Almost 30% Discount for Paying My Bills through Gift Cards - Is It Scam or Legit?

twofoursix on 17/12/2021 - 17:42
Last edited 17/12/2021 - 18:26 by 1 other user

Hi received a phone call last week and below is the summary how the scheme works:

1) If I forward my utility, rego, insurance, rates & other bills to this company they would pay the bill on my behalf and I only have to pay 60% of that bill back to the company.

2) I asked how is this even possible to get 30-40% discount and they came back to me saying that as part of their business model they do get paid through lot's of gift cards and if they don't use those gift cards before the expiry they might loose whole value of gift card and hence they would like to forgo 30-40% in form of giving me discount by paying my bill rather than loosing 100%

So have you ever heard anything like this before? Would this be a scam?

I am in the impression that they might pay the bill on my behalf and 2 or 3 months later they might raise a payment dispute on the payment that they made on my behalf and they will be refunded the whole amount. However i will be paying the original bill again as it would be due and also the initial discounted amount that I've paid the company.

Just wanting to know if this is even real?

Poll Options

  • 97
    Scam
  • 2
    Not a scam
Financial

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 17/12/2021 - 17:45
    +9

    This is a new low on is this a scam ozbargain

  • spackbace on 17/12/2021 - 17:46
    +4

    Just wanting to know if this is even real!!

    No

  • kizzy on 17/12/2021 - 17:52
    +2

    Be sure to let us know how it goes…

  • Sleeqb7 on 17/12/2021 - 17:56
    +3

    On what planet could a person believe this company would ever pay anything on your behalf?

    You buy gift cards, you give them gift cards, they spend/sell gift cards, and you default on your bill payments.

    Super obvious, I hope this post is a troll.

    • twofoursix on 17/12/2021 - 22:10
      -6

      will send you the number that he's called and you can ring him!!

      I do have better thing than just to TROLL!!

      • Zachary on 22/12/2021 - 13:05

        ok then do it and see if you only need to pay them 60% of the bill and report back here.

      • Zachary on 03/03/2022 - 01:19

        did u do it?

  • upended on 17/12/2021 - 17:56

    Don't bother. There are no free lunches!
    Your bills, your responsibility.

  • pinchies on 17/12/2021 - 17:56
    +1

    I'll give you 50% off… just forward me those gift cards to my anonymous email address, and I pinky promise to pay all your bills for you*!

    *not actually a promise

    • 87percent on 17/12/2021 - 18:14
      +1

      I’ll do it for 60%.. but I only accept apple gift cards

  • DingoBlue on 17/12/2021 - 18:11
    +9

    VERY UNLIKELY BEST CASE scenario it's actual money being laundered and as far as you're concerned it does work, albeit funding drugs and terrorism.

    MEDIUM case scenario they use stolen credit card numbers to pay the bills and get away with it for a few months before taking off with your cash.

    LIKELY SCENARIO they very simply just take your money and disappear. Nothing more than a confidence trick. Takes a month or so for utilities to start sending payment reminders.

    OTHER OPTIONS
    - they use your details and statements to change the address so you don't receive any reminders.
    - they ask the utilities for a payment plan and charge you more than is actually coming off your bill.
    - something actually to do with stolen gift cards or cracked gift card codes

    • upended on 17/12/2021 - 18:22

      You are right! It's your personal information served to these scammers on a platter.

      It never occurred to me until I read your post.

  • Twix on 17/12/2021 - 18:14
    +2

    Scam.

    Scammers will often ask you to use an unusual payment method, including preloaded debit cards, gift cards, iTunes cards or electronic currency such as Bitcoin.

    Avoid any arrangement with a stranger that asks for up-front payment via money order, wire transfer, international funds transfer, pre-loaded cards or electronic currency. It is rare to recover money sent this way.

    Scamwatch

  • Ryanek on 17/12/2021 - 18:19

    They really should teach life skills in high school. Learning how to budget for example, may serve a better purpose than something like ancient history.

  • Peter Enis on 17/12/2021 - 18:27
    +4

    I asked how is this even possible to get 30-40% discount and they came back to me saying that as part of their business model they do get paid through lot's of gift cards and if they don't use those gift cards before the expiry they might loose whole value of gift card and hence they would like to forgo 30-40% in form of giving me discoutn by paying my bill rather than loosing 100%

    I read that like 5 times and it still doesn't make any sense to me.

    • Jolakot on 18/12/2021 - 15:46
      +1

      Yeah, wouldn't they be charging 140% in that case?

  • Cave Fire on 17/12/2021 - 18:30
    +3

    The most basic scams are usually identity theft. When they get all those bills, they get a good amount of personal information. Also, they mentioned Gift cards which is a scam alert as highlighted above.

  • Hithere on 17/12/2021 - 19:20
    +1

    Any unsolicited phone call offering a deal that sounds too good to be true is 100% a scam.

  • AndyC1 on 17/12/2021 - 20:20

    Try it and you will find out if it true or NOTTTTT

  • JIMB0 on 17/12/2021 - 21:15
    +1

    I pay all my bills with gift cards. Saved a fortune.

    • Neoika on 18/12/2021 - 11:16

      Prepaid MC/VISA card from supermarkert sale is as good as one can get. Sometimes from card issuer's offer. 10% off is almost the discount ceiling.

  • brendanm on 17/12/2021 - 21:43
    +4

    Jesus christ.

    • Muzeeb on 17/12/2021 - 22:14
      +3

      More chance he is real than this mob that op is banging on about.

  • Team Ozgiftcards on 18/12/2021 - 15:22

    Sounds like ID theft.. and you’re paying for the privilege

  • jayboi on 18/12/2021 - 15:46

    Are people really this gullible still?

    • SirFlibbled on 20/12/2021 - 12:15
      +2

      Many scams are, by design, easy to notice they are scams. It helps them not waste their time because people who fall for it are dumb as donuts.

      I had a call the other day where they started a rant about how they got my details from Comsec (who I don't deal with) and talking about a stock they just had to share with me. The second I said "oh you're trying to sell me penny stocks" they hung up. I was no longer worth their time.

  • Avohra on 04/02/2022 - 04:30

    So where did it end up. Has anyone being scammed by them in real?@twofoursix, where did it end up?

  • Jay100 on 30/09/2022 - 11:03
    +1

    A few days ago, I received a similar call. I asked the caller whether they knew my name and address. They said they only knew my phone number. I wasted their time for 15 minutes asking dumb questions and pretending to be falling for such an unbelievable charitable offer and said "Go to hell!".

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