Stolen Gift Cards - UPS Delivery What's Next?

[choover2576]

UPS delivered $400 worth of gift cards yesterday while I was at work.

We can't file a police report until the morning and the merchant I bought them from is closed for the night. I"m hoping that the thief hasn't used them yet and we can deactivate the gift cards.

Has this happened to anyone before?

We also had our new replacement credit cards FedEx'd and those were stolen as well (crazy that they were "pre-activated for our convenience??!!").

 

[verleniahall]

yikes! i know that our mail is delieverd while Im at work, so I have anything like that delievered to my office and put that I have to sign for it or they cant leave it

what cc pre=activated your new cards? that crazy - i have never heard of that before!

hope that something can be done fo ryou!

 

[choover2576]

Update - The merchant couldn't/wouldn't refund for the stolen gift cards and suggested I dispute the charge with the credit card company. Citibank gave me a refund, no with no issues. I'm so relieved! Thank you verieniahall for the suggestion about having items delivered to work. I'm going to start doing that.

I also inquired this morning about the "pre-activation" and everyone I spoke to at Citibank this morning said that is unlikely. My question to them was how is it that someone can use the physical cards without us activating them? It's always been my experience that they have to be activated from the phone number that they have on file. They are investigating that.

 

[teller80]

Are you sure they gave you a refund? In my experience, they'll take the disputed amount off your bill temporarily until they resolve the case, which could take 60 days.

UPS offers a pickup service at its locations, when you order a package you can request which office you'd like to use.

 

[tvguy]

Are you sure they gave you a refund? In my experience, they'll take the disputed amount off your bill temporarily until they resolve the case, which could take 60 days.

UPS offers a pickup service at its locations, when you order a package you can request which office you'd like to use.

I had a disputed charge with VISA and they said their policy is to make a tentative decision within 2 weeks, and the final within 4 weeks. I had a full refund......marked as tentative refund on the account with in 24 hours, and e-mail notice that the investigation was over and the refund final within 3 weeks, and in writing within 4 weeks.

 

[choover2576]

The agent said that I should expect to be credited the amount back to the card in 3-5 days. She didn't mention anything about an investigation.

On another note, one of the mangers at the many stops made by the thiefs had pictures from their security cameras. There are at least 2 accomplices one male one female. The female tried to use the card inside and it was declined. The male accomplice tried to use it in the drive-thru. The manager had pictures of their license plate number and vehicle type.

 

[verleniahall]

Update - The merchant couldn't/wouldn't refund for the stolen gift cards and suggested I dispute the charge with the credit card company. Citibank gave me a refund, no with no issues. I'm so relieved! Thank you verieniahall for the suggestion about having items delivered to work. I'm going to start doing that.

I also inquired this morning about the "pre-activation" and everyone I spoke to at Citibank this morning said that is unlikely. My question to them was how is it that someone can use the physical cards without us activating them? It's always been my experience that they have to be activated from the phone number that they have on file. They are investigating that.

your welcome! there are several things that I use my work address for - it gives me peace of mind!

 

[Sagginit]

Did you raise a UPS tracer? The reason I ask is if UPS declares it lost but the merchant fights the charge back you would have proof that UPS acknowledged that it was not successfully delivered, thus the merchant would be obligated to issue a refund. The merchant may not be able to take a police report or security camera footage as proof it was stolen.

 

[choover2576]

Did you raise a UPS tracer? The reason I ask is if UPS declares it lost but the merchant fights the charge back you would have proof that UPS acknowledged that it was not successfully delivered, thus the merchant would be obligated to issue a refund. The merchant may not be able to take a police report or security camera footage as proof it was stolen.

The UPS tracker said that is was left at the front door so it was delivered.

 

[Sagginit]

The UPS tracker said that is was left at the front door so it was delivered.

UPS can still open a tracer. They would have the driver investigate and provide full details of where it was left and when, for example they are often asked to leave it in a concealed location but if left at the edge of the driveway that doesn't count whereas behind a fence would count. If they do not have sufficient proof of delivery (signature) they often do declare it lost. I only suggest it because your bank will most likely be filing a dispute with the merchant (unless this falls under some sort of buyer protection they offer on the card) and the merchant would have the right to dispute. If they do so they may indicate that UPS shows that it was delivered with no issues so it doesn't hurt to call and let them know there was an issue. When a tracer is raised it will show on the tracking number on the UPS website so you could easily gain a record of it that way. It will also let the driver on your route know for future reference that there have been stolen packages so they can proceed with more caution when it comes to leaving things there (again a concealed location vs right on your doormat).

 

[choover2576]

Thank you Sagginit, you sound very knowledgeable. I hope that you didn't have a similar experience. I called UPS and FedEx to report it.