7 On Your Side: Nordstrom steps up after couple can't redeem expired gift certificates from other retailer

NEW YORK (WABC) -- When a couple couldn't redeem their expired gift certificates they received for their wedding, one retailer stepped up to make it all right when another retailer wouldn't.

The wedding happened in October of 1996: President Bill Clinton was about to be re-elected, gas was $1.22 a gallon, and in New York City, Paul and Christina Weiss got married.

Among their gifts were hundreds of dollars in department store gift certificates that would unfortunately get lost for 23 years. And then they found them in a cluttered closet.

But the department store wasn't exactly in the giving spirit. Fortunately the Weiss family had a Secret Santa.

It was a pleasant surprise, unearthing the presents from so long ago, given on their wedding day on October 5, 1996.

"So somebody must've put these away and we went off on our honeymoon," Paul Weiss said.

There were handwritten gift certificates, tucked away before they were redeemed, along with their invitations in an album filled with wedding pictures. They had moved three times while married, including once to a houseboat, carrying the box with the every move, not knowing what was inside.

One certificate was from Nordstrom and five were from Macy's with a combined value of $1,200. But all had long since expired.

Still, the couple went to their local Nordstrom in Walnut Creek, California, which cashed the decades old card on the spot.

"We thought it was great, they thought it was delightful," said Christina Weiss.

But when they tried to redeem the Macy's gift certificates, they were a little shocked by the response.

The giant retailer didn't see the cuteness in the couple Nordstrom had enjoyed and told Christina, no dice.

But she wasn't daunted, she had pursued Paul in Paris and then she proposed to him and refused to give up on their wedding tokens.

She pleaded her case to Macy's corporate, and reminded them she had been a Macy's cardholder for 44 years.

At first, Macy's offered $250 -- and then just half the value of the expired certificates, $500.

Not satisfied, Christina called 7 On Your Side. So we appealed to Macy's, but a rep for the retailer told us they had already made an exception by redeeming a portion of the expired certificates.

So 7 On Your Side got creative.

We're calling this the Miracle on 57th street. Nordstrom -- even though the gift certificates were not from their store -- agreed to honor them in a big way.

At their new flagship store in Manhattan, Nordstrom surprised our not-so-newlyweds.

The manager of the shoe department, Candy Davis-Whitely, delivered the good news.

"We wanted to go ahead and take care of you. So we're going to take those gift cards from the other retailer and give you a $1,000," Whitely said.

That's right, Nordstrom redeemed all the Macy's certificates issuing a new thousand dollar gift card.

"We thought it was a incredible story," said the Nordstrom manager. "That's what we do we take care of our customers."

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