Starwood Preferred Guest - anyone else get treated badly at wstores ?

recently bought 11 "W" giftcards for gifts - they also double as AMEX giftcards for use anywhere Amex is accepted. BUT never got the FREE W promos like CD and free gift and was charged SALES tax on these gift certificates which is illegal as I'll be charged sales tax again when using. Their customer service refuses to deal with this - anyone else have similar problems ???

and to make matters worst, SPG customer service completely disowns the store even though it's on their website and uses their name !!!

If they won't help you, I would just dispute the charges on your credit card.

I'm guessing that this was the W Store complaint that was copied to me yesterday. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I forwarded it to the W brand people in White Plains, but they have not responded to me yet. If they do, I'll be glad to let you know what they say.

In the meantime, I'm sorry for the experiences you have had using the W Store, but there is nothing anybody in Starwood customer service can do about this. Hopefully, we'll hear from the brand folks soon on a plan of action.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com