Warning about DVA

[luvthemouse71]

Oddly enough, it works fine with my credit and debit cards. Just the gift cards seem to cause trouble.

I highly recommend dealing with the Disney Gift card people. I got nowhere with DVA..

 

[3boymthr]

Eeeks, I have some I bought quite awhile ago. I think I better go check the balances on all of them. That is pretty nervy though. The cashier would have to have some of the gift cards there at the register to switch out. And if you are watching while they ring you up - I would assume that would be hard to do.

Me too, but of course, the times it has happened has always been when I'm busy and distracted by coupons and kids and/or lots of groceries and have definitely turned away. I noticed yesterday that this one cashier (the one I could swear pulled this trick on me) had two small stack of cards on her register. She's always rude and aggressive about the bags not getting off the end right away and acts very put out when you don't move instantly to get them or, as I did yesterday, when I ask my son to get them for me. The cards I got yesterday were all with a complete balance.

 

[mom2jcg]

I have the good fortune of being able to use a credit card for work purchases; then being able to use the points for travel. Well I thought that I had a great idea to indirectly use the points to purchase park tickets for my families upcoming trip in December. The cc has an option to convert the points to Target gift cards, which I did. I then purchased Disney gift cards with them. I wanted to consolidate the Disney cards so I enrolled in the Disney Vacation Account, because it lets you add $ to the account via Disney gift cards. Well this morning I started entering the cards one at a time. All went well until on the 11th card I got an "error processing please try again later" message. I closed out of the account and tried it again; this time it told me that there was insufficient funds on the card. I stupidly tried another card and the same thing happened. I then called the DVA number and explained the problem. I won't bore you with a blow by blow, however it took me about an hour and being transferred to 4 different people before I could taklk to someone who even had an idea how to help. She checked the balance on the cards and sure enough it was $0. I also had her check my remaining cards and they were fine. The cm suggested that the cards were never activated at the store, which I find doubtful. The recipt says they were all activated. I think the DSA wiped the cards without adding the amount to my account. I'll check with Target but I am doubtful that they will be able to do anything. I will never use this service again. Be careful when using the DSA.

Oh. My. Goodness. Same thing happened to me! I am $165 short currently and have spent about 3 hours on the phone trying to straighten it out...no one seems to know how to fix it. One woman reset my password without even asking me, so now when I log in, it says I have an online account but no Disney Vacation account. They say they can see my balance which is about $1100, but even I can't access it now thanks to the woman who chose to "make changes to my account" without asking me. I've been waiting since last Friday for an answer. I will NOT let this go. FYI---I was told that the Disney gift card customer service number was the one to call. Choose option 5 to report that GCs have been compromised. Insist that someone there can help you. Some of them try to pass you off, but some will try to help. Good luck and sorry it happened to you too. Maybe if you report to them, it will give both of us more credibility.

ETA--I responded before I read the whole thread because I am so frustrated by this situation. I see others have suggested the Disney GC number...am so hoping they will help me. All of my GCs were activated and redeemed within minutes of each other but I can't even get them to call me back right now.

 

[TravelandLeisure]

OP the EXACT same thing happened to me last week. I entered 5 gift cards with no problem. Then all of a sudden on my 6th card it rejected it. I went to the Disney gift card to check the balance and sure enough they took the $50 off of the card. I can also see where Target originally activated the card and then the exact date where I attempted to put it into the DVA system and it took the money off of it. I have called them 3 times and have yet to have them resolve the issue. They are supposedly "researching" the problem. I refuse to put any more money into this account. There has to be some kind of bug in their system.

 

[SteveW8002]

Well the rep from DGC called be back. He fixed the problem and posted the missing card to my account. His name is Joey. Thanks Joey! If this happens to you, don't waste time calling the number for the Disney Vacation Account; they can't help. Call the gift card help line (on the back of the card); they're awesome.

Joey also told me that he can activate the card that was not activated in Target. All I need to do is scan the receipt, the card, and email it to him. I will as soon as I get home from my business trip.

 

[dpswift]

I have had issues with GC at Target. Mostly this is with Target store cards. I get the card and my receipt says it's activated and I go to use it and there's nothing on it. But comparing numbers the number on the card doesn't always match the card on the receipt. Yup, the cashier is switching the cards and keeping the activated card. Checking the balance online shows that the card was filled and emptied. So of course, I can't prove it because they just say I must be using the wrong card, the one that I already used.

I do not see how this could happen. They scan the cards and hand them to you. They should never be out of your sight. If you truly believe this is what happened report it ASAP.

 

[dpswift]

Me too, but of course, the times it has happened has always been when I'm busy and distracted by coupons and kids and/or lots of groceries and have definitely turned away. I noticed yesterday that this one cashier (the one I could swear pulled this trick on me) had two small stack of cards on her register. She's always rude and aggressive about the bags not getting off the end right away and acts very put out when you don't move instantly to get them or, as I did yesterday, when I ask my son to get them for me. The cards I got yesterday were all with a complete balance.

Report what happened and the cashier. There is no reason to have gift cards on her register. I would go to another lane and tell the manager why.

 

[SUSIEQ]

I do not see how this could happen. They scan the cards and hand them to you. They should never be out of your sight. If you truly believe this is what happened report it ASAP.

The "switch" happens so fast, you don't even realize it. It's like a magic trick. The cashier that did it to me was very rude, kind of like she was trying to get me to watch her face and not her hands. I didn't realize what she had done until I got home and replayed the transaction in my head. Then I remembered seeing her sleight of hand. Now, I make sure I watch their hands at ALL times. Mine happened on one of those buy 3 items, get a $10 generic looking gift card free.

 

[sibesx2]

The "switch" happens so fast, you don't even realize it. It's like a magic trick. The cashier that did it to me was very rude, kind of like she was trying to get me to watch her face and not her hands. I didn't realize what she had done until I got home and replayed the transaction in my head. Then I remembered seeing her sleight of hand. Now, I make sure I watch their hands at ALL times. Mine happened on one of those buy 3 items, get a $10 generic looking gift card free.

Last week a cashier tried to keep 2 $5 gift cards that I earned from buying products. He scanned the cards and threw them back in the register. When I asked for them he gave them to me but didn't apologize or act like he made a mistake. I'm sure those cards were headed for his pocket.

 

[mom2jcg]

Well the rep from DGC called be back. He fixed the problem and posted the missing card to my account. His name is Joey. Thanks Joey! If this happens to you, don't waste time calling the number for the Disney Vacation Account; they can't help. Call the gift card help line (on the back of the card); they're awesome. Joey also told me that he can activate the card that was not activated in Target. All I need to do is scan the receipt, the card, and email it to him. I will as soon as I get home from my business trip.

Joey fixed mine as well...although I still can't get into my account, they replaced my missing $165. Still working on getting access to my account. Joey said they had had a massive failure last week and they still had not figured out what happened but were working on it.

 

[fairy8i8]

I have found the DVA website very buggy. It opened 2 accounts for me after saying the site was down for maintenance. Every time I have logged in (not in the middle of the night), I have come across at least one "down for maintenance" screen.

I was able to enter 10 Disney Gift Cards last night. It did error out after 4. Thankfully the money didn't get lost and was still on the gift card. I closed the Firefox browser and opened Chrome and was able to add the remain 6.

While the website is full of glitches, I could then turn right around and buy Disneyland tickets immediately after entering all of the gift cards. We are going to a conference at the Disneyland Hotel, and the discount conference tickets website only allows 1 gift card per a transaction. I entered my DVA number in the Gift Card box and was able to purchase the tickets no problem.

A few errors on the DVA website was well worth saving 32% on park tickets!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have found the DVA website very buggy. It opened 2 accounts for me after saying the site was down for maintenance. Every time I have logged in (not in the middle of the night), I have come across at least one "down for maintenance" screen.

I was able to enter 10 Disney Gift Cards last night. It did error out after 4. Thankfully the money didn't get lost and was still on the gift card. I closed the Firefox browser and opened Chrome and was able to add the remain 6.

While the website is full of glitches, I could then turn right around and buy Disneyland tickets immediately after entering all of the gift cards. We are going to a conference at the Disneyland Hotel, and the discount conference tickets website only allows 1 gift card per a transaction. I entered my DVA number in the Gift Card box and was able to purchase the tickets no problem.

A few errors on the DVA website was well worth saving 32% on park tickets!

Can you explain how you get the 32% discount on tickets?
We have a short visit planned in mid Jan. Just me & ds14. Kind of low budget. I was planning to forgo my 60 day window for booking FP+ so we could buy tickets from USSSA but then we 'll miss SDMT or wait hours for it. He's old enough to understand but it would be great to surprise him.
I'd love to get a great discount for buying direct. Our window opens in around 2 weeks.

 

[tkitty]

Can you explain how you get the 32% discount on tickets?
We have a short visit planned in mid Jan. Just me & ds14. Kind of low budget. I was planning to forgo my 60 day window for booking FP+ so we could buy tickets from USSSA but then we 'll miss SDMT or wait hours for it. He's old enough to understand but it would be great to surprise him.
I'd love to get a great discount for buying direct. Our window opens in around 2 weeks.

Pretty sure they were refering to the convention/group tickets. I've bought them before as part of a large group- it has to be set up ahead of time, not available to the public.
I too am always trying to get a deal, but not alot of options out there for Disney tickets. Undercover Tourist is always a good one. (Using the link that Mousesavers sends out it regular emails is the best $).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Pretty sure they were refering to the convention/group tickets. I've bought them before as part of a large group- it has to be set up ahead of time, not available to the public.
I too am always trying to get a deal, but not alot of options out there for Disney tickets. Undercover Tourist is always a good one. (Using the link that Mousesavers sends out it regular emails is the best $).

Thanks. We're not part of any larger group. I thought the DVA/GC method was getting her the huge discount. I have the UCT link. That's probably the safer way also in case it snows like crazy and we somehow can't go. At least their tickets aren't dated and we'd be able to use the tickets some other time.

 

[3boymthr]

I do not see how this could happen. They scan the cards and hand them to you. They should never be out of your sight. If you truly believe this is what happened report it ASAP.

Yesterday I bought two gift cards and they bagged them. I think it depends upon the store you go to. At our store all items have to be bagged or marked with a target seal. Can't even put a candy bar in your purse without the seal on it.

 

[Bektasmic]

Nightmare resolved! So after entering about 40 cards, I finally hit one of those infamous snags where the card didn't post. Actually 2 of them. Because I was entering them all in a row, and the confirmation popped up after each, I didn't know which of the 10 I had just entered were the problem cards.

Well I called the Gift Card number as suggested on this thread, and they resolved it for me very cheerfully and quickly. The gift card people can see the DVA and look up when something was supposedly taken off your giftcard and then go in and manually enter anything that's missing.

The man who helped me was acting like this was a commonplace, routine call and had no problem checking 10 cards to find the ones that were not posted. He also said to call back if it happens again-almost expecting it to happen again.

What saved some sanity was I had written with permanent marker on each card what time I had entered it and the date and then rubber banded them by day entered.

Very happy to have just paid off 2100 and only needing to pick up 16 more Target giftcards and then I'm done!

Thanks for all the tips from everyone on DVA. I'm excited to get my 60 bucks in DVA bonus giftcards when I get to my magic DVA date.

 

[mrsdsj2007]

I have target.com eat my $ - explaining to target what happened sucked major...bc they dont listen!

 

[SUSIEQ]

I have target.com eat my $ - explaining to target what happened sucked major...bc they dont listen!

How?
Buying Disney gift cards?

 

[WhitGB]

Does anyone know if you can use the DVA to pay for things like shore excursions and pre-paid tips on the cruise. I have prepaid my tips thru dreams unlimited in the past and could pad my account to pay for the dcl shore excursions. Just wondering if anyone has tried this. I wont put money in there if I cant get it out for what I need.

Thanks

 

[nhmommy]

Can you explain how you get the 32% discount on tickets?
We have a short visit planned in mid Jan. Just me & ds14. Kind of low budget. I was planning to forgo my 60 day window for booking FP+ so we could buy tickets from USSSA but then we 'll miss SDMT or wait hours for it. He's old enough to understand but it would be great to surprise him.
I'd love to get a great discount for buying direct. Our window opens in around 2 weeks.

Off topic but if you don't get SDMT booked try doing it the night before you go to the park.do it right around park closing 9-11 and look one person at a time until all have passes then adjust the time until you all overlap check every 15 min or more I was able to get SDMT and both parades this way for 5 people it also worked for Soarin Enchanted tales with Bell and toy story.