The issue first popped up on TeleRead.org last weekend, when someone wrote in to say he discovered his new $100 gift card wouldn't work on B&N's ebook store. Unfortunately, not even the company's own employees seem to be aware of this glitch, which is why I think it's worth publicizing.

My wife and kids pre-ordered a nook for my birthday at our local B&N. The sales person also sold her a $100 gift card to "get my eBook collection started." When I tried to purchase a few books, I found out that gift cards can't be used on eBooks.

I checked out Barnes & Nobles' Gift Card terms last weekend to see what the fine print said about ebooks, and it said nothing. I emailed Barnes & Noble to ask whether it was temporary or intentional, but still haven't received an answer.

However, the fine print has been updated this week, now the site explicitly states,

Gift Cards can be redeemed for any product sold at Barnes & Noble.com, except for the purchase of eBooks.

Huh. Like I said, Amazon doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

"No ebooks with B&N gift card" [Barnes & Noble] (Thanks to Ben!)
(Photo: oskay)

I recently received a $15 rebate from a purchase made at newegg.com. The rebate came as a Visa prepaid debit card through Citi Bank. This weekend I used the card for a purchase at OfficeMax. The purchase came to $15.93, so I told the cashier I had $15 on a card (which he referred to as a gift card), and handed him the card and a $1 bill.

He swiped the card and told me the charge went through, then handed me back the card and the $1 bill. At first I assumed I had simply misheard the price or remembered the amount of the rebate wrong, but today I noticed the receipt said the card now had a $-.93 balance. I immediately expected this to turn into a horror story- overdraft fees on a gift card, customer service nightmare- but it was not to be. I called the customer service number on the card and was told by the CSR that their policy is to automatically cover a small amount of overage- I think the CSR said $5- as a courtesy. I was told I did not have to pay the 93 cents, and would not incur a fee.

This was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I have now come away with a better impression of both Visa and Citi Bank. It may not quite be above and beyond, but it is an experience worth sharing.

No, it's not to the level of "above and beyond." Still, it's nice to hear that the bank has such a friendly policy.

The question is, who eats the extra $5? The bank? Perhaps the unredeemed amount (not to mention fees) on thousands or millions of other prepaid cards more than makes up for any overages.

(Photo: pstardesign)

Most consumers do not know that it costs $4 to $7 to buy a general purpose gift card or that they may be subject to monthly fees of up to $4.95 as soon as six months after the card is purchased, consumer advocates said on Monday.

More sad factoids findings from the survey, which was commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America and National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators:

• Only 33% of consumers "knew the fees involved in purchasing general purchase gift cards."
• Only 54% "knew that that monthly fees sometimes kicked in six to 12 months after their purchase."
• 17% said "they sometimes had trouble spending the entire amount of the card because a store refused to split a payment between the card and another payment method."

The consumer groups told Reuters that "An estimated 10 percent of this value (the card's original value) is never used."

If you want to give someone the gift of money, there are so many better ways to do this—personal check, actual cash, or store-specific gift cards. Buy someone a general purpose credit gift card, however, and you'll just be inadvertently giving a nice big gift to the card company.

"US consumer advocates warn of gift card costs" [Reuters]
(Photo: SuZenDu)

I had been receiving text messages from Payless Shoes about special offers. I remember giving out my number to them (I know, I dont know why I did) but they never mentioned anything about text messages. Here's a letter I sent to them. I admit I was a little mean, but I was annoyed.

Dear Payless,

Please Stop sending me text messages. I have "opted out" two times already yet you still send them. My number is also on the do not call list and you are ignoring it.

As a matter of fact getting these so called "offers" actually reminds me NOT to shop in your stores.

To be honest, I would rather tie dead fish to my feet than buy anything at Payless ever again since you keep sending me these texts and ignore your customers requests.

My number is [redacted], do not send me text messages again.

-Peter"

They sent me this:

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting Payless Shoesource.

We apologize that you were inconvenienced by our message. Please rest assured that your comments have been forwarded to our marketing staff.

All of the phone numbers called during this marketing campaign were collected at the time of checkout in our stores. These numbers have not been bought or sold through any outside marketing firms. Your phone number has been removed from the data base.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

Katelin
Payless Shoesource Customer Support Center

That should have been fine, but I thought about it and well... I got a little snotty with them.

Katelin,

I understand that, and while its good news, I was wondering if Payless will re-pay me my fees for the text messages I received TWICE. I had opted out and got them again.

I think its 5 cents a word and it's 27 words. Thats $1.35 x 2 = $2.70. Plus I had to text "opt out" and that was an additional 10 cents.

Please, in these tough economic times it would mean a lot to me to pay me back my $2.80, since at NO TIME did your employee tell me BEFORE that my number would be used in this manner. Not to mention you name is "Payless" and I ended up paying $2.80 MORE upon visiting your store.

I'm awaiting your response.

Sincerely,
Peter

You're not gonna believe this...

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting Payless Shoesource.

I can send you a Payless Shoe Source Gift Card that can be used on www.payless.com and in any U.S. Store. Please reply back with your address if you would like to accept the Gift Card.

Thank you for your time.

Katelin
Payless Shoesource Customer Support Center

So, Im not sure what the amount is... I'm really hoping it's for $2.80, but I took the deal. Thought I'd share.

Hey, it never hurts to ask. We're not sure what insane cellular provider charges Peter 5 cents per word, though.

Update: Peter wrote back to us:

I think you're right about that pricing. I think it's $.20 a message. I honestly DON'T text and wasnt sure what it was.

Plus I had a bit of an attitude with them that was a little unwarranted. I'm not sure if Consumerist.com is interested but I don't mean to be a bully, I just dont like spam. So I sent them this letter.

Thanks again!
Peter

Katelin,

Thank you for your quick reply. I would like to take this chance to apologize for being rude. You have gone above and beyond and have kept a customer in the process.

Thanks again,
Peter

(Photo: crschmidt)

A few years back I bought a Soyo 24" LCD monitor from OfficeMax after reading the stellar reviews it was getting — it was a quality panel at a very affordable price. Well the first one I received had problems so I had to take it back to get another monitor. This one too was plagued with problems. I should have probably known better right then and just kept my money but I decided to try a third time and finally I got a perfect monitor. I got the MaxAssurance Insurance plan on the monitor with hopes that I'd never need to use it...

...fast forward a few years and the monitor started having major problems. Vertical lines and a flicker that was more-or-less constant. I contacted MaxAssurance who promptly sent me a label to return the monitor with. Since OfficeMax couldn't fix the monitor or because they didn't carry the specific model anymore, they refunded my full purchase amount ($319.93) in the form of a MaxAssurance card which works like an OfficeMax gift card. I was surprised with how fast all of this happened and was quite pleased...

...until I actually tried to redeem the card for actual merchandise.

I've had this gift card for over six months now. Or should I say multiple gift cards from OfficeMax for over six months now. Let me explain.

After I received the card I looked on their website and didn't see a monitor that could replace my 24" screen so I found something else to buy with it. I purchased a laptop using the MaxAssurance gift card. About a week later I get an e-mail saying that the laptop isn't available for purchase anymore. Hmmm, that's strange. No biggie I thought, stuff happens, so I called up OfficeMax who then issued me a new gift card. I asked if they could refund to the MaxAssurance card to which they told me no, that they'd have to issue a new gift card.

TWO WEEKS LATER, I get a new OfficeMax gift card in the mail. I check the amount on it and see that it's the right amount. I keep it on my desk a while until I see something that catches my eye on OfficeMax.com - a computer this time. I go through the checkout process and purchase the computer (which was IN STOCK, like the laptop was). I get no e-mail from OfficeMax this time so I figure it went through and I'd be getting in the computer in a few weeks. A week later, I still have not heard anything so I login to my OM account and check my orders.

This time, it says that the computer has been "discontinued" and that it would not be shipped out. Gee, thanks OfficeMax for letting me know. I check the Gift Card balance — which was $0.00 — and immediately called up OM and talked about the situation. Once again they couldn't refund the money to the card and said that I'd have to wait for a new card to be re-issued to me.

TWO WEEKS LATER, I get yet another OfficeMax gift card in the mail. About a month goes by before I see anything else that interests me. This time it's a computer again.

Any guesses what happened?

Is it:

A.) The order went through and I'm typing on the new computer right now!

B.) OfficeMax gave me TWO computers instead of one!

C.) The computer is DISCONTINUED and OfficeMax didn't alert me via e-mail and now I'll likely spend another two weeks waiting for another gift card to arrive so that I can play the OfficeMax LOTTERY yet again!

If you said anything BUT C.) may the Flying Spaghetti Monster have mercy on your soul.

OfficeMax.. if you are reading this.. PLEASE LET ME USE MY GIFT CARD!

As if you needed yet another reason not to purchase extended warranty and insurance plans with electronics purchases.

Does anyone have some advice for Dave to get OfficeMax to pay up?

Amex's move puts it ahead of competitors for now, though most card issuers will have to offer similar policies by next year, when the gift card provisions of the credit card act go into effect. That law will still allow card issuers to charge "dormancy" fees, but only after a card has been unused for 12 months.

Amex, not surprisingly, is touting the consumer benefits of its new policy and downplaying the regulatory aspects:

"We think this is great for the consumer. It's great for the industry. It's right for the times," said Amex's Alpesh Chokshi. "It's not being driven by Washington. "What we're doing here is going far, far beyond that and saying there will never be monthly fees."

Chokshi didn't have much to say about buyers of gift cards, who will still have to pay upfront fees. But at least if you receive an Amex gift card and find it in the sock drawer five years from now, you'll still be able to use it.

American Express Drops Fees on Gift Cards [Washington Post]

A couple in San Diego were arrested yesterday and accused of selling stolen gift card passes to Disneyland, Legoland, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios. Like other gift cards, they have to be activated first in order to work, so they were completely useless to victims who fell for the scam.

"Two accused of selling phony gift cards online" [SignOnSanDiego] (Thanks to Erik!)
(Photo: tracy the astonishing)

Alex Firmani alerted Sears about the gift card exploit before the XSS exploit we mentioned above ever made it to the blogosphere, but they ignored him and while they called him back to discuss the matter, they didn't fix the problem:

On first reporting this to a company representative, the response from Sears was polite but they didn't take it as a pressing issue requiring a 0-day fix. Even after last week when Sears was reported first on Reddit, then FoxNews, TMZ, and the Consumerist to have easily exploitable XSS security holes all over their web properties, three days went by and I could still verify as many gift cards as I liked. And this is the same Sears.com that is authorized by MasterCard and Visa to store consumer's credit card numbers in their database!

After I copied a short report of my findings to a few Executive VP emails at Sears Holdings, the next day, all online gift card verification scripts were taken offline.

There's some debate over at Reddit whether the gift card exploit could reasonably be used to a criminal's advantage, but what we're surprised about is how a company as big as Sears would leave themselves open like this—even after being privately alerted about the issue.

A DarkReading article on the exploit quotes WhiteHatSecurity CTO Jeremiah Grossman saying that this is probably a fairly common security flaw on e-commerce sites. Firmani makes a point of urging other retailers to practice better security hygiene:

Responsible website owners MUST implement security measures on the server-side to prevent continual tries at gift card verification. Sears.com used cookies and relied on browser and user honesty to report those cookies back if they had tried and failed with more than three gift card numbers. You can never, ever rely on client-side cookies as a method of security for anything. Optimally you should require a site user account before they can verify a gift card number so you could then lock out accounts and use your overall account security strategy as a method to prevent numerous verifications. And you should have a self-termination routine on the verification scripts so they shut off if too many requests are received.

"Fortune 50 retailer Sears.com fails the most basic of security tests" [WebSecurity] (Thanks to jeremiahg, keith55, and theharmonyguy)
"Flaw In Sears Website Left Database Open To Attack" [DR]

RELATED
"Sears Caught Selling 'Grills to Cook Babies' Thanks To Poorly Built Website"
(Photo: ximenatapia)

Here's how it works:

Simply drop your clean used toy(s) in the mail, when we receive it in our warehouse we will have it cleaned and disassembled. The rubber, silicone, hard plastics, metal, e-waste and motors will be sent to recycling facilities that process the materials for reuse. Did you leave the batteries in? Don't worry, we dispose of them responsibly.

Recyclers will receive a $10 gift card to another erotic emporium for every box accepted.

Sex Toy Recycling Program [Official Site] (Thanks, TRANSRACIALNYC!)

(Photo: soylentgreen23)

Sean writes:

I was recently trying to sell an Apple gift card on CraigsList and received a bite from a "buyer" who claimed they wanted the card but wanted me to take a screen shot of the balance from myapplegiftcard.com.

Having been scammed before on gift card BS, I was very wary esp since I didn't want to scratch off the pin for someone who may or may not buy the card. Especially since the woman didn't want to give out any info and pulled the old "you seem sketchy since you won't do this" card to try to put me on the defensive.

I left it alone and relisted my card and got another email from her with the same hey we want it but please take a screen shot, problem this time she screwed up and put mybestbuygiftcard.com. Now I knew something was wrong.

I actually had a gift card from apple that had like $.50 or something on it so I went back to the myapplegiftcard.com site and put it in. Of course it says "this service is not available right now" and tells you to call the number. Pretty much validating spoof status.

On the mybestbuygiftcard.com site they actually just take the full Best Buy balance inquiry page and copy it. I called both Best Buy and Apple and told them of the sites and got the whole "Oh we will look into this."

I just wanted to get the word out ASAP.

Scam sites:
myapplegiftcard.com
mybestbuygiftcard.com

UPDATE: Another reader, Richard, sent in the following tip on how to find even more of these sites:

Try this search on Google using "my*giftcard.com". Way too many suspicious sites pop up.

(Photo: ARTS)

Steve Phillips, an owner of five St. Louis area Ashley stores and another in Columbia, Mo., said his stores have been deluged by complaints from customers who say they are waiting for gift cards to purchase groceries at local supermarkets.

[...]

Ashley has filed a complaint about the firm with law-enforcement authorities in Arizona, Phillips said.

No one at the Arizona company could be reached for comment. The firm's voice mail does not allow callers to leave messages, and the outgoing message says the company communicates only via mail and e-mail. A reporter e-mailed the company, but did not receive a reply.

The Better Business Bureau lists several hundred complaints against BBZ Resource Management, and gives the company an "F" rating.

Ashley furniture plans to honor the promotion, but they're going to partner with a different company, and anyone already waiting for a gift card will be forced to re-register.

Furniture buyers still waiting for free grocery coupons [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
(Photo: boost ventilator)

Happily, my story ends with no drama. I went to the Springfield, IL BestBuy and went straight to the customer service counter when we wanted to check out. Gail had indeed never seen such an anachronism, but she handled it without a complaint. She had to bring in another representative, but they immediately gave me the credit on my purchase and planned to sort out the accounting later.

A good story to tell is certainly worth $40, but I'm nonetheless pleased Best Buy honored the gift certificate without grousing.

"No drama" isn't what usually makes for a good post here on Consumerist, but we're happy that this worked out all around. Now we're going to go dig through old Christmas and birthday cards for overlooked scraps of paper.

"Will Best Buy Accept A Gift Certificate That's 12 Years Old?"

While digging through a box of old books, I came across a Best Buy Gift Certificate my brother had given me several Christmases ago. It's for $40, and is dated 20-Dec-1996. I can't say if I've even bought anything from BB since then, but I'm certain I haven't thought about that gift certificate.

Illinois' escheat laws don't have anything specific to say about my $40. They do mention gift certificates in 765 § 1025/10.6, but my situation isn't discussed, as it has no expiration date. I believe this lack of expiration is a point in my favor, but Best Buy might not agree.

I'm going to try to redeem it Friday; Do you care to handicap my odds?

We really don't know. What do you think?

First up, we have the box in which a gift card for tween clothing retailer Justice was mailed.

Second, Chris received a set of Amazon Nesting Boxes. (Another reader received a set of these back in September.) He wrote:

While this is certainly not the worst example of wasteful boxing, what I found particularly amusing was that the box on the inside had a "Amazon Ready to Ship" sticker on it.

Amusing, right? Take a box that's ready to ship and throw it in a much bigger box with a bunch of bubble wrap.

But wait, there's more! The next week, Chris wrote back:

I finally got around to opening the inner box shown in that picture I sent you. Inside that box was another box that also had an "Amazon ready to ship" sticker on it. Sheesh!

Nicely done, Amazon! Remember, if you receive a ridiculously packaged Amazon item, let them know.

May 21, 2009 [Toothpaste for Dinner] (Thanks, HBM!)

With some help from NBC "investigators", Stephanie was able to get some of her money back. But, regardless, these types of "gift" credit card are notoriously fishy. A Vanilla Visa gift card like the one Stephanie used charges an activation fee of around $5, plus a $2.50 monthly service fee if the card is not used within seven months. Not exactly better than plain old cash. And even if you're searching for a quick "no-hassle" credit card in order to make purchases online, many retailers don't honor them anyway.

The current credit card reform bill in the Senate has a provision aimed at curbing some of the worst gift card practices. Find out more about it here.

12 On Your Side Alert: Gift Cards [NBC]
(Photo: Rob Lee)

Specifically, the provision:

• prevents gift cards from expiring for five years after issuance;
• forbids so called "account maintenance" fees unless the card has been dormant for at least 12 months;
• and gives the Federal Reserve the power to cap fees.

The Senate may vote on the CARD Act as early as today, but you've still got time to send an email to your senators telling them you want it passed.

(Photo: arvindgrover)

"DMN reporter tests RadioShack's gadget trade-in program; RadioShack tests reporter's patience" [Dallas Morning News] (Thanks to Trevor!)
(Photo: Robbert van der Steeg)

Back in January, Toys R Us would exchange old KB cards for a 15% discount on any one item, but that program ended on January 31.

Having an outstanding gift card technically makes you a creditor in the KB Toys bankruptcy proceedings, and you can file a proof of claim. You can do that at this Web site. The New York Attorney General's office has instructions for gift card holders:

When filling out the proof of claim, consumers with gift card balances or merchandise credit should check under Section 5, the fourth box which states: "Up to $2,425* of deposits toward purchase, lease, or rental of property or services for personal, family, or household use - 11 U.S.C. 507(a)(7)"

The deadline for proofs of claim in the KB bankruptcy is May 15, 2009—after that, your gift card is pretty much an iPhone stand.

Actually, using your card as an iPhone stand may be more cost-effective. As Consumer Reports' Tightwad Tod explained, "The process could take years and you might get back only pennies on the dollar." Which is still better than zero dollars.

KB Toys, Inc. (2008) [Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions]
Consumer Information About KB Toys [NYS Attorney General]
New Yorkers get gift-card reprieve in KB Toys bankruptcy [Consumer Reports]

(Photo: Dave)

Reader Robert isn't happy that Ticketmaster is violating California law, and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau:

Complaint Description
They refuse to honor my giftcard because it "expired." Under California law, gift cards do not have expiration dates.

Complaint Summary
I have a $50 gift card (Code: 8002-5000-5641-0868) that TicketsNow says is "expired." Under California law, gift cards do not expire.

Resolution Sought
I want to be issued a working $50 gift certificate. In addition, so others do not have the same problem, I want their billing system to recognize all "expired" gift certificates as valid, at least in California.

Ticketmaster quickly responded with nine sentences, eight of which are utter fluff.

We are in receipt of your recent complaint submitted to the Better Business Bureau. Ticketmaster regrets any inconvenience you may have experienced in connection with your recent online ticketing experience, and thanks you for bringing your concerns to our attention. As a service oriented company, the satisfaction of our customers is always our utmost concern. Please be aware that your valued feedback will be provided to the proper group responsible for the concern you described, and will be instrumental in helping us improve the products & services that we offer. . As you may recall, you are requesting that we honor a $50.00 Ticketmaster gift card with the CODE: 8002-5000-5641-0868 that you have in your possession. This is a Discount Code not a Gift Card and it did have an expiration date of December 31, 2005. Please be assured; Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state. We closely monitor ticketing law and take care to ensure we do not violate them. We trust that this explanation will fully resolve the matter. Sincerely, Pam Shafer Consumer Support Specialist

Robert responded:

Hi Pam Shafer. You must be mistaken. Please consult the picture of my gift card under dispute that I have uploaded to the the internet for your convenience. Notice that it clearly says "$50 Gift Card." I have reason to believe you are circumventing California law. I have reason to believe you are lying to me and telling me the $50 I have is not really $50 dollars. Thank you for your time. With regards to my time, I would like to be issued a check now for $50 because of the hassles I have had to put up with. I am also inclined to post my story to the website The Consumerist.

Ticketmaster offered a final salvo:

As stated previously, you are requesting that we honor a $50.00 Ticketnow gift card with the CODE: 8002-5000-5641-0868 that you have in your possession. This is a Discount Code not a Gift Card and it did have an expiration date of December 31, 2005. You have also spoken with a Ticketsnow representative and he stated that you understood that this was a promotion code that cannot be validated as it has expired. Please be assured; Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state. We closely monitor ticketing law and take care to ensure we do not violate them. We trust that this explanation will fully resolve the matter. Sincerely, Pam Shafer Consumer Support Specialist

But don't worry, because Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state or whatever.

So does this mean someone can stab Ticketmaster's general counsel and get off scot-free because "involuntary insertion of a retributive object" somehow isn't the same thing same as stabbing?

Complaint ID: 98404063 [Los Angeles Better Business Bureau]

Here's Nix's story:

Last Saturday I got a postcard in the mail from Verizon. It said that if I call a certain number to move my service and order Fios, they'll have my service turned on in time for our moving day, and also will give us a gift card for $100! The problem? We moved LAST YEAR, and Fios still isn't available in our new neighborhood. We were also never offered a gift card when I called that same number to have my service moved. I called the number and explained to the nice girl who answered that I understood that the postcard being sent to me was a mistake, but it was a rather annoying one that was borderline on being insulting. I explained that we had already moved, we are not able to get Fios, and we were never offered a gift card.

She apologized profusely, which was really what I was looking for, but she kept going. She made sure I was on all of the available "do not disturb" lists internally (I wasn't, she corrected it), made sure I was getting the lowest possible rate monthly for our DSL service (I wasn't, she corrected it to the tune of $5 savings a month), then also gave me credit for one month of free DSL.

I was more than happy with all of that, thanked her profusely and ended the call.

Today in the mail, I got a gift card. It was only for $50, but it was still a gift card I was in no way expecting. That CSR went so completely above and beyond what she had to do, certainly more than most of them ever do. As soon as I was done bragging to my friends, I knew writing y'all was the next step.

We imagine some readers will say Nix didn't "deserve" the $50 gift card, but Nix acknowledges she didn't expect it or ask for it. What's more important is that a CSR took the time to figure out why Nix received the wrong offer, corrected the problem, and then adjusted her monthly bill in the customer's favor. To add a partial-promotion gift card on top of that, as a way of acknowledging that you recently moved and would have been eligible for the FiOS promotion had it been available in your area, is completely above and beyond. We don't know if the economics of this sort of customer appreciation is truly sustainable, but surely Verizon has just given Nix lots of good reasons to choose Verizon over a competitor in the future.

(Photo: Gustty)

Thank You Network

(Citibank)

Citibank put a lot of marketing money into convincing customers that its "Thank You Network" was all hugs and sunshine, but it turns out it's the same as any other program backed by a credit card company. Their fixed-point flight redemption offer is going away on March 1st, and earlier this month Adam discovered that they've already lowered the cap from $4200 to $2800, although there was no mention of this change on their website when he logged in to redeem his points. The fine print says they can change terms at any time without notice, and apparently they have, too bad for you if you've been saving up points for the past couple of years.

Citibank's "ThankYou" network (www.thankyou.com) has offered a fixed-point flight redemption offer for a while. 140,000 points, for instance, has netted a roundtrip business class flight valued up to $4200 between the continental U.S. and Hawaii.

Apparently, on March 1st, the ThankYou network will no longer offer fixed flight redemptions. I learned of this only second-hand, from a forum on the web (FlyerTalk). I never received ANY notice from Citibank, and in fact, when I called to confirm the rumor by calling Citibank (the # listed on my credit card), I was told that it was untrue and that nothing was changing.

But here's the more frustrating clincher. When I called to book a flight yesterday, I was on hold for over an hour (!) and the agent refused to book the flight, saying the cap had been changed from $4200 to $2800. I explained that I had not heard of this, and that the site still showed $4200. No dice. Talked to two managers, but they refused to honor the listed price cap.

I was told that:

- Citibank deemed that it no longer wished to honor the earlier offer as of this past Monday.
- Citibank maintained the right to change its redemption levels at any time, for any reason, and without notification.

Home Depot Rewards

(Mastercard)

Home Depot has also decided to reduce the value of your points, only they're taking a more Target-style approach. Jason noticed that not only will he need to redeem more points for gift cards than he used to, but that the value of his points drops if he opts for larger card values. Translation: it's "cheaper" to order two $25 gift cards than one $50 gift card.

I recently logged into my Home Depot rewards card to find that I have 12,000 + "reward" points to spend. In the past I would trade 10,000 points for a $100 Home Depot gift card. Recently, they decided to revamp the rewards system— now the $100 gift card "costs" 12,000 points. But that's not the point- check out the rest of the choices:




3,500 points for a $25 gift card (140 points/$)
8,000 points for a $50 gift card (160 points/$)

HUH? Is that $50 gift card somehow "special"? Perhaps it's a "convenience charge" ala Ticketmaster. "Only one card to keep track of!" That's worth at least 1000 points!

Even better,

55,000 points for a $600 gift card (91 points/$)
125,000 points for a $1250 gift card (100 points/$)

Are they just betting on the idiocy of their customers? I guess so...

One thing that's new about the case is the use of Visa gift cards—they're easy to shoplift, and then the stolen account info can be encoded onto the magnetic strip on the back. It's also harder to catch fraudulent use via gift card, and there are fewer ID restrictions. The men were caught because they used the stolen data for too long and it began to go bad—near the end, Walmart's system was catching and flagging accounts that had already been deactivated, which was what alerted them to the fraud.

"First Heartland Arrests, With New Twist To Bogus Gift Card Scheme" [StorefrontBacktalk]
(Photo: ToOb)

Most of the examples in the Times article are anecdotal, and focus on people facing reduced budgets due to layoffs or salary freezes, but they also cite some actual numbers, like how "diamond jewelry sales are down 20 percent to 30 percent."

Last year, consumers spent an average of $122.98 on Valentine's Day gifts and merchandise, up from $80 in 2003, according to the National Retail Federation. With men, Professor Close said, "a lot of it had to do with the whole one-upmanship." This year, however, the average expense is expected to drop 17 percent, to $102.50 this year, the federation said.

Maybe, for the next year or so at least, demonstrating your love frugally will be considered more attractive than blowing a wad of badly-needed cash on store-bought trinkets.

"Days of Wine and Roses Are Over This Valentine's" [New York Times]
(Photo: Axel Bührmann)

Jake writes,

I just wanted to let you know that Casey and I figured out what went wrong and it's all fixed now.

He had the promised gift card overnighted to me, and I'm very grateful.

The folks at Office Depot were great, and it was clear that they meant to help me all along, there was just a little miscommunication. Thanks for your help!

We're very happy for Jake, seriously, but we're going to jump in before the commenters and point out the big problem with this method of mystery solving: not everyone can get their story posted to the Consumerist, and if companies are only taking action on these "bad PR" cases and continuing to ignore the regular customers who call, write, fax, blog, or tweet in relative obscurity, then nothing has really improved.

Having said that, we're glad that Jake and Office Depot worked it out. Who knows, maybe it helped clear up an internal issue and will therefore be of help to other consumers.

Here's his story:

In November when the online Black Friday deals were starting to heat up, I saw that Office Depot was running a sale on XBOX 360 bundles with BioShock for $199.99. (It was item number 0519380.)

Their current page for this item is here: http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=519380

On Friday, Nov. 21, I went on the Office Depot website and tried to order this item. Every time I tried, it told me that the item was invalid for my area, and it wouldn't allow me to put the item in my cart.

So, I called Office Depot's telesales number. There, I spoke to a girl who was very friendly. She put me on hold for about ten minutes while she tried to place the order for me. When she came back on the line, she told me that she could see the item, but she wasn't allowed to place orders for it. When I asked her what I should do, she told me there's a chance my local store manager can order it for me.

Then I called the Layton, UT Office Depot. I spoke to Matt, the manager there, and he was very friendly. I told him the item number for the XBOX 360 I was trying to buy, and that telesales had told me that he might be able to order or reserve it for me. Instead of putting me on hold, Matt looked at his in-store system with me on the line, and found that he also could see the item, but he couldn't order it. He said that he wasn't sent any to stock either, so he couldn't help me get one.

I was almost ready to give up, and I asked Matt if there was anything else I could do.

"Look", Matt said to me, "It's there on the website, so you should be able to order it, right? So why don't you just call that telesales number again, and tell them to order it for you, and if they say they can't, escalate it until whoever you're talking to can."

I was amazed to hear one of Office Depot's store managers telling me this, and I felt that he was absolutely right.

I called the telesales number again.

This time, I got Michelle. I told Michelle about the website, and about my first call to telesales, and about the store manager, and that she should take a look at the item number and if she can't order it for me, please escalate the call.

Michelle was great. She found that she was not able to order the item, and escalated me to her supervisor right away.

I waited on hold for the supervisor for about five minutes, and when she came on the line, I forgot to write down her name (oops). When I explained the situation to her, she told me that she was going to send my call to executive customer care. She said I might be on hold for a while, but to wait, because the person I would get on the phone there could help me.

I held for about fifteen minutes, and then someone answered with, "Office of the Chairman, this is Margaret."

Margaret listened to all the things I'd done to try to order the XBOX 360, and then she told me that she would have to research it.

I told her that would be fine, but I had already done all this work, and I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't hang up and then never hear from her again. So, Margaret gave me her full name and phone number.

That was Friday the 21st. I knew that I wouldn't hear from her during the weekend, so on Monday, Nov. 24, I waited all day for her call. Around 3:00 pm, I called her number and got voice mail. I left a message that I just wanted to follow up with her and was looking forward to her call.

A few minutes later, she called me back. Margaret told me that she was unable to find an XBOX 360 in any of her warehouses, and she was very sorry. Then, she said, "To make it up to you, I'd like to send you a $260 shop card. Would that be ok?"

I was so surprised that I didn't know what to say, and I think I stuttered that it would be great. I gave her my address and thanked her several times, and that was it.

And since then, I've been waiting for the promised card to show up. I figured there might be a delay, because things take time to process, so I've kept telling myself to be patient. I've tried to call Margaret a couple of times, and I've left her one or two upbeat voice mails asking if she could check on the status for me.

But Margaret hasn't called back, and now it's February.

I was really blown away by how every single interaction I had with an Office Depot employee was excellent. They were always nice, and they always tried to help. And I never expected to be offered a shopping card, but a broken (or delayed, hopefully) promise is hard to overlook.

So I'm hoping that writing this to Consumerist will get Office Depot's attention. And I'd really like to see the card come through, but failing that, just an explanation would be nice.

Thanks!

(Photo: dev null)

The Crystal Mall in Waterford allegedly charged the illegal fees to customers with cards from 2003-2005. The settlement is the result of a lawsuit Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed against the mall's owners, Simon Property Group, in 2004.

Attorney General, DCP, Treasurer Announce $308,000 Settlement With Crystal Mall Owners For Alleged Violations Of State Gift Card Laws [via Tightwad Tod]
(Photo: The Joy of the Mundane)

He writes:

I received several $50 gift cards for Exxon Mobil this Christmas. The cards were payed for with cash (I asked my Aunt, who gave them to me), and the card clearly states on the back "This gift card is not a credit card". When I went to use it at my locall Mobil (Astoria Blvd in Queens, NY), they charged me the credit price! I went in to complain, but the clerk mumbled something that I couldn't understand and I was in a hurry. Just wanted to alert your readers... Exxon Mobil gift cards are a bad deal. Cash will go further.

PS. Is is even legal to have a credit price in New York?

Nope, it's not legal in New York, Rob. Check out this from Just Ask Asa:

Nine states in addition to New York prohibit merchants from adding surcharges to credit card transactions: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas. Credit card issuers, including Visa and MasterCard, generally forbid credit card surcharges too–although they allow cash discounts.

A lot of gas stations seem to be ignorant, willfully or accidentally, about the surcharge issue. If you live in a state that forbids them, you should report the station to your attorney general's office. If you live in another state but you think the sation is in violation of its credit card merchant agreement, you should contact the credit card company and the parent company of the gas station. And buy your gas elsewhere.

In this case, Rob, you should definitely report the station to the New York Attorney General—their consumer helpline is 1-800-771-7755.

RELATED
"Is This $0.10 Credit/Debit Surcharge On Gasoline Allowed?"
"NY Attorney General: 25% Of Gas Stations 'Engage In Deceptive Practices'"

Our KB Toys tipster says:

I work for kb toys as a manager.

In response to what will happen to your gift cards: USE THEM IN STORES BEFORE OUR FINAL SALES DAY.

You can redeem your cards but we can no longer sell them. We are to tell you we are "sold out" of cards when in reality we have just been instructed to destroy / remove the cards for the simple fact that it would be unethical to continue to sell cards for a store in the liquidation process.

You must use them before we close other wise there is no guarantee you will be reimbursed. I have heard from other managers that there is probably an address where you can send back your cards and get a check but I don't think that is true.

Also we can still process returns on previous purchases BUT NOT ANYTHING BOUGHT [NOW] TILL CLOSING.

These tips match what Consumer Reports found by calling KB Toys and testing a gift card on their website. The website didn't work, but the stores were still accepting the cards.

In any case, don't delay. Use those cards as soon as you can.

KB Toys latest to file for bankruptcy[Consumer Reports]

The panic comes from the danger that a company might declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy — which means they are being liquidated. Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is a chance that a consumer holding a gift card can be considered an "unsecured creditor" — placing them nearly last on the list to get their money back.

The Sharper Image debacle alerted consumers to this possibility — and the after effects of this panic are still with us. Thankfully, retailers seem to have learned from this experience and many companies that are entering bankruptcy are taking steps to ensure that they are able to continue selling and redeeming gift cards.

Snopes gives a rundown of some current bankrupt companies and what they are doing in regards to gift cards.

So are gift cards safe? Well, they're exactly as safe as they always were — but it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy gift cards only from companies that are financially secure.

(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane )

...it's up to the company to ask the bankruptcy court to allow it to continue accepting gift cards. If they don't ask, you're out of luck. So spend them quickly if you get them, and before you buy them, maybe check the financial pages to see if the company is headed for Chapter 11. Aha, you say, I'll just buy one of those ones backed by VISA or the like. Not so fast. If they're backed by a bank or credit card company, they can have all sorts of hidden fees and various ways for them to quietly depreciate in value.

The Gift Card Comes Wrapped in Growing Risk [NYT] (Photo: paper house)

Two come to mind: Brookstone and American Apparel.

Brookstone's return policy is simple:

If a product purchased at Brookstone does not meet your expectations, you may return it with receipt within 30 days of purchase for a refund, merchandise credit or exchange. We will not accept any returns without a receipt.

Sounds fair, until you consider that there aren't any provisions for gifts. Without the receipt, you're stuck holding a potentially unwanted gift. Even if you bring the unopened mint-condition item to the store, point to the exact same item on the shelf, and ask to perform an exchange, they will refuse. You have only one option: ask the gift-giver for the receipt, an obviously impossible request no half-decent person would make.

American Apparel can't even settle on a return policy. If you buy from their online store, they offer a full refund, but if you visit their brick and mortar locations, you can only receive store credit. So if you do your friend a favor and pick up a few shirts, and it turns out you were sold the wrong ones, you're entirely out of luck and stuck with an unwanted store credit.

Is either policy unique? No. We know there are companies with vastly more farcical policies we want to hear about them. Fill the comments with the worst return policies you've seen. And no, "all sales final" doesn't count.

EU to expand e-shoppers' rights [BBC]
(Photo: theogeo)

This past weekend, I went to Bloomingdales with a gift card that I received two years ago. The salesperson told me it had "expired." I was furious. How could a gift card "expire" after such a short time? How could they take "my" money?

I searched Bloomingdales.com, and learned that gift cards purchased after Feb. 2008 never expire.

That didn't comfort me. Then I sent an email to Customer Service. Lo and behold: they replied with a phone number to call to "restore" the balance in my expired card:

1-866-593-2540

A minute and one phone call later, I have the full $109 back on my card.

It's interesting how no one at the store was willing or able to give me this information — and how there's no directions about it on Bloomingdales.com.

Jacob says:

I signed up for FIOS in March and was promised a $200 Circuit City giftcard, and have been given the runaround for months now. I thought I was an isolated case, but when the rep last week told me the promotion had never existed, that was the last straw.

Jacob pointed us to a website filled with angry Verizon customers who haven't received their gift cards. Of course, this isn't the first time Verizon has failed to deliver on a FiOS promotion. Remember the disastrous "Free LCD" giveaway earlier this year?

If you believe that you were eligible for a free gift card from Verizon and have not received it, you should contact your state's attorney general and file a formal complaint. If enough customers do this, the AG will investigate.

When Seth emailed to ask why they were just now contacting him, he received this surprising response (emphasis ours):

A software glitch prevented Buy.com from billing some customers over the last couple of years. Buy.com is going to bill them soon. The only customers that were affected by this were those who used partial payment with a GC and then paid the balance with their Credit Cards (which were never really charged).

So there ya go: if you used a gift card at Buy.com in the "last couple of years" and settled the difference with a credit card, Buy.com may be hitting your account later this month in an attempt to finally get their books straight.

(Photo: Getty)

Here's their email:

We fixed the error on iPod pricing on our website this morning. And anyone who bought at the wrong price is going to be refunded without asking, no matter how long ago they purchased. Plus we are sending them a $10 gift card so they can add some tunes to their new iPod.

Thanks to your reader for pointing out the mistake. Apple changed prices and discontinued some models with their latest upgrades, and our system—for a reason we have fixed—didn't reflect that.

Inflated prices are not in our repertoire. Actually, getting gear in musicians' hands at the lowest possible price is what we are all about. We appreciate the fair shake we got from The Consumerist. Keep up the good work. No problem will ever appear on your site that we do anything other than solve

...bankruptcy courts treat gift cards as loans to the company, and the onus is on the merchant to petition the court to let it keep accepting them. If the merchant doesn't, then consumers have to file claims as an unsecured creditor in order to redeem the cards. "Gift cards shouldn't be the gift that stops giving when retailers go bankrupt," said Michelle Jun, CU senior attorney. "Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that consumers will be able to redeem the full value of their gift cards from struggling or bankrupt retailers."

Consumers urge FTC to protect gift card holders [BusinessWeek]
Gift Cards: The gift that can stop giving [Financial Privacy Now Blog] (Photo: paper house)

• Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
• Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
• Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8

• Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
• Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men's Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
• Sears: Seven7 Women's Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more

• Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
• Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
• BestBuy: Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping

• Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
• Vann's: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
• Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books

"If they thought I was a cranky old biddy, they should just have given me my money and let me go," Christina told the Star-Tribune. "I paid in good faith, and I wanted my money back. That's all. It's the principle."

"They can put you in jail for this," she says a cop told her. "Well, I've got nothing else to do today," she replied. "Besides, I may meet a better class of people in jail."

The store wouldn't budge. Christina wouldn't bend. A stretcher was brought in.

Christina was strapped to it, and taken by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center. Her physical and mental health was supposed to be evaluated.

Attention shoppers: You won't take a gift certificate? You must be nuts.

"They thought I was loony or something," Christina says, her voice still incredulous. "That's the real crazy thing. I just wanted my money."

In the emergency room, they looked her over and sent her home that day. She seemed to be an elderly lady who was upset. From Christina's account, she also seemed to have a good reason.

Target's Fransen says store employees were concerned for her health.

"It's not anything she did," he said. "Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself."

Perhaps, so. But this could be one case where three $10 bills would have done a lot more — and done it more cheaply — than an ambulance ride to a hospital.

Christina Brown wants an apology, she wants her money (including getting her medical bills from the unexpected hospital trip paid), and she wants this: "I want the staff trained in how to treat customers."

Christina won't get to help train them. Target signed a trespassing order against her, meaning she will be arrested if she returns to the Plymouth SuperTarget.

That, friends, won't be a problem.

"I wouldn't go back to that store if everything in it was free," she says. "If they're waiting to see me again, they're waiting for a cold day in hell."

'Cranky' lady tangled with 'Mr. Nasty’ [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: spinadelic )

The Dallas Morning News also reports that Texasdelphia sandwich shop will be accepting the cards.

Of course, the few remaining Bennigan's may start accepting the cards again if it seems likely that they'll be reimbursed.

Do you know of any local places that will be accepting the cards? Tell us in the comments.

Rivals say they'll honor Bennigan's, Steak & Ale gift cards [Dallas Morning News](Thanks, Travis!)