DON'T BUY A GIFT CARD FROM WORLD MARKET.

[TNDemo]

Two days ago I stood in line at World Market and got a $50 gift card. She wrapped up this red cardboard trifold thing and put it in a little stocking and handed it to me. I took it out today to wrap and it saw there was no gift card in there. I called the store and asked if there shouldn't be a card. He said there should be. I told him it was not there and he just said there was no way to research this and basically I was just out the money. I am going to call the bank tomorrow and see if I can get the debit payment stopped but I may just have lost $50. I wasn't watching closely what the cashier was doing and she had her back to me most of the time. Sounds like a quick way for a cashier to make some money too. I will gripe all the way to the top but I will never do business with them again.

[robinlynne]

1. heard, and registered. will not shop there.

[Barack_America]

2. Check your receipt. It may have the number of the gift card on it.

In fact, it should have the number of the gift card on it. If so, they could be able to deactivate it.

Barring that, I'd consider giving their corporate offices a call and perhaps the local police. That should get their attention.

Good luck!

[TNDemo]

7. There is a bar code on the red cardboard folder.

My receipt has the last three digits of that number on it. I won't let this rest. If World Market does not do anything to rectify this then I will try to make their life as much hell as possible.

[Barack_America]

9. Excellent.

I really feel that this is going to work out for you.

[Warpy]

11. You bet, go into the store, demand to see that manager, and GET LOUD

If that gift certificate is ever used, they can track it that way. Contact the corporate head office online via email.

Tell that little prick you are NOT out the money, that he needs to check to make sure none of the others have been stolen and if it can be traced, fire the little thief.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Who knows. The store manager may be splitting the ill gotten profits.

The fact he told the OP she was out of luck stinks to high heaven. I've never heard of a gift card that couldn't be tracked and refunded if not used.

[Warpy]

28. That's why I suggested what I did

The manager will pay $50 to get rid of a loud complainer.

The corporate headquarters will be fascinated by the story, especially since the number of the envelope and the number on the sales slip will allow them to track that card quite easily.

[Sanity Claws]

3. I wonder if there is a security camera

Some places have cameras at the cashiers. Your receipt should indicate the time and register so the store could trace the transaction as saved in the camera.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. Don't give up. Do what the others suggested, document it all then write to the CEO

That usually gets their attention. I have had many 'sorry...policy' things reversed that way.

[TNDemo]

6. He has an email from me waiting on him.

Customer service too. Grrr.

[MineralMan]

5. It's in the cashier's pocket. Take your receipt back to the store and

have the transaction cancelled. It was stolen by some temporary worker. I've had that happen. It's been corrected. Don't take any nonsense. You didn't get what you paid for. As long as you have the receipt, you can straighten it out. See the manager of the store. If he/she won't help, get the corporate number and start dialing it on your cell phone while you're in the store with the manager. I guarantee you'll get the help you need before anyone answers.

[Generic Other]

20. Ouch! I can just visualize the sweat on the manager's brow

Good tactic for resolving issues.

[lorylin]

8. Wow, I'm really sorry this happened to you!

[Obamanaut]

10. What the others said, and if it turns out the clerk took it, press charges. nt

[Berry Cool]

12. Everyone here is right. You have a record of the transaction on your receipt.

Give 'em hell. If they don't give satisfaction, call your local TV station that has an "on your side" reporter. Your problems should end quickly. If that doesn't solve the problem, a YouTube video is next.

[kstewart33]

13. Go back to the store, speak to the manager and raise a stink until you get your $50 back.

For $50 and justice, it's worth doing.

[mwb970]

23. Make darn sure it isn't your mistake first.

I made a fuss about a similar incident once only to discover that I had missed seeing the item in the packaging.

:blush:

[TNDemo]

24. It was still in the bag.

I hadn't touched it. No card when I opened it up. I looked all around my purse so I am sure I never got it.

[NJCher]

14. had this happen at Home Depot

I had several cards and the cashier returned only the one with the least amount of money on it. In looking at the receipt and the amounts that were on the cards, this didn't add up.

I immediately contacted the manager, they saw my point, and refunded the money.

So there is precedent for this and retailers do know about this scam.

Thanks for posting, though, as a reminder to others to watch carefully at this time of year. As a matter of fact, I just came back from purchasing two gift cards at Trader Joe's.

I hope you're successful getting your money back. I think that eventually you will be.


Cher

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. I had a problem at Home Depot also.

My friends purchased a 200 dollar gift card for me. When I tried to check out with my new table saw, the card was empty.

Boy was I pissed. First the embarrassment of being denied at the register and then the embarrassment of having to bother the people who bought the card for me. Then my friend was embarrassed for the trouble he caused me.

After spending an hour on the phone with a manager I had to drag my friend and his receipt to a different store from where I was trying to make the purchase. It turned out to be a half day of aggravation.

First they tried to tell me they would "do an investigation and send me a check in two weeks"

We went to the point of purchase store and tracked down the manager. He tried to hide and have an assistant take care of us but we hounded him out of his hide-y hole.

It worked out for us in the end. He gave me a 200 dollar store credit so I wouldn't have to wait, credited my friend's credit card AND never charged him for the 200 bucks.

It never occurred to me that there was any shenanigans with the clerk but now I have to wonder. Heck, something like 30 percent of cards don't get used anyway. For 50 bucks someone might not want the aggravation.

[pitohui]

15. a similar scam (just don't buy gift cards from ANYONE)

the scam i heard was you buy the gift card and you get a gift card but the cashier has replaced it with an already used gift card

when you or your friend try to use it, they find it has already been spent

if you want to give cash, just give cash, there is nothing good about giving a gift card -- it forces the person to go to the store of yr choice instead of their choice -- if you don't know what to buy and/or you realize the person actually needs spending money PLEASE JUST GIVE CASH

you avoid all these scams and you also avoid the person losing/forgetting to spend the gift card -- no one forgets to spend/use cash

look back, what gifts did YOU most appreciate, if you're like me, you don't remember some gift card fondly -- you remember the CASH

i once rec'd a gift card i had to go all the way to san antonio to use, an 8 hr drive as i live in new orleans, wow, what a thoughtful gift :sarcasm: if they'd just given me the same $500 (or hell if they'd just given me $300 cash thus saving themselves $200) i would have actually remembered the experience more gratefully

[Love Bug]

16. I get VISA gift cards from my bank

They can be used anywhere that accepts VISA and I don't have to worry about being scammed.

[TNDemo]

17. Update.

Went to the bank this morning and got the debit card reimbursed. They were rather stunned at the guy who talked to me from World Market. You would think in a time of recession they would have a better pool of employees to pull from. My email to customer service has yet to be answered. My email to the CEO bounced back so I called their office and was told his email cannot be given out but they could connect me to his assistant. Got her voice mail, told her I would like to have his email or would like to tell them about my experience at this particular World Market. Have not gotten a call back yet. I have friends at the local TV affiliate and could get a story done but I'm sure they would want me to go on camera and I really don't want to do that but I might if I get mad enough.

[NNN0LHI]

19. Why would anyone buy a gift card from anywhere?

Isn't giving cash better? No rules or limitations on cash.

I don't get it?

Would anyone prefer a gift card from anywhere over a fifty dollar bill?

Don

[TNDemo]

22. My daughter wanted some particular baskets from World Market.

She lives in New Orleans and had seen them there. I went to buy them here but they did not have them in stock. I thought I would just get her the gift card since I was there and she could get them back in nola. Lesson learned - no more gift cards.

[SoCalDem]

25. There are some people who don't give cash because they want the person to get a gift

for themselves, and not use the money for bills or perhaps for cigarettes & booze :)

Our kids are grown, and they dearly love getting cash.. and who am I to tell them what they want or need.. If they use it for food, so be it or to buy tires or whatever..

Cash is always best:)

[TNDemo]

26. FINAL UPDATE.

Got called from headquarters. They apologized and I gave them the information I had about the two employees involved. They are sending me a $50 gift card (yikes - another gift card) as an apology. I am happy with their response but hope they smack those two employees.

[Barack_America]

27. Good work!

You probably saved this from happening to a lot more people.

[moc]

29. In the future, get a gift card from Kohl's instead.

A few years ago, my husband bought his mother a $100 gc from Kohls. His mom's health was declining at the time, and she was receiving home health care. We think one of the care workers may have lifted the card, and my mother-in-law had only used maybe $25 of the value. My husband called Kohls and they replaced the card in its full value of $100 with no questions asked.

[SOCALS]

30. I don't know who has the money to buy their overpriced

crap anyway