Lost several gift cards - now what?

[LilyWDW]

I'd have to think if some were going to "steal" a gift card, it's been long spent by now.

Yes, he needs to start the process as soon as possible. If the cards have been used then the store will most likely say they can not reissue them without proof of theft. And, honestly, you don't have that sort of proof.

Maybe it's just me but I find it suspicious that so many of the grandkid's gift cards were torn open and missing all mailed from the same post office. To me it sounds like someone was feeling the mail for cards.

I have mailed gift cards, CD's etc & my kids have received them and never had an issue.

I agree with the pp who said to send e-gift cards.

I wouldn't junk to it being that suspicious. If they had an issue with the machine it would make sense that there could be problems will any mail sent through for a period of time. Since all these cards were most likely mailed all at once, it is possible for a number of the cards to be involved but not all. The machines mess up. It happens.

 

[disneypharm]

OP here.
Thank you all for your suggestions. DH emailed his dad late last night to give him the information I got on this thread. He is driving the kids around this morning to activities, and is planning to call him as soon as he has a quiet moment to talk.
Anyway, I didn't want to accuse anyone at the FIL post office. I still have the plastic bag with the ripped envelope from DD15's GC. When this arrived, I was very impressed that the post office cares to send an apology letter to let us know they messed up. I thought the GC for DD13 will arrive in the same way! So, I didn't want to think that someone is actually stealing these GCs there. Anyway, here is the letter.

WE CARE
Dear Postal Customer:
We sincerely regret the damage to your mail during handling by the Postal Service. We hope this incident did not inconvenience you. We realize that your mail is important to you and that you have every right to expect it to be delivered in good condition.
Although every effort is made to prevent damage to the mail, occasionally this will occur because of the great volume handled and the rapid processing methods which must be employed to assure the most expeditious distribution possible.
We hope you understand. We assure you that we are constantly striving to improve our processing methods in order that even a rare occurrence may be eliminated.
Please accept our apologies.
Sincerely,
Your Postmaster

 

[dancin Disney style]

I hope that this works out for your FIL and the grandkids.

Perhaps in the future he could mail a cheque or electronically transfer money to the parents and have them go out and purchase the gift cards for the kids. For sure there are safer ways of doing it.

 

[hildarumpole]

Most companies offer electronic gift cards. That's probably the safest way to go. I have two reasons I never send gift cards through the mail and only send packages insured:

#1: I was told by our local post master that the letter processing machines frequently eat letters with gift cards if the card isn't placed just right. When you get credit cards, you'll notice how they are glued on the sides of the letter with space in between. The path of the processing machine has some curves and if the letter can't bend properly, it will get torn up and the gift card usually falls out or gets crunched.

#2: Two postal employees were prosecuted several years ago at a post office in my area for stealing cash, gift cards and packages. There was a high percentage of mail from that office that seemed to get damaged or go missing. Hidden cameras were set up and caught them ripping open letters and packages and taking the contents. They had a little business and were selling most of the stuff on eBay. Most postal employees are honest people, but you only need to encounter 1 or 2 who can really ruin your day.

 

[daughtersrus]

The only way the post office will take responibility is if he bought insurance when he mailed then from the post office.

With a receipt Macy's can reissue them if they have not already been used by someone else.

Tell him to mail GC in a padded shipping envelope the next time.

I don't think that the Post Office will help even if he purchased insurance. Last time I mailed gift cards, I asked to purchase insurance and was told that gift cards are not covered by postal insurance.

 

[seashoreCM]

For the OP, with anywhere from two to seven out of twelve gift cards lost, it would be a bear holding an electronic teleconference (or emails going every which way) with the various recipients to find out which of the cards were received and therefore deduce which cards were lost so as to file a claim.

Would look tacky also.

Who suggested sending checks instead? Much better idea.

I would guess that most folks who send gift cards put them inside a Christmas card or similar folded cardboard item and the gift card would then not poke through the envelope. Taping it inside would help.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

For the OP, with anywhere from two to seven out of twelve gift cards lost, it would be a bear holding an electronic teleconference (or emails going every which way) with the various recipients to find out which of the cards were received and therefore deduce which cards were lost so as to file a claim.

Would look tacky also.

Who suggested sending checks instead? Much better idea.

I would guess that most folks who send gift cards put them inside a Christmas card or similar folded cardboard item and the gift card would then not poke through the envelope. Taping it inside would help.

Not really. My inlaws have 12 grandchildren but they wouldn't have to contact 12 parents or wait for 12 emails. Most of their kids have 2-3 children.
As long as people respond promptly, in a half hour the grandfather could have a list of the 12 kids and be able to cross off the ones that received theirs.
If it was my father, or FIL, I'd be doing whatever I could to get his $ back.
Even if it's too late and we assume the thief has already sold or spent them, I'd still have to keep trying until I know it's hopeless.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Question for OP-when your dad bought the card did he also get the emailed receipt from Macy's? Many of the cashiers at Macy's don't even ask anymore and just give you both the paper receipt and send the email one.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

For the OP, with anywhere from two to seven out of twelve gift cards lost, it would be a bear holding an electronic teleconference (or emails going every which way) with the various recipients to find out which of the cards were received and therefore deduce which cards were lost so as to file a claim. Would look tacky also. Who suggested sending checks instead? Much better idea. I would guess that most folks who send gift cards put them inside a Christmas card or similar folded cardboard item and the gift card would then not poke through the envelope. Taping it inside would help.

Why would it look tacky? It's not like he asking for GCs back or anything. He's trying to make sure all his grandchildren get their presents. I think for family it would be silly to spend an extra $100-$350 instead of just asking for the card #

Am I missing something?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Why would it look tacky? It's not like he asking for GCs back or anything. He's trying to make sure all his grandchildren get their presents. I think for family it would be silly to spend an extra $100-$350 instead of just asking for the card #

Am I missing something?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't think that the Post Office will help even if he purchased insurance. Last time I mailed gift cards, I asked to purchase insurance and was told that gift cards are not covered by postal insurance.

This is incorrect:

http://hdusps.esecurecare.net/cgi-b...id=ncWf3yqh&p_faqid=1142&p_created=1052784383

Gift cards (or gift certificates) may be insured for their full value only when sent by Registered Mail service. Otherwise, gift cards/gift certificates sent by Priority Mail Express service (which includes Priority Mail Express insurance) or another class of mail with merchandise insurance are protected only up to the maximum indemnity for cash and negotiable items - $15. Customers should check the terms of their gift cards/gift certificates as many are replaceable by the issuer if they are lost or stolen.

 

[blessedby3]

Maybe it's just me but I find it suspicious that so many of the grandkid's gift cards were torn open and missing all mailed from the same post office. To me it sounds like someone was feeling the mail for cards.

I have mailed gift cards, CD's etc & my kids have received them and never had an issue.

I agree with the pp who said to send e-gift cards.

I agree.
My DSis was having things disappear on her street from various mailboxes. Her son had birthday cards that never arrived and neighbors noticed things missing as well. They reported it and ends up the delivery person for their area was taking cards that she thought had money or gift cards in them
It does happen.
Hope the OP gets this worked out!

 

[fbb]

it would be a bear holding an electronic teleconference

I learned everything I need to know about technology from the Carousel of Progress.

 

[IDoDis]

On Friday, DD 17 lost her Coach wristlet near the river in a dirt parking lot. She had $200 in gift cards inside. I had purchased most of them for her for Christmas and had receipts for a $50 card to Van's and two $50 cards to Hollister. I called the Hollister store first to see if the cards could be replaced because I had the receipt and was told no, and that gift cards are treated like cash. I was going to pursue it further the next day by calling the corporate office, but then later that night DD got a private message on Facebook from the person who found her wristlet! She got all of her cards back, although she had cancelled her debit card and is still waiting for that replacement.

On this same day, DD also got a thank you holiday card in the mail from the hospital where she volunteers. The card was ripped open where the you'd lick and seal it. Last year she received a gift card inside of the card, but this year there was nothing inside. My guess is there was a gift card and it was stolen. I looked on the envelope to see when the card was mailed because it arrived so late, but there wasn't a date stamp because it was sent bulk mail. The gift card last year was only $5 for a grocery store so no big loss, but it's still a bummer to think someone probably opened it.

 

[daughtersrus]

This is incorrect:

http://hdusps.esecurecare.net/cgi-b...id=ncWf3yqh&p_faqid=1142&p_created=1052784383

Gift cards (or gift certificates) may be insured for their full value only when sent by Registered Mail service. Otherwise, gift cards/gift certificates sent by Priority Mail Express service (which includes Priority Mail Express insurance) or another class of mail with merchandise insurance are protected only up to the maximum indemnity for cash and negotiable items - $15. Customers should check the terms of their gift cards/gift certificates as many are replaceable by the issuer if they are lost or stolen.

I think that most people assume that gift cards are covered for full value if they send them regular mail with insurance but that's not the case. The cost to sent them registered or Express is quite a bit higher. Filing a claim with the post office takes months. The lesson learned would be to make sure to keep the original receipt so that they can be replaced by the store

 

[disneypharm]

OP here.
Thanks again for all your help. DH found out that FIL bought all the Macy's gift cards from Smith's grocery store, which I assume will make it harder to track than buying them directly from Macy's. FIL has already sent all the grandchildren without gift cards checks. This is just really not necessary, but he wanted to do this. He got all the information from these threads from DH. We will see what happens.

Not really. My inlaws have 12 grandchildren but they wouldn't have to contact 12 parents or wait for 12 emails. Most of their kids have 2-3 children.
As long as people respond promptly, in a half hour the grandfather could have a list of the 12 kids and be able to cross off the ones that received theirs.

Yes, there are 5 kids and 12 grandchildren. Kids live in California, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho. It shouldn't be hard to get the information by phone. FIL has been sending GCs for Christmas and Birthdays for the last 20 years. This has never happened before. I will tell him to send us electronic gift cards from now on. Amazon is the best because the kids can get whatever they need.

 

[wenrob]

OP here.
Thanks again for all your help. DH found out that FIL bought all the Macy's gift cards from Smith's grocery store, which I assume will make it harder to track than buying them directly from Macy's. FIL has already sent all the grandchildren without gift cards checks. This is just really not necessary, but he wanted to do this. He got all the information from these threads from DH. We will see what happens.

Can they trace the transaction using his Smith's Rewards card?

 

[disneypharm]

Can they trace the transaction using his Smith's Rewards card?

Not sure. Something to consider. I will let him know to check his Rewards card as well. Thanks

 

[pixiewings71]

Thanks, so the store can replace the card with a receipt. I assume if he used his credit card, his credit card company and the store should be able to track the purchase and replace them. Hopefully, nobody took them. I think the stack of envelopes were ripped in an auto-processing machine in the post office and they couldn't deliver them. I'll let him know.

By the way, I am sorry about your house fire. Glad you could replace your DD's gift cards.

That was the case with us, but they did say it was because we had the receipt. The stores in question checked the numbers on the gift cards and saw they were not used so they reissued them right away. Honestly, we didn't even think of it, her Grandfather did and he simply took care of it. He went and just asked for a manager, explained the situation and got them replaced.

I've had ripped envelopes before, it doesn't happen often but to have it happen to so many of his gifts it does seem suspicious.

The house fire was the on New Year's Day about 8 or 9 years ago now, the kids had been away visiting their Dad for the holiday and came home NYE, we opened gifts and then the house caught on fire. We all made it out without injuries and for that we were most grateful.