use caution buying gift cards!

I purchased $1,000 in gift cards from Cash Card dot com after seeing a tip on here they were 10% off. I appplied them to my Carnival bill. Carnival removed all of them as they were all fraudulent gift cards. I had to show Carnival proof I bought these honestly and where. I am now working with the site I purchased them on to get my money back as it is within their 45 day guarantee. I also have email proof from Carnival they were fradulent in case I have to fight this through my credit card company. I just wanted to give everyone a warning about buying through gift card resellers. This hassle was not worth saving the 10%!

There are other things to be concerned about as well. I have read that discounted gift cards don't qualify as payment on terms of reimbursement from travel insurance: "Payments or Deposits means the cash, check, or credit card amounts actually paid for Your Trip. Payments made in the form of a certificate, voucher or discount are not Payments or Deposits as defined herein."

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The gift cards that everyone buys 10% off are from AARP, Verizon and Allstate, not the website you mentioned. There's about 3432424 threads on the gift cards explaining where & how to get them.Sorry you're having issues with the site that you used. Hope it gets straightened out.

There are other things to be concerned about as well. I have read that discounted gift cards don't qualify as payment on terms of reimbursement from travel insurance: "Payments or Deposits means the cash, check, or credit card amounts actually paid for Your Trip. Payments made in the form of a certificate, voucher or discount are not Payments or Deposits as defined herein."

 

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I'm sure glad I paid those with Visa then!

I learned my lesson. I did want to give others a heads up though. I know Im not the only one looking for way to save. I will uodate how it goes with the gift card seller getting refunded.

I purchased $1,000 in gift cards from Cash Card dot com after seeing a tip on here they were 10% off. I appplied them to my Carnival bill. Carnival removed all of them as they were all fraudulent gift cards. I had to show Carnival proof I bought these honestly and where. I am now working with the site I purchased them on to get my money back as it is within their 45 day guarantee. I also have email proof from Carnival they were fradulent in case I have to fight this through my credit card company. I just wanted to give everyone a warning about buying through gift card resellers. This hassle was not worth saving the 10%!

Your post is confusing. If the cards were fraudulent they never would have been accepted. If they were stolen or otherwise comprised the issuing bank or escrow account to which these cards are assigned would have been removed as valid from the administrative entity that verifies them.

So, once they are accepted. They had to have been validated. Unlike a credit card the final assigned value is either their or not. The similar system is used by Scientific Games Corp. this way the integrity of the gift card is maintained.

I await your response with bated breath. I find this interesting.

I'm sure glad I paid those with Visa then!

 

I learned my lesson. I did want to give others a heads up though. I know Im not the only one looking for way to save. I will uodate how it goes with the gift card seller getting refunded.

So I also used that site. Basically what I 'think' it boils down to is this. People sell their unwanted gift cards on this site, with the promise of cash for selling them. This then resells these cards to the public. However, it seems like many of the gift cards they are selling either have already been used, or their gift card numbers have been written down beforehand, so that as soon as the sellers 'sell' them, they can go use the numbers while both getting the gift card cash, as well actual cash for the sell. That is why the site recommends using them shortly thereafter. I bought $1800 worth of gift cards through this site, and one of them came with a 0 balance. I immediately contacted the company and got the amount refunded to me.

In other words, this can work, but be very weary when dealing with them. The gift cards amount they send can quickly be erased.

By chance, did Carnival say they were fraudulent cards or did they say that they had a zero balance on them? Just curious.

The gift cards that everyone buys 10% off are from AARP, Verizon and Allstate, not the website you mentioned. There's about 3432424 threads on the gift cards explaining where & how to get them.Sorry you're having issues with the site that you used. Hope it gets straightened out.

I read about that website here. Otherwise I never would have heard if it. The site does have good reviews so I am sure I wont have to resort to having my credit card fight it. The lady at Carnival told me they have been getting very large anount of fraudulent gift cards that were sold by several sites. It sounded like a very large problem.

I just don't understand how are they fraudulent

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I'm sure glad I paid those with Visa then!

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So I also used that site. Basically what I 'think' it boils down to is this. People sell their unwanted gift cards on this site, with the promise of cash for selling them. This then resells these cards to the public. However, it seems like many of the gift cards they are selling either have already been used, or their gift card numbers have been written down beforehand, so that as soon as the sellers 'sell' them, they can go use the numbers while both getting the gift card cash, as well actual cash for the sell. That is why the site recommends using them shortly thereafter. I bought $1800 worth of gift cards through this site, and one of them came with a 0 balance. I immediately contacted the company and got the amount refunded to me.

 

In other words, this can work, but be very weary when dealing with them. The gift cards amount they send can quickly be erased.

 

By chance, did Carnival say they were fraudulent cards or did they say that they had a zero balance on them? Just curious.

Carnival said they were fradulent when speaking to them and in the email. She said it was part of a very large scam operation. They had the proper balance on them when purchased 7/31. I paid Carnival with them on 7/31. Friday 8/11 Carnival called and emailed saying they were being removed from my account as they were fraudulent and part of a large scam. . I had to send proof to Carnival I purchased them. So they were fully credited to my account and then taken away. The Carnival rep explained to that it was a scam where people were told they had a virus etc and this is how they had to pay to get it removed by sending gift cards or give the scammer their CC info and they purchased them. The scammer then resold it to the gift card resellers. The people originally ripped off then filled against their credit card company to get the gift card purchase reversed. Making the gift card fradulent. That was her explanation after putting me on hold and talking to her supervisor. I found it hard to believe people were so gullible but I personally know someone that fell for a similiar scam.

I was worried originally the call was not real. However the email was very real and I can see the amout missing that I payed my final bill off with and all our excursions were cancelled.

I can't assure you that that would be acceptable.

 

 

 

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Why would paying with visa for my original deposit and travel insurance not be acceptable?

Carnival said they were fradulent when speaking to them and in the email. She said it was part of a very large scam operation. They had the proper balance on them when purchased 7/31. I paid Carnival with them on 7/31. Friday 8/11 Carnival called and emailed saying they were being removed from my account as they were fraudulent and part of a large scam. . I had to send proof to Carnival I purchased them. So they were fully credited to my account and then taken away. The Carnival rep explained to that it was a scam where people were told they had a virus etc and this is how they had to pay to get it removed by sending gift cards or give the scammer their CC info. The scammer then resold it to the gift card resellers. The people originally ripped off then filled against their credit card company to get the gift card purchase reversed. Making the gift card fradulent. I found it hard to believe people were so gullible but I personally know someone that fell for a similiar scam.

Wow. That is surprising. All I know is that I won't be using that site again. To many problems the first time.

Your post is confusing. If the cards were fraudulent they never would have been accepted. If they were stolen or otherwise comprised the issuing bank or escrow account to which these cards are assigned would have been removed as valid from the administrative entity that verifies them.

 

So, once they are accepted. They had to have been validated. Unlike a credit card the final assigned value is either their or not. The similar system is used by Scientific Games Corp. this way the integrity of the gift card is maintained.

 

I await your response with bated breath. I find this interesting.

read my above post. I had them fully credited to my carnival account 7/31. Carnival took them away 8/11.

I bought these gift cards as well. $0 balance.

Your post is confusing. If the cards were fraudulent they never would have been accepted. If they were stolen or otherwise comprised the issuing bank or escrow account to which these cards are assigned would have been removed as valid from the administrative entity that verifies them.

 

So, once they are accepted. They had to have been validated. Unlike a credit card the final assigned value is either their or not. The similar system is used by Scientific Games Corp. this way the integrity of the gift card is maintained.

 

I await your response with bated breath. I find this interesting.

sorry for the double post!

Folks, be very careful about gift cards. They can easily be scammed. buy from a legitimate business. Run the other way the the website has a generic name followed by dot com. OP sorry for your loss. Not Carnival's fault though.

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I bought these gift cards as well. $0 balance.

Mine had the fully balance and I paid with them but they were taken off my carnival. Did you get a refund?

Folks, be very careful about gift cards. They can easily be scammed. buy from a legitimate business. Run the other way the the website has a generic name followed by dot com. OP sorry for your loss. Not Carnival's fault though.

 

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I did not say it was in anyway Carnivals fault. If you read my post above of how the fraud occured it also was not the card resellers fault either. It is part of a large scam.

Why would paying with visa for my original deposit and travel insurance not be acceptable?

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thanks for the updated.good to known about these things.

It would be, and that, at least, would surely be covered. For the amount paid with the gift cards I couldn't get any positive assurance despite asking for personal experience in two forums. The only reply I got said that to get reimbursed you had to proceed credit card receipts for the amount claimed.

Now, I'm concerned. We paid the bulk of our trip with Carnival credit cards (purchased from Krogers, Meijer and AARP, so they are all legitimate). We also bought travel insurance. Are you saying that, for the most part, we are not covered?

We are sailing during hurricane season. We also have receipts from our travel agent showing paid in full.

Wow. That is surprising. All I know is that I won't be using that site again. To many problems the first time.

Did it take long for the seller to refund you?

Now, I'm concerned. We paid the bulk of our trip with Carnival credit cards (purchased from Krogers, Meijer and AARP, so they are all legitimate). We also bought travel insurance. Are you saying that, for the most part, we are not covered?

 

We are sailing during hurricane season. We also have receipts from our travel agent showing paid in full.

Don't panic, if you bought your cards through legitimate retailers (not resellers) you are fine. Enjoy your cruise. One should always keep receipts to prove purchase(s). With the availability of 10% off gift cards from a number of places such as Verizon, AARP, and others I'm not sure why people utilize the resellers as their discount is the same and the cards are usually only guaranteed for a limited amount of time.

The title of this post is a little misleading as this is a reseller issue and not a gift card issue. The more established resellers are very good about making it right within the terms of agreement. It is printed very clearly the terms of reimbursement and should be read and understood prior to purchase.

Don't panic, if you bought your cards through legitimate retailers (not resellers) you are fine. Enjoy your cruise. One should always keep receipts to prove purchase(s). With the availability of 10% off gift cards from a number of places such as Verizon, AARP, and others I'm not sure why people utilize the resellers as their discount is the same and the cards are usually only guaranteed for a limited amount of time.

 

The title of this post is a little misleading as this is a reseller issue and not a gift card issue. The more established resellers are very good about making it right within the terms of agreement. It is printed very clearly the terms of reimbursement and should be read and understood prior to purchase.

Sorry I didnt mean it to be misleading. I learned about the site to buy these cards HERE on this site from a post. I wanted to share to stop someone else from having the same problem. I am not a Verizon customer and assumed AARP is for people old enough to qualify. The reseller site I bought this from is a legit reseller. Their reviews are good and there is a 45 day guarantee and I did use the cards immediately.

Did it take long for the seller to refund you?

No, not long at all. I contacted the same day I bought the gift cards and told them the problem. Within two days my credit card account had shown the amount that I contested credited