HMV shoppers are unable to use intu Chapelfield gift cards in the entertainment brand's Norwich store due to a technical problem.

James O'Mullane, 32, is one of the customers who has been unable to purchase goods with his gift-card. The young professional first tried to use his £30 voucher about a month ago and was told he couldn't due to technical problems. He tried to use it again on Monday and had the same problem.

He said: 'I really want to spend the voucher on a certain thing in HMV. I have had it for over a year and actually misplaced it so was running out of time to spend it.

'I have now had to use it to buy another voucher so the money on it didn't expire.'

A spokesperson for HMV said: 'HMV is aware that our tills are currently unable to process payments using a small number of payment cards which require signatures.

'The issue affects several retailers including HMV and relates to a software issue which is being urgently resolved by our payments software company. We apologise to any customers affected by this issue which will be resolved as soon as possible.'

Mr O'Mullane said Chapelfield are aware of the problem and they claimed it was HMV's issue to fix.

He added: 'It is just really, really frustrating as I can't do anything about it.

'The voucher is for £30 which is not a princely amount but it is not nothing either and I just want to be able to spend it in the way I want.'

Paul McCarthy, general manager of intu Chapelfield, said: 'We are aware of the issues with HMV not being able to accept any electronic gift cards at present.

'It is a nationwide problem in all stores which they have assured us they are working on to rectify as soon as possible. We hope the issues will be resolved in good time in order for the customer to use their gift card.'