Lucas saved up his credit card reward points to buy a Home Depot eGift Card with the understanding that he only needed the number to make a purchase. A Home Depot clerk denied his purchase, insisting she needed to see a physical copy.

He writes:

I had used my Amex rewards points to buy a $100 Home Depot eGift Card and used it most of it that day. On the following Friday I returned to the store to purchase some additional items and was informed by the cashier that she could not accept the gift card die to I did not have a physical copy and her store manager was pissed that one had been accepted the day before (mine).

I informed the cashier that nowhere was I informed I had to have a physical copy and that if she entered the number in the eGift Card it would work. She refused to let me use my gift card and I paid for my purchase with my debit card. When I contacted the assistant store manager the next day she said that a physical copy needed to be present and I informed her that what I had read regarding the eGift Card it said I only needed to show the number to the cashier. She said she would get back to me on November 1st and I still have not heard back. What should I do?

Home Depot’s FAQs backs the cashier, saying a print-out of the eGift Card is necessary. But since the clerk admitted it was possible to authorize a gift card by simply using the number, it seems Home Depot is making Lucas jump through an unnecessary hoop.

If you’ve ever had a valid gift card denied, how did you fight back?

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