The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: Tucker on January 15, 2012, 10:14:34 PM
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002173505
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 08:41 PM
Star Member snagglepuss (7,095 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
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Although this may sound trivial I want to sue Mastercard however I don't want to make
that threat if I don't have sufficient grounds to sue them even in Small Claims Court.
This is what happened. I was given a $50 prepaid Masterdard for Christmas. Since I'm tight for cash I decided last week to use it at a drug store as the store was having a big sale and when one spent more than $50 one would receive a $10 gift card.
When cashier swiped the card she advised only $27 on the card which was impossible as I hadn't used it. Angry I asked her to call MC to determine what had happened and I ended up speaking to the rep who told me the card had been activated over a year ago and since it hadn't been used in 16 months a $2.50 maintenence fee had been deductly monthly. MC told me that as per the terms and conditions cards are activated when purchased. This seemed ludicrous as there was nothing on the card to show when it was purchased so how would anyone who recieved the card as a gift know when maintenance fees would start being applied.
As I didn't have the terms and conditions with me I had to accept the fact only $27 was left on the card. However when I got home and read the T&C, I find out that the date of activation is supposed to be on the card in jurisdictions where the maintenance fees are not prohibited. At which point I remembered when I got the card and read the T&C, I assumed that I either lived in a jurisdiction where maintenance fees were prohibited as there was no date on the card or that activation didn't begin till the card was used. Mastercard imo is clearly in the wrong.
The upshot is that I not only lost out getting several items that were deeply discounted (e.g. protein powder was reduced by $17) but also lost out on the $10 gift card I would have gotten if I spent $50 as I intended to do. On top of that I was humiliated when the cashier loudly opined that the card was most likely re-gifted by people who knew it had lost value and then embarassed again when I asked the person who gave me the card whether she was informed there was a time limit (actually that conversation was embarassing for both of us). The person who gave me the card said she was never told that the card would be subject to fees and said she had bought it well over a year ago but had misplaced it and that had she known it would lose value she would have looked for it rather than assuming that at some point it would just turn up.
So we are not talking about huge sums of money but I am incensed that MC siphons money off gift cards and according to another cashier who overheard what had happened told me this happens to people who have this particular gift card all the time. I am in the process of submitting a formal complaint as I want to be compensated not just for the $23 that was deducted off the card but also for the losses incurred and the humiliation I endured.
I am interested in knowing whether threatening to sue would be a good tactic or would it be an empty threat and make me appear to be some clueless crank?
I would have loved to have witnessed this scene.
Response to snagglepuss (Original post)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 08:47 PM
Star Member jberryhill (21,382 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
2. What's brilliant about this scam....
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Is that you have no standing in relation to a claim against Master Card here.
The person who bought the card agreed to the terms thereof, no doubt written in five point type on the bottom side of a rock on a Himalayan settlement in Nepal somewhere, just as was stated in the terms and conditions of purchase.
The card was then given to you as a gift.
You are a stranger to the underlying agreement between Master Card and the person who bought the card.
Now you went and did it.
Response to jberryhill (Reply #2)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 09:25 PM
Star Member snagglepuss (7,095 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
13. That is brilliant but shouldn't the T&C I received with the card be the same
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T&C the purchaser agreed to? The T&C I got states that maintenance fees "commences on the date stated on the Card back" however there is no date on the Card or on any of the paperwork. However if I am barred from suing them then I suppose my tactic will be to inform them that if I am not compensated then I will go the media and expose this contemptible scam.
Call keef madcow obama.
Response to snagglepuss (Reply #13)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 09:33 PM
Star Member jberryhill (21,382 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
17. No
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The contract was made at the time of purchase, and when the card was activated.
Betcha anything it has a lot of terms that are non-transferable, too.
Response to snagglepuss (Original post)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 09:24 PM
virgogal (6,308 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
12. You know,it would be easier to take the loss and consider it a lesson learned. Suing
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is a lengthy process and not worth it.
Response to virgogal (Reply #12)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 09:34 PM
Star Member snagglepuss (7,095 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
18. I was thinking of suing them in Small CLaims Court but I don't want to
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make a threat that is empty due to their having the bases covered. I find it hard to believe they can state that fees commence as per the date printed on the Card but then are not required to print the date fees commence. If suiing them is out of the question then I will threaten to contact the media if they do not compensate me.
I've seen 2 year olds act more civil.
Response to snagglepuss (Original post)
Sun Jan 15, 2012, 11:00 PM
Star Member Lil Missy (12,987 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
21. That is spelled out up front.
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Sorry about you loss and your distress, but you don't have a leg to stand on.
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Stupid, stupid primitive. The 1% always wins !!!! :lol:
And indeed - the terms of the purchase were between the issuing bank and whoever paid for it. The date was probably on the receipt which you don't have. And whoever gave you the card, didn't think you were worth any more than a regifted item. Lucky you.
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Someone probably had it for over a year and regifted it.
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Stupid, stupid primitive. The 1% always wins !!!! :lol:
And indeed - the terms of the purchase were between the issuing bank and whoever paid for it. The date was probably on the receipt which you don't have. And whoever gave you the card, didn't think you were worth any more than a regifted item. Lucky you.
Beat me to it.
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Stupid, stupid primitive. The 1% always wins !!!! :lol:
And indeed - the terms of the purchase were between the issuing bank and whoever paid for it. The date was probably on the receipt which you don't have. And whoever gave you the card, didn't think you were worth any more than a regifted item. Lucky you.
Yep, the DUmmie can't accept the fact that they're only worth a "re-gifted" gift.
Hey Dummie, I guess your significant other doesn't think that much of you after all! :rotf:
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would it be an empty threat and make me appear to be some clueless crank?
Yes, and yes. But then, you are a clueless crank.
Damn, DUmmy, come on, it's a year old regifted card.
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I'm sorry, who was it again that loves to pile regulations on the banks, which in turn forces them to come up with ever-inventive ways to jack the customer's money in the form of "fees"?
Thanks, got it.
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How does someone that lives on the internet for most of their life NOT know about this in 2012?
Never understood people who give these anyhow. You pay $5 or $6 for it, and after a certain amount of time, they start deducting $2.50 or $3 a month. What the heck is the point? Just give the person a check or cash. :mental:
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How does someone that lives on the internet for most of their life NOT know about this in 2012?
Never understood people who give these anyhow. You pay $5 or $6 for it, and after a certain amount of time, they start deducting $2.50 or $3 a month. What the heck is the point? Just give the person a check or cash. :mental:
Whoever gave the card to the dummy probably knew that anything redeemable for cash would have been spent on crack.
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If the DUmmy needed to spend 50.00 to get a 10.00 gift card, and the one he had amounted 27.00, why didn't he put the 23.00 of his own money to it? 60.00 worth of useless stuff for 23.00 seems like a pretty good deal.
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Only a DUmbshit would complain about getting something for free.
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Only a DUmbshit would complain about getting something for free.
Honestly that is the bottom line here. This misfit is upset that the gift wasn't worth the stated amount, and actually had the audacity to contact the giver to complain.
I don't think it's necessarily a regift. I buy gift cards in bulk to give to babysitters/teachers etc. This person could have easily done the same a while ago, and had no idea about the monthly fee, which is ludicrous by the way. Maintenance fee for a gift card? come on.
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I have been short changed $23.00 ... :panic: :panic: ... turn the world upside down and shake it until my 23 free dollars fall out.[DUmmie/mode]
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Only a DUmbshit would complain about getting something for free.
Sorry Chris I disagree with you.
If I spend $50.00 to give a gift, I expect the receiver to get the full $50.00. If they re-gift the item be it a card the intent was for the $50.00 to go to someone, not the bank.
I have gift cards 2 years old that I have forgotten and hide in the back of my wallet, some one has paid good money to give them to me, no strings attached. There are no expiration's dates on the cards themselves and the receiver may not need to cash it in for 18-24 months, or re gift it to others.
Gee MOM your card for $200 is worth $75.00 now and you have to eat the loss as we did because we did not redeem it within one week.
Fact is when I PAID for the card in any amount and it is up to the receiver to go at will, when they wish to redeem it.
Seems to me it is not the receiver of the card to complain but the original buyer of said card that needs to complain. I buy gift cards for family, no place on the card does it say the card is valid for any amount of time.
This is a SCAM anyway one looks at it. The price on a card should get you the full price of the card. So the cost of living goes up in 2 years, the card will not get you what it was worth 2 years ago, but, this is much like the dollar bill that is shrinking in buyer power every day.
The other day hubby found a $25.00 gift card to walmart, 4 years old. Sure he could not buy items from the store at that price, but he hit a sale and at no time did the cashiered tell him the card was now worth $12.00. Sure it was by cost of living but when presented was he told his card was worth only $12.00.????
Same as giving cash, the receiver puts it in the bank for a 2% interest and cost of living goes up 3%. May as well spend the money now then try to save it, more bang for your buck.
Scams everywhere and I have to admit the banks are the first to hit on us. No where are we encouraged to save money in a bank, at the rate of interest we get we are encouraged to buy big ticket items as in 3 months the price of them will will be up 20%.
A bit upset, here some stranger called me one day from our bank to tell us we would now get free checking as our savings and checking had grown in the past year. So I asked this caller who had no idea if she was speaking to me or a baby sitter the balance in both accounts and she GAVE it to me. I was amazed that our financial information was being given over the phone to anyone that answered the phone without asking for a password.
Scams a plenty, not all by the banks themselves but employees that work there for 3 months and move on.
Yes I get upset when Mom puts out her money to give me a gift that I may not need at that time, and find out Mom has been scammed out of a few $100 bucks because I did not run right down and redeem the gift card.
It is NOT the receivers of a gift that are being scammed, it is the givers that put down cold hard cash for a Card and find out then in less then 6 months the gift if not redeemed is worth less then half price.
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This seemed ludicrous as there was nothing on the card to show when it was purchased so how would anyone who recieved the card as a gift know when maintenance fees would start being applied.
Yes it's ludicrous, yes I've bought them, and yes I've read the terms and right there in black and white it says what the charge is per month a year after activation. You were re-gifted a gift card where the person re-gifting didn't bother to read the terms, so whose fault is it?
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How does someone that lives on the internet for most of their life NOT know about this in 2012?
Never understood people who give these anyhow. You pay $5 or $6 for it, and after a certain amount of time, they start deducting $2.50 or $3 a month. What the heck is the point? Just give the person a check or cash. :mental:
I agree, I give my Dad cash. First, I don't have to pay the sales tax on the card and second, no time limit on when and where he can spend it.
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Sorry Chris I disagree with you.
If I spend $50.00 to give a gift, I expect the receiver to get the full $50.00.
Stale-dating: It can turn $50,000,000.00 into nothing.
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:lmao: at all the Seinfeld fans talking about regifting!
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:lmao: at all the Seinfeld fans talking about regifting!
My dear Ballygrl,
As a Seinfeld fan I am certain you celebrate Festivus with the restofus, therefore rather that give you the more common ^5, A Donation has been made in your name to :
(http://www.festivusweb.com/images/human-fund2.jpg)
Oh what the heck, I 'm feeling festive so ^5 for the ID too.
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:lmao:
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I have been short changed $23.00 ... :panic: :panic: ... turn the world upside down and shake it until my 23 free dollars fall out.[DUmmie/mode]
$33.00...let's not forget that free gift card the clueless babboon was counting on! ...plus court costs, of course...
:rotf:
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Honestly that is the bottom line here. This misfit is upset that the gift wasn't worth the stated amount, and actually had the audacity to contact the giver to complain.
I don't think it's necessarily a regift. I buy gift cards in bulk to give to babysitters/teachers etc. This person could have easily done the same a while ago, and had no idea about the monthly fee, which is ludicrous by the way. Maintenance fee for a gift card? come on.
I believe gift cards outstanding are a liability to the company. The idea is to encourage people to use them in the short term so they do not sit on their books. Kind of like caps on vacation time.
That would be my guess as to why the fees are there. I don't necessarily think it's unreasonable to expect or encourage someone to spend a gift card in a year, but I agree with you that I don't think people giving them necessarily know the terms when they purchase them.
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Hi 5's to every mention of Seinfeld :cheersmate:
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Hi 5's to every mention of Seinfeld :cheersmate:
I've never seen any episode.
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I've never seen any episode.
:o
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:o
In the interest of full disclosure I should point out while cleaning out a draw of stuff last week I ran across a bunch of unused Barnes and Noble gift cards recieved over the years. As it occurs I had also just been reading the list of businesses predicted to fail in 2012 which included B&N so I decided to look the cards up on line and see if they were still good. I had no idea if they had any expiration date but figured I certainly could find out.
It was a simple matter of typing the numbers in to B&N site and giving the pin code to find out what the cards were worth. After that I took my 'wish' list of books and managed to erase the gift cards AND get free shipping. Since I am not a big fan of B&N my initial thought had been to investigate turning the cards into ready cash at an online site such as:
http://www.coinstar.com/FreeCoinCounting
or
http://www.ehow.com/how_4593082_sell-gift-card.html
:lol:
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I've never seen any episode.
I never watched a single episode when it was broadcast originally.
I've since seen every one at least twice.
Same thing with Arrested Development.
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Barnes & Noble are supposed to fail? Glad I didn't buy a Nook then.
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Stale-dating: It can turn $50,000,000.00 into nothing.
BS for quoting vesta
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In the interest of full disclosure I should point out while cleaning out a draw of stuff last week I ran across a bunch of unused Barnes and Noble gift cards recieved over the years. As it occurs I had also just been reading the list of businesses predicted to fail in 2012 which included B&N so I decided to look the cards up on line and see if they were still good. I had no idea if they had any expiration date but figured I certainly could find out.
It was a simple matter of typing the numbers in to B&N site and giving the pin code to find out what the cards were worth. After that I took my 'wish' list of books and managed to erase the gift cards AND get free shipping. Since I am not a big fan of B&N my initial thought had been to investigate turning the cards into ready cash at an online site such as:
http://www.coinstar.com/FreeCoinCounting
or
http://www.ehow.com/how_4593082_sell-gift-card.html
:lol:
I just found out my Borders gift cards are now useless, wonder if I should sue. :-)
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I just found out my Borders gift cards are now useless, wonder if who I should sue. :-)
FIFY I smell class action here. Quick, call the offices of James Suckalot and Love PA. :rotf:
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I've never seen any episode.
That's still a mention :cheersmate: :-)