Gift Card Wasn't Activated at Purchase 9 Months Ago - Company Will Not Refund

User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 10:57
Last edited 26/10/2018 - 12:07 by 1 other user

Hi,

I really hate losing someone else's hard earned money. I received a giftcard from a relative for 30 dollars 9 months ago and I'd been saving it for RDR2. I went to JbHiFi to get a copy this morning and the chick at the register turned around and said that the card hadn't been activated at the store it was bought at and that they wouldn't honour it. I called the company who took my card's number and then proceeded to ask me for the receipt… for a gift card. At this stage it started to feel like I was just getting screwed over, Woolworths failed to activate it, JB didn't honour it, Blackhawk Pty. Ltd. didn't refund it.

Is there anything I can do now or is that money just gone?

:(

Financial

Comments

  • John Kimble on 26/10/2018 - 11:03

    Did your relative actually get debited/pay for it?

    • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 11:06

      Yeah, it was all paid for and sent to Melbourne as a Christmas present along with some chocolates. I think I liked the chocolates better.

  • Quantumcat on 26/10/2018 - 11:13
    +7

    You might have to ask your relative to chase it up since they're the ones with evidence it was paid for :-/

    • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 11:21
      -1

      It's a tricky thing to ask for though. I think I might just let it rest and advise people to make sure they check with the checkout human that the card is activated before they leave the store.

      • tomsco on 26/10/2018 - 11:38
        +4

        make sure they check with the checkout human that the card is activated before they leave the store.

        Good advice, and I'm not sure, maybe you can do it online.

        But what do you expect JB or Blackhawk to do - how would they know you didn't just swipe a card from Woolies?

        • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 11:45

          Yeah, this is why it's just an unfortunate situation, I can't prove anything without getting my relatives to go on a wild goose chase.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/10/2018 - 08:38
          -3

          I would expect them to admit that their system has an obvious flaw that can put the customer out, and to take responsibility when it does happen. screwing people over is built into the giftcard as a product.

      • CLoSeR on 26/10/2018 - 15:56
        +3

        At Woolies when you activate them a second receipt is pumped out at purchase.

  • Cartman2530 on 26/10/2018 - 11:30
    -1

    Chargeback, if they used credit card.

    • John Kimble on 26/10/2018 - 11:36
      +5

      Might not be possible if it was 9 months ago

      • Cartman2530 on 26/10/2018 - 11:37

        yep you're right, max 120 days is the longest time i could find.

  • HighAndDry on 26/10/2018 - 11:47
    +2

    I called the company who took my card's number and then proceeded to ask me for the receipt

    Well, there's really no other way to tell a legit one from one that was just swiped from Woolies. It should show up on the buyer's bank or CC statement, surely?

  • JimmyF on 26/10/2018 - 11:56
    +7

    Is there anything I can do now or is that money just gone?

    Yes as they said

    then proceeded to ask me for the receipt

    Provide the receipt which will show the giftcard number that it was activated to, if its been used or not.

    Woolworths failed to activate it,

    This is not true, its part of the POS process. They can't END the transaction for a long time (years) without swiping the giftcard to put the money on to. Its not an optional step.

    I was just getting screwed over

    Not at all, you had some random non-activated card and claimed it was and wanted a refund. These cards can be picked up by the handful from the store at no cost.

    So the only way to tell the real claims from the fake claims saying this card should have had $500 on it, is via a receipt.

    My family always includes a receipt with the giftcard for this reason.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/10/2018 - 08:49
      -4

      I've been in the same situation twice, where I was charged for a gift card, yet the card did not activate. Woolworths is screwing the customer over. They don't have to sell cards that can fail to activate. They don't have to sell cards that can be picked up and have false claims made. In this situation, the customer has been screwed. It is unreasonable to ask the receiver of a gift card to track down the receipt. If you make a system where this can happen, then you need to fix your problem, notnl the customer

      • JimmyF on 27/10/2018 - 11:59
        -2

        You need to keep the receipt for warranty on any other purchase. A gift card is no different.

        Or just give cash!

      • JIMB0 on 27/10/2018 - 16:24
        -1

        You've got very little hope of a claim without the little activation receipt with numbers that match your gift card. They usually tell you to make sure you get a activation receipt when buying them

  • Ryanek on 26/10/2018 - 12:03

    A gift card is just like any other product. You need proof of purchase.

    • Diji1 on 26/10/2018 - 12:12

      The proof of purchase can be transaction record from bank eg bank statement.

      Well, ACL says this but many Australian businesses do not follow the law obviously. Why would they with barely any accountability being demonstrated.

      • futureminime on 26/10/2018 - 12:53
        +1

        I see both side of bank records. The records gives the date, store, total amount of the sale and, if you're lucky, the time. This allows the store to check against their internal records if that purchase was the product you are claiming.

        In the case of gift cards - how would the store know from the bank statement that its the same gift card? That would need to be looked up internally.

        PS. I have had success with Aldi with just a bank statement. One of their catalogue items died on me and I was refunded with a bank statement. It was an internal Aldi brand so it really narrows down shop of origin and timing for warranty (as they know when they ran the sale).

    • [Deactivated] on 27/10/2018 - 08:49
      -2

      A gift card that doesn't act as a proof of purchase is a poorly designed product

  • Baysew on 26/10/2018 - 12:10
    +8

    Regift Gift Card back to relative.

    • AdosHouse on 26/10/2018 - 12:57

      LOL, I like that.

  • carlJack on 26/10/2018 - 12:42
    +2

    Lucky its only 30$.

    • jelko on 26/10/2018 - 12:54
      +2

      Agree. It's only a small amount. It's not your money. Next time you receive a gift card, try to spend it ASAP. That way if there are any issues you can go back and get it sorted out.

  • vishalpandi97 on 26/10/2018 - 13:04
    +7

    I would suggest this in the future when you get a gift card goto there website online and check the balance of the giftcard. That way you would know if it works or not and then you could chase it up straightaway if something goes wrong.

  • Zenyatta on 26/10/2018 - 13:58
    +5

    If I was the relative, I would REALLY prefer that you came to me and asked me about it rather than just let it go. I'd be really cheesed off if my hard earned just went to JB's without any gift purchase. Just ask them to chase it up with the store it was bought from. Or offer to do it for them if they can produce a receipt.

    • HighAndDry on 26/10/2018 - 14:13
      -1

      It makes sense if OP is (even slightly) worried that the relative didn't pay for it and so asking would lead to a bit of an awkward situation.

    • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 14:23
      -2

      They live a busy life and to ask them, 9 months later, to go finding receipts, bank statements, go back to stores to ask, resend cards etc. is a hard ask and my guess is they will probably be knocked back anyway.

  • garffi on 26/10/2018 - 14:16

    Did they purchase it from Woolworths? If so, have you tried to email them instead?
    I've also had gift cards (Wish gift-card) unactivated properly at the staff checkout. I sent them an email with my gift card number + proof of purchase and got sent a replacement. Without a proof of purchase there's not much you can do…

    • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 14:25

      Just that dang proof of purchase…

    • YadaYadaYada on 26/10/2018 - 15:31

      If purchased from woolies or coles, you may be able to get the receipt reprinted from the store you bought it at if you have enough details about the transaction eg the date, how much it was for, what card/egift card was used pay for it etc. Not sure how far they keep records at the store are, but worth a shot.

  • zonra on 26/10/2018 - 14:24
    +3

    Anyone can grab unactivated giftcards off the shop floor, without proof of purchase it’s basically a matter of he says she says.
    If shops honoured these cards they’d be opening themselves up to plenty of abuse.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/10/2018 - 08:53
      -2

      Then they should redesign their system so that nobody can just grab unactivated gift cards off the shop floor without proof of purchase. Instead they have a system that screws over customers

      • zonra on 27/10/2018 - 10:32

        Instead they have a system that screws over customers

        I disagree, holding onto reciepts is standard practice for returns and warranty.
        With your logic the best way would be having nothing on display and only allowing customers to tell staff what they want through a small window (think a service station after midnight but imagine it applied to all goods in supermarkets).
        Imagine how much hassle and time it’ll cost both the shops and customers if we were to do it this way.
        Also staff from shop A can pocket goods and go to shop B to claim refund without reciept.

        All this can be easily avoided by adults being responsible for their own things (keeping their proof of purchase) and not try to blame everything else.

        • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2018 - 08:02

          I think in many cases, it's inappropriate to come back to the gift giver to tell them the gift card is not activated, or asking them to produce a receipt.

          And that's the problem. Unactivated gift cards are unlikely to be chased up, so which ever company sold it gets the money for a faulty product.

          With your logic customers can purchase gift cards which fail to activate and then the receiver of the gift card can have no way to chase up the activation.

          This can easily be avoided by companies being responsible for the things they sell to customers, and designing a system where this can't happen.

  • User166092 on 26/10/2018 - 14:31
    +2

    Thanks for the replies everyone! I grabbed the extra 20 dollars I needed and bought RDR2 and will see what I can do about the card. Definitely double check with the register worker that your cards have been activated before you leave the shops though!

    I'm glad it's just a $30 gift card though. A baby magpie fell into our yard last night, had a moment with our cat, and had to be put down this afternoon at the vet clinic so that put it into perspective for me.

    :)

  • Seraphin7 on 26/10/2018 - 15:41
    +2

    Yet another reason not to buy giftcards.

  • ScuseMe on 26/10/2018 - 15:49
    +2

    If bought from a Woolies self serve rarely the gift card might fail to activate. If you have the receipt this is a very easy fix. As per my knowledge we can only reprint receipt 6 months back, but it wouldn't hurt to ring Woolworths customer service and see what they say

    Edit : I'm working again on Sunday i can see if we are able to print receipts from 9 months back and let you know

  • HeWhoKnows on 27/10/2018 - 08:43

    If you have proof of purchase of the gift card you are entitled to a refund.
    Under Australain law goods must be of mechantable quaility and fit for purpose.
    Clearly the card issued to you is NOT!

    However on the retailers side activation of the card by the issuing party is a method of preventing theft and fraud from gift cards.

    Sometimes you need to go online or make a call to activate gift card received in the mail.
    Again to prevent theft and fraud.

    • JIMB0 on 27/10/2018 - 16:28
      +1

      Under Australain law goods must be of mechantable quaility and fit for purpose

      Doesn't apply as a gift card is a financial product.

  • wc on 28/10/2018 - 01:33

    In Dec 2017 I bought $300 Jetstar GC from Woolies, it was not activated, went back to the Store with the receipt in Oct 2018. Woolies refunded me as it was not activated.

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