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#Post#: 43548--------------------------------------------------
Gift card question
By: jpcher Date: December 10, 2019, 6:41 pm
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I heard this on the radio traveling home from out of state so I
don't know the DJs but this question was asked by a caller:
Caller: I received a gift card from an office coworker
(department gift exchange) that I'm friendly with but not
besties. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the amount
hand-written on the card was $50*. When I went to purchase
something off the gift card I was told that there was only $20
on it. Should I say something to CW? or just let it go?
DJ1: Oh most definitely yes! CW was gypped and should know about
it.
Caller (hesitantly): But wouldn't it seem, I don't know, gift
grabby type of thing? I don't want to embarrass CW.
DJ1: Ohhh, like where's the rest of my money! Gotcha.
DJ2: I think you should let it go . . .
DJ1 (obviously the stronger of the DJs): Why? Do you think CW
used some of the dollars on the card and just gave caller the
change?
DJ2: No that's not what I'm saying at all.
Caller: I don't want to believe that!
DJ2: I know people who recycle gift cards. Use what they want
out of the card then give the rest to friends.
Caller: What?
DJ1: So you are saying that CW gave Caller a used gift card,
right?
DJ2 (more firmly): What caller should do is call the card
customer service number. They surely have tracking info . . .
Then DD#1 and I got into a conversation about this so I lost the
rest of the broadcast.
What would you do if you were given a gift card with a
hand-written amount on it only to find out the actual amount on
the card was short?
*From what I heard during the broadcast, it was never disclosed
as to the general amount given for the gift-giving exchange.
#Post#: 43551--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: gramma dishes Date: December 10, 2019, 6:51 pm
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If the $50 was a usual and customary amount to spend for this
particular gift exchange then yes indeed I would notify the
giver because it is extremely likely s/he got ripped off and
they should be aware of that if it happened.
It is tricky though. I suppose it is possible that they could
have given her a "used" gift card, but it doesn't seem likely.
It may be that someone gave the gift card to the giver last year
and she thought she had never used it so in essence just passed
it on. She didn't remember that yes, she did use it one time.
Or the gift card could be from one of the rip off companies that
starts deducting fees from the balance once the gift card is
more than 30, 60 or 90 days old.
#Post#: 43552--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: Rose Red Date: December 10, 2019, 6:56 pm
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Maybe the handwriting was messy and the 2 looks like a 5? ???
:-\ Unlikely but you never know.
Maybe she can thank the giver by saying how handy the $20 was
for buying (thing). Then see if the giver corrects her on the
amount.
#Post#: 43562--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: Isisnin Date: December 10, 2019, 11:45 pm
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The recipient could say something like this to the giver:
"You need to know this. The store you bought the gift card from
isn't reliable. It was only for $20 not $50. You might want to
stop frequenting them."
If the giver was actually cheated by the store, they could ask
for information from the recipient in order to correct the issue
with the store.
If the giver was the one cheating, by bringing to the shortage
to their attention maybe they won't do it to someone else
#Post#: 43574--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: Girlie Date: December 11, 2019, 7:24 am
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In the same situation, I probably wouldn't do anything.
The kindest assumption to make is that the gift giver likely
bought multiple cards from the same store and mixed them up.
#Post#: 43580--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: Hmmm Date: December 11, 2019, 8:13 am
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Even before it was suggested, my thought was to contact the card
provider and determine what purchases had been made against the
card. There is a record of it. Then if I found out the original
purchase amount was $50 and there had been no purchases, I'd
notify co-worker.
But $50 for a co-worker exchange seems really high. I also
wonder if the 2 looks like a 5 or if the clerk just made a
mistake when writing the amount.
#Post#: 43582--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: oogyda Date: December 11, 2019, 9:24 am
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My thinking didn't first go to someone using the card
previously. My thought was that CW gave $50 to the cashier.
The cashier loaded $20 on the gift card and put $30 in her
pocket.
When gift cards became popular, there were many stories of the
money not being loaded properly and this turned out to be of the
reasons why.
#Post#: 43585--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: DaDancingPsych Date: December 11, 2019, 9:28 am
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The most important fact (to me) is missing. What is the normal
amount for this gift exchange? Being that the caller was
shocked, I would assume that it is probably closer to $20. If
that’s true, then I would do nothing. I would assume that there
was an error somewhere along the way. (Often when purchasing a
gift card, it is the cashier who hand writes the amount. I could
easily see a scenario where they authorized the accurate amount,
but wrote the different one. But that is just one possible
setup.)
I would probably still be hesitant to say anything if the norm
is $50, but if I felt that it would not cause any professional
issues and that I was comfortable mentioning it to my coworker,
I might do so.
#Post#: 43589--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: TootsNYC Date: December 11, 2019, 9:40 am
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[quote author=gramma dishes link=topic=1434.msg43551#msg43551
date=1576025461]
If the $50 was a usual and customary amount to spend for this
particular gift exchange then yes indeed I would notify the
giver because it is extremely likely s/he got ripped off and
they should be aware of that if it happened.
It is tricky though. I suppose it is possible that they could
have given her a "used" gift card, but it doesn't seem likely.
It may be that someone gave the gift card to the giver last year
and she thought she had never used it so in essence just passed
it on. She didn't remember that yes, she did use it one time.
Or the gift card could be from one of the rip off companies that
starts deducting fees from the balance once the gift card is
more than 30, 60 or 90 days old.
[/quote]
This happened to me, two years in a row. I had a stash of Amazon
gift cards, and the only way to check the balance is to use
them, to transfer the balance to your Amazon account. I must
have done that, not realizing that's what happens. (though the
second year, I don't think that was the case!)
Fortunately, my team told me about it, and I was able to replace
it.
If it's an honest mistake, I would want to know.
If I was being cheap, I'd be gently called out.
#Post#: 43590--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gift card question
By: lowspark Date: December 11, 2019, 10:06 am
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I wouldn't think it was previously used. What are the chances
that the remaining balance would be exactly $20?
It's much more likely to be one of the three scenarios mentioned
above:
- incorrect amount loaded originally on the card
- incorrect amount hand-written on the card
- illegible amount hand-written on the card
[quote author=DaDancingPsych link=topic=1434.msg43585#msg43585
date=1576078133]
The most important fact (to me) is missing. What is the normal
amount for this gift exchange? [/quote]
This. If the normal amount is $20ish, I'd keep my mouth shut.
If the normal amount is $50ish (which seems awfully high to me
for an office gift exchange!) I might let the giver know, only
because that increases the chance that the incorrect amount was
loaded originally on the card. That's assuming that something
can be done about it. The giver has to have kept their receipt
and there has to be a way to determine the history of the card.
It would also depend on who the giver was, and what my work
relationship was with them.
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