The Verified Wal-Mart Giftcard That Wasn’t
Written by Evan SchumanDecember 12th, 2006
Earlier this month, giftcard exchange site Plastic Jungle was approached by a giftcard seller, offering two $200 Wal-Mart giftcards. Site CEO Tina Henson declined to buy the cards directly and instead suggested the seller use the site's auction area. The seller did and posted the cards for $125 and $135.
But when the site's authentication team checked on the cards, the Wal-Mart computer reported that the cards were valid and their value was intact, but they had just been purchased the day before. Thinking it was odd that someone would pay $400 for cards and then the next day be willing to sell them for $260, the CEO was contacted, but she shrugged and approved the sale anyway. The cards quickly sold.
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4 Comments | Read The Verified Wal-Mart Giftcard That Wasn’t
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December 18th, 2006 at 5:55 am
You say the retailer wasn’t at fault, but why didn’t they check the person’s ID who was purchasing the gift cards with a credit card. Thsi should be the proper procedure for every retail outlet.
December 18th, 2006 at 6:36 am
That was absolutely one of the questions we asked for that story. Most retail security people …. for the moment …. are against requiring ID to purchase with a credit card, as it slows the process too much. The rationale was twofold: First, that’s it’s almost unheard of to seek secondary identification when a customer is using a credit card in general. Secondly, giftcards in particular are sold on convenience. The more that slows it down, the less attractive they are. Not saying I agree, but that’s what was being said.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:29 pm
Thank you for your article on gift cards and fraud. However, more than the scammers out there, the industry itself needs to be checked. Here’s what happened to us.
A friend gave us a gift card from > earlier this year. It had an expiration date that read “good thru 12/06″. Having our first baby, moving into a new house, dealing with major surgery put this on the back burner since we had months before we had to use this. When I called this evening to activate it, the $25 is now reduced to $7.50. Apparently after six months they levy a $2.50 service fee (because we all know a company can’t keep our money without taking more of it, right). Nowhere on the card is it mentioned that such a fee, or any fee, would be levied.And even if they did deduct $2.50 a month after the six month…how does that equal a balance of $7.50 in the twelfth month? Yet customer service (which is it definitely not!) wouldn’t budge. Apparently when our friend bought the card there was a link in fine print that explained this.
It amazes me! We are now required to give a disclaimer to recipients of our gifts. Because if we don’t, they will lose out on the gift…and the company that has already got paid for the service now gets to keep the money intended for other people.
In my travels overseas I’ve often told vendors that they should learn customer service from America. Apparently we’ve learned it from the rest of world and have lost it (in so many ways)!
Once again thanks for your article. We need to be aware of the fraud that is viral today, however we need to also be aware that there are companies that are willing to swindle customers through as many means as possible.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Nothing surprises me anymore involving retailing. The safe way is to go in a store and put whatever it is in your hands. Online is risky at best and fradulent at worst. The eBay thing doesn’t surprise me at all. I just spent two months slinging arrows with eBay, Paypal and a seller over a purchase that I never received 60 days after I bought it. Everybody tried to run and hide and claim it wasn’t their responsibility. After awhile, I just got nasty and finally got what I wanted. I still think they all suck, but life goes on.