Help! My luck ran out - have a dud Disney gift card from Target online :(

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Well - I knew it was bound to happen eventually and I have my first non-activated Disney gift card I purchased online. I know to check the balance first and make sure they are activated before using and glad I did since this was not. I was going to bring it with me on the Wonder in two weeks.

I can't remember how you guys fixed this and I'm currently going in circles with Target and Disney and I'm getting really irritated (you all can appreciate this that have gone through this).

Disney gift card said they can't fix it if bought online. He advised me if I had bought at the store and they didn't activate, he could do something. I was "forced" to call Target online and it's going nowhere. He said to call Disney gift card and I explained I already had.

I was also told by the Disney gift card person that you shouldn't check the balance online as it caused the card to not be activated and they have to reset something on their side. I had asked could I bring into the store and show them on my app it wasn't activated and he said not to do that as it will kick it out again.

Can you guys help a girl out?? How do I get this activated if bought online? If this isn't resolved easily and quickly, I think I'm no longer ordering online 5% savings or not

Thanks in advance,
Heather

 

[justlook3]

How does checking the balance on the card cause the card not to be activated? I have no other advice but that very lame tech person who didn't want to do their job excuse almost made me choke on my coffee. Because if that is the case, then I have several hundred dollars worth of inactive gift cards, also why even offer that service if all it does is deactivate the cards? That's so beyond wrong it's laughable.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

How does checking the balance on the card cause the card not to be activated? I have no other advice but that very lame tech person who didn't want to do their job excuse almost made me choke on my coffee. Because if that is the case, then I have several hundred dollars worth of inactive gift cards, also why even offer that service if all it does is deactivate the cards? That's so beyond wrong it's laughable.

Glad I could make you laugh

So quick update - Target was a joke - worst call experience ever and that's saying a lot. I called Disney gift card back and got the same person and he said he'd ask his manager. He took down the card number and my phone number and ended up calling back within 5 minutes. He asked me to forward my email confirmation from Target from the order, which I have. He said they'd work with Target to get it activated and he'd follow-up with me later.

He explained that too many attempts checking the balance is like a fraud protection and it will make it so that it can't be activated it unless they (DGC) does something on their end. Mind you, this is only if it's not already activated. It made sense, but not sure how factual that is - just what he told me. He brought it up when I said can I just show them at at the store it was never activated and he said no, because that will cause another flag.

So - I promise to keep everyone updated but curious if this is protocol. I could have sworn the posts I had read on this all said it was Disney gift card that resolved it for them, but I can't remember.

Heather

 

[justlook3]

By the way, I am so sorry you're going through this hassle!
Okay, I might by repeated attempts to check your balance might do something (though even that seems odd).
I wish I had some info, so far I've been lucky but I've also only ordered maybe 3 gift cards online, two from Target and one from Disney, and the more stories I hear make me not want to take the risk.

 

[kashzan]

i just received 800.00 in gift cards from Target that were not activated. After at least 20 phone calls, I finally got them activated. Try calling 1 800 544 2943. and insist that they get you over to the specialty gift card dept.
Hope it helps. I was beyond frusterated and angry

 

[Bree]

I had this happen to me yesterday. I got four $50 gift cards in the mail in the morning and went to use them right away in my Disney Vacation Account. None of them worked so I tried to check the balance online and they were not active. I called Target right away and they were so useless. Tried calling Disney as well and was told since Target sold then I had to deal with them. After my FIFTH phone call to Target Gift Card they said my card numbers didn't match the ones that were sent out (??????) and I had to go to the store and have them activated. I knew that was not true, but I went anyway. Target Guest Services at the store actually ended up calling and lo and behold it was straightened out. Those four duds were exchanged for new ones.

This is the third time since July I have had issues ordering online. The first two times it was marked as shipped at the distribution center, but never went any further in delivery. I'm wondering if they are having an employee theft issue. The thing that set off an alarm for me was that the little bit of the card number the phone rep had access to did not match any of my cards. I'm thinking that the activated cards were pocketed by an employee and the inactive ones sent in their place.

 

[kashzan]

I also thought that they were involved in a scam. But like i said I did finally get them activated. Try the # above, get a case # and insist to be switched to the department that can activate them. I spoke to a person Gina who activated them on the spot.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

By the way, I am so sorry you're going through this hassle!
Okay, I might by repeated attempts to check your balance might do something (though even that seems odd).
I wish I had some info, so far I've been lucky but I've also only ordered maybe 3 gift cards online, two from Target and one from Disney, and the more stories I hear make me not want to take the risk.

Thank you - you made me feel better already!

i just received 800.00 in gift cards from Target that were not activated. After at least 20 phone calls, I finally got them activated. Try calling 1 800 544 2943. and insist that they get you over to the specialty gift card dept.
Hope it helps. I was beyond frusterated and angry

YIKES! Suddenly my "measly" $50 doesn't sound so traumatizing, lol. I would have flipped out over $800 but it's all a pain. Good gravy! Can I ask what number that is for? I realize I could just call it and see who answers but just curious who it is? I sincerely appreciate your info and glad you got yours resolved!

I had this happen to me yesterday. I got four $50 gift cards in the mail in the morning and went to use them right away in my Disney Vacation Account. None of them worked so I tried to check the balance online and they were not active. I called Target right away and they were so useless. Tried calling Disney as well and was told since Target sold then I had to deal with them. After my FIFTH phone call to Target Gift Card they said my card numbers didn't match the ones that were sent out (??????) and I had to go to the store and have them activated. I knew that was not true, but I went anyway. Target Guest Services at the store actually ended up calling and lo and behold it was straightened out. Those four duds were exchanged for new ones.

This is the third time since July I have had issues ordering online. The first two times it was marked as shipped at the distribution center, but never went any further in delivery. I'm wondering if they are having an employee theft issue. The thing that set off an alarm for me was that the little bit of the card number the phone rep had access to did not match any of my cards. I'm thinking that the activated cards were pocketed by an employee and the inactive ones sent in their place.

Geesh - not sure this safety in numbers and suddenly not feeling alone in this makes me feel any better. Strange how we each had issues with recent orders as it does make you wonder if it's not something more sinister. Could be someone just not doing their job properly but it seems more and more of us are reporting this and that's just us on the DIS, imagine all those that don't post. I'm glad your issue was resolved and it was ok for you to go to the store. Luckily my Target is close (we have 3 here) but I didn't want to go to be told, "sorry we can't help you". From what I gather on mine, Target just never activated it.

I'm still waiting on Disney to call me back and if not - then I'll try the other numbers and advice.

I've been on the watch out for this and knew eventually it would happen. I'm definitely more nervous now to order online so not sure. I have no confidence in dealing with Target so I hope Disney pulls through and it's a way to fix it going forward, god forbid it's needed again.

Thanks guys,
Heather

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I also thought that they were involved in a scam. But like i said I did finally get them activated. Try the # above, get a case # and insist to be switched to the department that can activate them. I spoke to a person Gina who activated them on the spot.

Thanks again!! We were posting at the same time.

Heather

 

[Bree]

I also thought that they were involved in a scam. But like i said I did finally get them activated. Try the # above, get a case # and insist to be switched to the department that can activate them. I spoke to a person Gina who activated them on the spot.

That is the number I used since I've had two previous issues. They were of no help yesterday. I spoke with them five times.

 

[kashzan]

They are horrible. After about 20 calls and numerous calls, I finally got a person who understood what I meant and sent me to the correct dept. The person there activated them. But...I have 2 more cards due to arrive at my home tomorrow and I refuse to go thru this again, The person I spoke to "promosed " to call me tomorrow to activate them if they come in unactivated.
Never again will I purchase anything on line from Target. their customer service is the worst I ever dealt with. UGH

 

[momto4obkids]

Yep! Finally happened to me too! I just got one $50 GC in the mail today and it wasn't activated.

I called the disney gift card number first and the lady said i had to call target first


I called the target.com 1-800-369-3869 number and they tried to transfer me to a gift card specialist but they were closed?She gave me a case number and said the specialist would be in contact about my gift card activation

 

[robinb]

How do you check if they're active? I plan on buying a lot of Disney gift cards from Target.

 

[Marionnette]

How do you check if they're active? I plan on buying a lot of Disney gift cards from Target.

There's a phone number on the back of the cards. It's an automated system and it works pretty good. I just received $300 worth of Disney GCs in the mail today and I checked them all in less than 5 minutes. Thank goodness that they are all activated! The PPs had me concerned that one (if not all!) of them would be inactive.

 

[SUSIEQ]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Buying Disney gift cards from Target.com is like flushing your $ down the toilet and standing there just HOPING it comes back up.
It doesn't hit home until it happens to you. Target.com customer service is USELESS! They tell you to call Disney, and Disney tells you that you have to deal with Target since that's who you bought the cards from. I still have one $50 Disney gift card from last year that I've never been able to get activated. I do feel comfortable buying the cards in a Target store, but I don't believe it's worth the risk to buy them online.
GOOD LUCK to anyone dealing with this nightmare!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Thank you all and so sorry others are also suddenly going through this. I've ordered quite a few over the years so this was my first and I hope last. I'm still waiting on the Disney gift card person to call me back and I believe he was in CA (and I'm on the East Coast) so perhaps he will still call. I hope to resolve this ASAP and not have this drag out as like I mentioned, I wanted to use on my cruise in two weeks.

What a pain, indeed and surely this is a true break down in their process and the defect rate is pretty high it seems.

Heather

 

[Callie]

Is there some bonus to buying them online rather than the store?

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Is there some bonus to buying them online rather than the store?

If you set your Target card (Debit or Credit) as your default payment card you get 5% off online, even if you pay with Target gift cards. The extra 5% adds up over time and made it worthwhile, but after this experience (which is still not resolved) - YIKES!

Heather

 

[Marionnette]

Is there some bonus to buying them online rather than the store?

You can pay with Target GCs and use your Target REDCard as the backup method of payment. If done the right way during checkout, you get a 5% discount off of the face value of the Disney GC. Some people earn Target GCs on rewards websites, while others get them for a discount on GC resale websites like Raise .com or Giftcardgranny .com and then others will use the GCs they get from Target that are given out when you purchase certain items.

If you were to use the Target GCs in a store, you don't get that extra 5% off that you get when you use them online along with your REDCard.

 

[scrapshappen]

I am not saying that this is what happened with anyone that is posting here about cards they received this week, but please be sure you are scratching off ALL the numbers that need to be entered to find out if a card has been activated. There are four more digits of the actual card number that are under the silver scratch off portion on the left that are very easy to miss. And then on the right side of it is the security code that you need too.

One time I just scratched off the security code portion and didn't realize that there were actually 16 digits for the card number and not 12. I panicked for a minute before I realized the other numbers were there too.

ETA: I did just check the ones I got in the mail this week and they are all activated. Sorry some of you have had problems with them.