Target.com Warning

[tarheelmjfan]

If you were planning on ordering gift cards from hotwire savings club to use on-line at Target.com, think twice. I ordered the max., because my DS wants mostly CD's and Target.com has good prices and free shipping. Unfortunately, these are CD's that aren't in the stores. I have been trying to place an on-line order using gift cards for several days. The order wouldn't go through. I called the 800#, and was told to wait until the next day, because an upgrade was going through at midnight. That was 2 days ago. I finally tried the 800# again tonight and the person I spoke to was less than cordial. She said they didn't want to have to deal with the gift cards over the phone, but since I was only using 2, she'd send them through for me. She wouldn't place my order over the phone, but took my name and email address and told me to go place my order on-line. I'm supposed to trust that the total of the gift certificates will be deducted from the total bill. I'm not holding my breath, but hoping it will work out. I just hope I don't lose the money on the GC's, because she said now that she entered them, they were deactivated. She also said that they didn't know when they would ever get the problem fixed. I don't know what I'm going to do with all these other gift certificates, plus I'm still going to have to come up with the money to buy the CD's.

 

[OceanAnnie]

That's awful!!! Did you pay with your charge card? If so, I'd call the cc company and tell them to cancel the charge. The cc companies have a resolution procedure and they will work with you even if the company you purchased from does not. That was terrible customer service to say she didn't know when or if the problem with the gc would be resolved.

Be persistant. Keep your cool. And don't give up. I wouldn't pay for something I didn't get. I'm sure there's a way to get a refund, even with that "deactivated" status you were told of.

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

 

[simpilotswife]

It is not just Hotwire gift cards. People who have gotten giftcards from other sources are also having difficulty.

 

[crisi]

Target is under no obligation to accept gift cards on their web site. They should - its good business practice - but they aren't required to.

Sounds like the funtion is currently broken - and e commerce sites don't like fixing things over the holidays - because in fixing something you might break something else. They don't want to make it possible for people to use gift cards - but impossible to use your Visa (which has happened in the last year to a major online retailer).

Moreover, Target outsources this through Amazon.com - so fixing it is Amazon's problem. Target and Amazon are currently at odds - Target is planning on pulling their site away from Amazon - so Amazon probably isn't real interested in fixing it. (Stupid business move on Target's part - give your website operations to a competitor).

Lousy business practice, but I thought this might shed some light.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You're right about having a problem with gift cards purchased elsewhere not just Hotwire. The 1st two I used were actually purchased at a Target store. I mentioned Hotwire GC's, because we cost conscience people look for discounts everywhere & I thought there would be others ordering them from Hotwire. That's where I ordered the rest of mine. Now I'm struggling to find enough gifts to buy in the store, that will use up the GC's.

As far as Target not being required to accept them online, if we look at things that way, no business is required to do anything but take your money and return your change. However, if they want to stay in business, it's a good idea to provide good customer service. By the way, when you are placing your online order with them, there are about 4 lines for you to enter gift card numbers in. They just don't work in the payment process. I did place an order online at Walmart, using a gift card & supplementing it with a CC, and it went through with no problem. It's hard to believe that the Walmart technical support is just so much more intelligent & technically advanced than anyone Target/Amazon could employee. I started this to give people a heads up about the problem, but I must admit that it irks me a little to read a "no obligation" response, when I have had so much diffulculty just trying to give them my money. It never ceases to amaze me, when people defend Corporations for having poor customer service. Off my soap box, and back to getting my Christmas gifts bought and wrapped.