UPDATE: The reports were true — Toys ‘R’ Us has indeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and says it hopes to keep its stores running through this holiday season. [More]
gift cards
Payless Won’t Accept A Gift Card I Bought Online. Is It Because Of Their Bankruptcy?
By 9.18.17
Is Payless ShoeSource trying to recover from bankruptcy by discouraging customers from ever redeeming their gift cards? A Consumerist reader bought a discounted gift card from a card exchange site, then was annoyed when his local Payless store wouldn’t accept it. The retailer says that it accepts virtual gift cards in its stores, but only from certain vendors, and only after taking very specific anti-fraud measures. [More]
Amazon Debuts ‘Amazon Cash’ As A Way For The Unbanked To Shop Online
By 4.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Shopping online can provide savings and convenience, but more than 25% of U.S. households have either no bank account or rely on non-bank products and services to handle their finances. In an attempt to reach those potential customers, Amazon has launched “Amazon Cash.” [More]
Surprise! You’re Not Getting A $250 Walmart Gift Card From That Facebook Link
By 3.22.17
The offer of free money is hard to pass up, but, as we’ve warned before, those promises of hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards, a free car or trip, and other too-good-to-be-true offers are just that. The latest version of this scheme involves a $250 Walmart gift card. [More]
Here’s How You Might Get Something Back From Gift Cards For The Limited
By 1.27.17
When a retailer files for bankruptcy protection, that typically means that it will stop accepting gift cards, which is very bad news if you happen to hold one. If customers of The Limited didn’t spend their gift cards before the chain shut down its retail stores and its website, they lose the value of their cards. [More]
Walmart Employee Stops Elderly Couple From Losing $2,500 To “Grandparents Scam”
By 1.18.17
An elderly Illinois couple still has $2,500 in the bank thanks to an alert Walmart employee who thought something was amiss when the shoppers tried to transfer the funds to prepaid gift cards. [More]
How To Protect Yourself From Buying A Drained Gift Card
By 12.14.16
Gift cards are a popular present for all occasions, and are extra popular during the holiday season. However, one really terrible gift is a gift card that has been drained of its value. Here’s how to prevent that from happening so your gift recipient can buy the perfect present that they actually wanted. [More]
Reminder: Friday Is The Last Day To Redeem Your RadioShack Gift Cards
By 11.29.16
The bankruptcy of RadioShack at the beginning of 2015 probably seems like a distant event to you now, but the business entity that used to be the massive electronics chain is still wrapping up its affairs. One of those last pieces of business is the end of gift card redemptions. The Shack’s estate will stop accepting requests on Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. [More]
Some Time Warner Cable Customers Still Waiting Months For $300 Promotional Gift Cards
By 11.11.16
Back in February, Ann chose to keep her business with Time Warner Cable when the company dangled a free $300 prepaid gift card in her face. Fast forward to November and she’s still waiting for the card, like hundreds of other customers who stuck with the company or switched to the pay-TV provider. So what’s the deal? [More]
Let’s Review: You Will Never Have To Send $6K In iTunes Gift Cards To The IRS
By 8.31.16
When you owe money to the Internal Revenue Service, they don’t call you up. Instead, they send letters through the mail. Yet people send thousands of dollars every day to scammers in faraway call centers who claim to represent the federal government. If you don’t know that the call is a scam, it can be super scary to be threatened with seven years in prison over the phone. [More]
Lyft Will Soon Be Selling $20 Gift Cards At Starbucks Stores
By 8.9.16
In a move that its rivals haven’t tried yet, Lyft says it will start selling gift cards in a new partnership with Starbucks. [More]
Woman Out $250 After Falling Victim To Comcast, Amazon Fake Promotion Scheme
By 7.26.16
Consider yourself warned: Scammers are taking advantage of the recent news that Amazon is selling access to Comcast services, faking calls from the cable company to steal money from unwitting victims.
[More]
Reminder: You Have Until Tuesday To Use Your Sports Authority Gift Cards
By 6.24.16
If you still have a Sports Authority gift card lurking somewhere in your papers, it’s time to pull it out and spend it on some ski pants or a camping knife or something. As the company’s business winds down, the last day that its remaining stores and website will accept gift cards is Tuesday, June 28, 2016. [More]
There’s $92.5 Million In Outstanding Sports Authority Gift Cards: Use Yours Before June 28
By 5.24.16
We have no idea why you would want to buy a gift card to Sports Authority right now. The big-box sports retailer, with 460 stores across the country, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and is liquidating and closing all of its stores starting on Wednesday. If you did want to buy one, today is the last day, and the stores will stop accepting gift cards on June 26 June 28. [More]
Don’t Throw Away Prepaid Debit Cards After You Use Them To Make A Purchase
By 5.4.16
If you exhaust all the money on a prepaid debit card and have no intention of refilling it, your tendency is probably to simply discard the piece of plastic and move on with your life. But you may want to hold on to that card for a while, lest you have to jump through hoops if you return the purchase. [More]
Customers Say Time Warner Cable Failing To Honor $300 Gift Card Promo Deal
By 4.14.16
Dangling a free prepaid gift card in front of folks’ faces is a time-honored method of getting people to switch services. But a number of cable customers who switched to Time Warner Cable because of the promise of a $300 gift card say the pay-TV provider has yet to make good on the promotion.
[More]
New Credit Card Rules May Make It Difficult To Purchase Gift Cards
By 3.8.16
If you recently tried to purchase a gift card and were told you had to use cash or had to stick to a smaller denomination, you’re not alone. The way in which retailers sell gift cards has changed in the five months since new credit card rules went into effect. [More]
