October 1 activation cutoff, while clause IX.9 says the amended terms apply to cards purchased from their effective date. Those provisions do not support a claim that every previously purchased card has lost its original validity.

The retailer's bearer vouchers remain usable for goods or services in its Polish stores and online shop. The reviewed documents disclose the contractual change without explaining its commercial motivation or quantifying affected balances or future expired value.