Ectoplasmic, barely visible air quotes waggle over Circuit City’s new “24/24” guarantee. Or, put more succinctly by reader Jon M: “Circuit City’s new ’24/24′ guarantee is a load of hooey.”

According to the published terms of the widely publicized guarantee, if an order placed on line for in-store pickup is not ready within 24 minutes of the confirmation email, you’re supposed to get a $24 gift card.

But if the store decides the item is out of stock at any point after that confirmation email is sent, you don’t get the gift card — even though the confirmation email specifically says the item is “now available for pickup” and “specifically reserved” for you.

So order something from them, get the confirmation, wait a half hour, go to the store, wait on line, and if they decide at that point that it’s out of stock, no $24 for your troubles. This is what happened to me, except that the store did leave a message on my answering machine to say the item was out of stock — but they called 45 minutes after the confirmation email arrived and 15 minutes after I had already set out for the store.

This exception isn’t published in any of the on-line or in-store fine print, but it was referred to specifically by the nasty Corporate Customer Service representative I complained to when I fell into this trap.

Nothing like the sound of a CSR making flicking noises with their mouth as they thumb through the imaginary tome of company policy they just withdrew from the library of their ass to get your blood up.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.