Problem purchasing Kroger US/IOA Tickets today

[look1angel]

I went to the first Kroger out in the town where I work; picked up their last 10 go to the register & everything goes through until the very end when it came up declined. Well the cashier assumes it's my CC & I said absolutely no possible way, meanwhile line is backing up on express Now they're calling the manager to come for an override maybe due to the 900.00 purchase? I then apologize to those behind me while telling them (cashier & manager) both to void out the transaction take care of customers while I call AMEX & head to customer service. Amex says no such decline infact my card has been charged the 899.90. OK so now girl gets new manager to come up front & they now realize it is the cards themselves that will not go through? I ask are you sure I was at another Kroger 3 weeks ago & got 8 with no problem. She assumes maybe it's a bad batch.

I then drive 45 mins to another closer to my house & they have about 20 left, I grab 10, go to manager explain what happened & he had the nerve to ask me If maybe it was my CC HELLO!!!!!?????? Weren't you listening? He tells me to just go through the line to see. I tell the cashier to only ring up 1, It scans, I put in CC, she asks for Drivers Lic # & it won't allow her to complete the transaction as it reads declined. Back up to customer service I go to get my refund of 89.99 & I again explain to another manager what just happend, all are apologetic & I feel terrible I was really hoping to help out some folks here & my only explination is maybe US has put a halt to them? Anyone else have this problem?

 

[damo]

Yup. Others have reported that their time is up.

 

[funtimes80]

I had the same problem. The store I went to actually called the number on the card and apparently the cards expired and stores didn't know to take the gift cards off the shelves. What a bummer! We were really looking forward to the great deal!

 

[myramann]

The same thing happened to me. I was so thrilled to find the cards and then after i payed for them, they couldn't be activated. What a bummer!

 

[MIChessGuy]

I have to say, this strikes me as a fairly obnoxious practice on Universal's part. Apparently they have "pre-expired" all of the unsold discount deals everywhere -- Kroger, Costco, you name it. Sheez, couldn't they just let us have these last few tickets before we fall under the merciless hammer of Disney-esque pricing?

 

[damo]

I have to say, this strikes me as a fairly obnoxious practice on Universal's part. Apparently they have "pre-expired" all of the unsold discount deals everywhere -- Kroger, Costco, you name it. Sheez, couldn't they just let us have these last few tickets before we fall under the merciless hammer of Disney-esque pricing?

I guess they figured that they gave us one month since they changed their pricing structure and that was enough.

Prices are still a heck of a lot lower than the Disney pricing.

 

[Purseval]

I guess they figured that they gave us one month since they changed their pricing structure and that was enough.

Prices are still a heck of a lot lower than the Disney pricing.

You tried to explain how you could compare 2 parks to 4 and call it a deal when the 4 parks weren't twice the price in an earlier thread. The best you could come up with was that you tend to stay in 1 park at a time so you were comparing the total prices based on your visit to 1 park. Have things improved since then?

 

[damo]

You tried to explain how you could compare 2 parks to 4 and call it a deal when the 4 parks weren't twice the price in an earlier thread. The best you could come up with was that you tend to stay in 1 park at a time so you were comparing the total prices based on your visit to 1 park. Have things improved since then?

Sorry, but you've lost me.

 

[Purseval]

Sorry, but you've lost me.

I don't really have time to search for the exact thread right now but perhaps I can jog your memory. When they first announced a price rise you said how much of a deal it still was compared to WDW. I asked how fair was it comparing 2 parks to 4 and if I doubled the price of UO tickets to even things up would you still consider it to be a deal? You then gave a few scenarios, none of which answered the basic question of how you could compare the price of 2 parks to 4. That still holds true today, the price difference wouldn't be nearly as dramatic if you doubled one or halved the other to even things out.

 

[damo]

I don't really have time to search for the exact thread right now but perhaps I can jog your memory. When they first announced a price rise you said how much of a deal it still was compared to WDW. I asked how fair was it comparing 2 parks to 4 and if I doubled the price of UO tickets to even things up would you still consider it to be a deal? You then gave a few scenarios, none of which answered the basic question of how you could compare the price of 2 parks to 4. That still holds true today, the price difference wouldn't be nearly as dramatic if you doubled one or halved the other to even things out.

I know we disagree on that point. Did you want to discuss it again now? My opinion hasn't changed if that is what you are wondering.

 

[Rash]

I bought the 2-Park Unlimited Admission Ticket from Undercover Tourist before they ran out. Those are still good, right? Can Universal void those also?

 

[MIChessGuy]

I bought the 2-Park Unlimited Admission Ticket from Undercover Tourist before they ran out. Those are still good, right? Can Universal void those also?

Those will be fine since UT provides the actual tickets, as opposed to something that you have to exchange for the tickets at a later time. I have used UT-supplied tickets several times over the past few years and they have always worked fine.

 

[damo]

I bought the 2-Park Unlimited Admission Ticket from Undercover Tourist before they ran out. Those are still good, right? Can Universal void those also?

Those are good. There is no expiry date on those tickets. Universal isn't voiding anyone's tickets. They are no longer allowing anyone to purchase (activate) the Kroger gift cards. If you previously purchased and activated Kroger gift cards, they are still good. They aren't suddenly imposing expiry dates on tickets that were previously purchased.

 

[Coach81]

ouch!

 

[Rash]

Those are good. There is no expiry date on those tickets. Universal isn't voiding anyone's tickets. They are no longer allowing anyone to purchase (activate) the Kroger gift cards. If you previously purchased and activated Kroger gift cards, they are still good. They aren't suddenly imposing expiry dates on tickets that were previously purchased.

Okay, cool. Thanks for the info.

 

[damo]

If you've got your tickets, they are good and nobody is going to change that.

 

[brucechase]

My wife just found a bunch at a local Kroger and after trying to purchase them, found out what everyone here is saying - they will not validate. After more than an hour at kroger with the manager and customer service calling all kinds of people, they stated that this promotion ended on January 15 2010. Any tickets purchased and validated before then will be honored, any attempt to purchase after that date will not be authorized.

I hate I missed it, but since we are going down this Friday, I better get on the ball and find a place for us to stay!!!

 

[MIChessGuy]

My wife just found a bunch at a local Kroger and after trying to purchase them, found out what everyone here is saying - they will not validate. After more than an hour at kroger with the manager and customer service calling all kinds of people, they stated that this promotion ended on January 15 2010. Any tickets purchased and validated before then will be honored, any attempt to purchase after that date will not be authorized.

January 15 sounds like the effective date of the Universal ticket price increase. I guess they electronically killed all of those discount cards that were/are still floating around Kroger, Costco, etc. that had not already been activated. D'oh

 

[oliver200137724]

Well i don't know about the "offical" date that Universal deactivated the cards but i bought one on January 20, then i bought 4 on January 22nd, and then i bought my final one on Feb. 1st. Then i called yesterday to confirm that all of my cards were active and too my relief all of my cards are and ready to be used. So If you have bought some of the cards just call krogers card activation number ( 1-866-544-8062 ) to see if your cards are active if you have any questions.

 

[tink1957]

I purchased & activated my 3 cards on 1/26, as far as I know they cannot legally inactivate cards that are already approved and paid for.