If you buy a Disney gc from Target (or anywhere) and the silver spot isn't scratched off, do you think it's pretty safe if it just sits around and collects for a year or so before it's needed? Someone else mentioned gift card hackers, so I'm nervous, now that theres not a DVA to put my gift cards in.
I have learned the hard way to always verify the balance immediately after purchase. This is going to be a long story, sorry.
I bought $500 worth of Disney gift cards at Meijer almost a year ago, 1@ $300, 1@ $100, and 2@ $50, in one transaction, paid cash, got the receipt. Didn't check anything and filed the gift cards and receipt away along with all of my others.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I'm adding all my gift cards into DVA because my vacation payment deadline is coming up. Three of the cards come up with an error, so I check the balance online and it gives another error. I then call the number on the back and it tells me that all 3 gift cards were never activated. It actually says "This card has not been activated" as opposed to "Your balance is zero," so there's no way that I could have just spent the money since it had never been activated. So I go through my receipts, start matching numbers, and confirm that the gift cards are for $300, $100, and $50. Apparently the other $50 gift card that was purchased at the same time had been activated, but none of these had. And yes, the receipt showed that I had paid in full in cash.
So I go down to Meijer and explain the situation, but of course, they don't know what to do since it's almost been a year and their system doesn't go back that far. Managers come over and I explain that my receipt proves they were paid for, you can call and see that they were never activated, and they need to fix it. They go into the office to call the regional manager, etc and ONLY THEN do I actually see that at the very bottom of the receipt it actually says "The following gift cards did not activate" and lists the card numbers. So I show that to the managers too.
I get a nice long lecture on how could I have not known until now (umm, I was saving for a trip, and why did you charge me for something that did not activate???) They insisted that they've never seen a gift card not activate and basically acted like I was trying to scam the system. Then they said that since it's been so long, there was nothing they could do. I responded, "You have three choices. 1) You activate these gift cards with the $450 that I paid you 11 months ago. 2) You give me new activated gift cards with $450 on them and I give you these ones back. 3) You refund my $450 in cash that I paid for gift card values that I did not receive. I have proof right here that I was charged and the money was not placed on the gift cards. I'm sorry I did not notice sooner but I will not lose $450 for YOUR system or employee error." They then said they'd have to speak with corporate and would get back to me early the next morning and asked to hold on to the gift cards and receipt. Yeah, I'm going to give you all of my proof that I've even made a purchase from you for you to hold on to over night. Not gonna happen. I did let them make a copy of the receipt only and was assured of that phone call the next morning.
By 4 pm the next day I still hadn't heard from them, so I drive down and it's a different manager. Funny enough, it's the manager that a week ago tried to insist on replacing a jar of spaghetti sauce that my daughter accidentally dropped while bagging groceries. I had told him no, that it was our mistake and they shouldn't lose money for our mistake. He kept insisting and saying, "Let me replace it, you're not responsible, that's not how it works here." I had replied to him, "That's how personal accountability works." He looked shocked, then nodded, smiled, and wished me a good day.
So anyway, fast forward and he greets me with, "Hey, it's you again!" I mention that I'm here to figure out what was determined about my gift cards and he of course has no idea what I'm talking about. So I begin rehashing the story and show him the receipt and gift cards. He cuts me off after matching the gift card numbers to the receipt and turns to an employee and says, "Wait, so the only issue with giving this lady new gift cards is that the register sales aren't going to match up for today?" She nods. He then says, "Well, clearly she paid and didn't receive what she paid for. Go grab three new gift cards." He then smiles at me and says, "I believe in accountability as well." I smile and thank him. The second I walked out I checked the balance and the new cards had been activated.
Sorry for the long story, but point being, always check your gift cards to ensure they've been activated AND read your ENTIRE receipt in case there's a message of importance at the bottom. Even though I did get the issue corrected, it was still a hassle and had I not encountered that one manager who I had that recent broken jar experience with, it might have turned into an even bigger hassle.
