“Dear PoPville,
Both a PSA and question in case anyone else has also experienced this scam:
I purchased two pick-your-own-amount gift cards in December at the H St NE Giant and loaded them in store. The recipients just notified me that when they opened their (sealed) packaging, the numbers on the cards had been scratched off.
Based on accounts of this happening to others elsewhere, I assume the numbers had been accessed prior to reaching Giant, the packaging resealed, and that the gift card amounts are long gone.
I called Giant today to notify them that their gift card stock had been tampered with. The customer service representative assured me that the number was accessed before it ever reached their store, sounded like she knew exactly what I was talking about, and told me that they “had pulled all their gift cards”, so I assume I’m not the only person this happened to this season.
Giant got quite a bit of money for selling defective products. Is there anything I can do to recover these amounts or customer protections that relate to this situation? Or do I just have to eat this? Any advice would be very welcome if anyone has had any luck here.
Update on this, I reported the situation to the gift card company last night. They wrote back this morning that they’re sending me replacement cards in the mail. Still might be worth flagging for anyone buying gift cards at this location, though.”