Post your GOLDPOINTS horror stories here...
Jan 22, 2002, 11:13 am
#62
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
Programs: AA 2MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,349
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fireflyreaction:
my understanding is that valuemags has sent goldpoints ALL the transactions...what else can valuemags do??</font>
my understanding is that valuemags has sent goldpoints ALL the transactions...what else can valuemags do??</font>
Jan 22, 2002, 11:22 am
#63
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Chicago, Il. USA
Posts: 428
While you guys may be talking about a civil suit against GP, the current Attorney General of Illinois is running for Governor. He has filed consumer fraud cases in the past, don't know why he wouldn't do so now. Think of the publicity for him and for GP and their parent.
Jan 22, 2002, 11:35 am
#64
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 525
I did not participate in the valuemags debacle.
I did buy gift certificates at Hallmark through goldpoints. My purchases prior to 12/31/01 were relatively hitch-free; phone calls to goldpoints were necessary, but I eventually got all earned points for those, and those miles are at last nestled snugly in my AA account.
However, I made many additional purchases of gift certificates from Hallmark through goldpoints on 12/31/01. I have not had the correct number of purchases post, nor have I gotten the 120 points per dollar. This is a difference of 100,000 goldpoints for me. I have tried calling, e-mailing, and faxing. They would not even confirm receipt of my multi-paged fax which contained confirmations of all purchases.
Needless to say, though, my credit card statement shows all purchases correctly and won't be waiting around for any points to post before the money is due!
I did buy gift certificates at Hallmark through goldpoints. My purchases prior to 12/31/01 were relatively hitch-free; phone calls to goldpoints were necessary, but I eventually got all earned points for those, and those miles are at last nestled snugly in my AA account.
However, I made many additional purchases of gift certificates from Hallmark through goldpoints on 12/31/01. I have not had the correct number of purchases post, nor have I gotten the 120 points per dollar. This is a difference of 100,000 goldpoints for me. I have tried calling, e-mailing, and faxing. They would not even confirm receipt of my multi-paged fax which contained confirmations of all purchases.
Needless to say, though, my credit card statement shows all purchases correctly and won't be waiting around for any points to post before the money is due!
Jan 22, 2002, 11:42 am
#65
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Posts: 22
Just wanted to contribute my story to this discussion:
12/10 order (no coupons used) -- no sign of points as of now.
12/20 & 12/23 orders -- the points posted quickly but some have been taken away.
I faxed my receipts for the 12/10 order on 1/09 -- no points and no response almost 2 weeks later. It's very disappointing that the GoldPoints is too busy taking points away while not crediting the points I am due for a much earlier order -- this is a bad business. Also, when I called a few days ago to find out if they received my fax and what the timeframe was for the points to be credited, I was told that there's no way to confirm that they did get my fax but I have to now wait another 4 weeks for the points assuming that they have my fax. Excuse me?!?! First it's 30 days, then it's another 4 weeks, and then they'll tell me that they didn't get my fax?
Obviously, GoldPoints is putting a much higher priority on removing the points from our accounts than on properly crediting the points which we earned. I was going to start using Radisson for my upcoming stays (thanks to this promotion drawing my attention to the GoldPoints program), but this whole mess leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I hope it all gets sorted out soon.
12/10 order (no coupons used) -- no sign of points as of now.
12/20 & 12/23 orders -- the points posted quickly but some have been taken away.
I faxed my receipts for the 12/10 order on 1/09 -- no points and no response almost 2 weeks later. It's very disappointing that the GoldPoints is too busy taking points away while not crediting the points I am due for a much earlier order -- this is a bad business. Also, when I called a few days ago to find out if they received my fax and what the timeframe was for the points to be credited, I was told that there's no way to confirm that they did get my fax but I have to now wait another 4 weeks for the points assuming that they have my fax. Excuse me?!?! First it's 30 days, then it's another 4 weeks, and then they'll tell me that they didn't get my fax?
Obviously, GoldPoints is putting a much higher priority on removing the points from our accounts than on properly crediting the points which we earned. I was going to start using Radisson for my upcoming stays (thanks to this promotion drawing my attention to the GoldPoints program), but this whole mess leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I hope it all gets sorted out soon.
Jan 22, 2002, 11:50 am
#66
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 363
neal: fair enough on your part - i agree you should get a full refund if that's what you want. i'm just saying that goldpoints is to blame, not valuemags...
ErthCrclr: i was surprised my faxes even got through - with all these people faxing in, i didn't get one busy signal. still, it's completely unprofessional for them to say "just watch your points over the next couple days" (as i have been told). that is NOT a resolution to the problem.
HOWEVER, goldpoints was really good about phoning me before all this got started (mid december). the supervisor actually phoned me to make sure everything went well and asked if he could do anything else. so, there are some good people working there - i suspect that they are flooded under. THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE, though.
i've been lead to understand that a lot of this is to protect both VM and GP against fraud. in fact, i know of at least one case that was prevented. HOWEVER, to weed out a FEW bad apples and inconvience a TON of people is unacceptable. goldpoints needs a better system than this.
SOLUTION: (HINT GOLDPOINTS PEOPLE READING THIS)
as far as i'm concerned, andrew from valuemags needs to send in the gross totals from all the orders with the corresponding order numbers. this sheet needs to be photocopied and given to all GP CSRs. you should just be able to phone in and say "i placed an order with valuemags on xx date for xx dollars and the order number was xx." the CSR should be able to do a credit right then and there. THE.END.
because they can see if you got points before, they will be able to catch people trying to pull a scam by phoning twice. the points are mine and the 30-day cancellation policy has already ended for me at valuemags so there is ZERO chance of fraud on my part.
I AM PAST THE THIRTY DAY CANCELLATION POLICY AND I WANT MY G-D'd GOLDPOINTS.
(sorry, did i sound upset?)
ErthCrclr: i was surprised my faxes even got through - with all these people faxing in, i didn't get one busy signal. still, it's completely unprofessional for them to say "just watch your points over the next couple days" (as i have been told). that is NOT a resolution to the problem.
HOWEVER, goldpoints was really good about phoning me before all this got started (mid december). the supervisor actually phoned me to make sure everything went well and asked if he could do anything else. so, there are some good people working there - i suspect that they are flooded under. THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE, though.
i've been lead to understand that a lot of this is to protect both VM and GP against fraud. in fact, i know of at least one case that was prevented. HOWEVER, to weed out a FEW bad apples and inconvience a TON of people is unacceptable. goldpoints needs a better system than this.
SOLUTION: (HINT GOLDPOINTS PEOPLE READING THIS)
as far as i'm concerned, andrew from valuemags needs to send in the gross totals from all the orders with the corresponding order numbers. this sheet needs to be photocopied and given to all GP CSRs. you should just be able to phone in and say "i placed an order with valuemags on xx date for xx dollars and the order number was xx." the CSR should be able to do a credit right then and there. THE.END.
because they can see if you got points before, they will be able to catch people trying to pull a scam by phoning twice. the points are mine and the 30-day cancellation policy has already ended for me at valuemags so there is ZERO chance of fraud on my part.
I AM PAST THE THIRTY DAY CANCELLATION POLICY AND I WANT MY G-D'd GOLDPOINTS.
(sorry, did i sound upset?)
Jan 22, 2002, 12:05 pm
#67
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Flagstaff, AZ USA
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 386
Before participating in this promo, I carefully researched it. I read many threads on FlyerTalk (around mid-December) in which people stated that their GoldPoints posted in 24 hours and were transfered to their AA account in less than a week. I called Valuemags to verify that the points were awarded for the gross purchase amount (before the discount). Finally, I knew that GoldPoints was backed by Radisson, so I expected high levels of professionalism.
So, I jumped in and ordered about $450 worth of magazines in several batches around the 20th of December. My points posted very quickly (within 48 hours), except for about 40,000 points that were missing for one of the orders. I contacted GoldPoints about this, and they instructed me to wait 30 days and then fax them the receipt. I made the mistake of waiting about 2 weeks instead of transferring the points to AA immediately, hoping that my missing 40,000 points would post so I would do the transfer as a single transaction (I figured there is less chance of things going wrong this way).
Finally, on Jan. 4 I gave up on waiting for the missing points, and canceled one of my magazines to even things out. I then requested a transfer of all GoldPoints to my AA account.
By January 20, the points were still in my account, and I called GoldPoints to find out why they haven't been transferred to AA. The CSR told me that the points are being held for "auditing" and will be available for transfer "some time in February."
To add insult to injury, I checked my GoldPoints account today to find that some GoldPoints have been subtracted from my account. Apparently, the rules were changed and the points are now awarded for the net (after discount) purchase amount.
The questions on my mind now are:
How much longer will GoldPoints hold our points hostage? Don't they state on their website that the points will be available at most 30 days after the transaction?
Can GoldPoints change the rules on us and award points for the net amount paid instead of the gross as stated previously? I personally think it's really bad customer service to award points and then take them away without a good reason.
Overall, I think this is the most poorly thought out and executed promotion since the LatinPass fiasco! A strongly worded letter to GoldPoints from each of us is in order.
[This message has been edited by Darien-l (edited 01-25-2002).]
So, I jumped in and ordered about $450 worth of magazines in several batches around the 20th of December. My points posted very quickly (within 48 hours), except for about 40,000 points that were missing for one of the orders. I contacted GoldPoints about this, and they instructed me to wait 30 days and then fax them the receipt. I made the mistake of waiting about 2 weeks instead of transferring the points to AA immediately, hoping that my missing 40,000 points would post so I would do the transfer as a single transaction (I figured there is less chance of things going wrong this way).
Finally, on Jan. 4 I gave up on waiting for the missing points, and canceled one of my magazines to even things out. I then requested a transfer of all GoldPoints to my AA account.
By January 20, the points were still in my account, and I called GoldPoints to find out why they haven't been transferred to AA. The CSR told me that the points are being held for "auditing" and will be available for transfer "some time in February."
To add insult to injury, I checked my GoldPoints account today to find that some GoldPoints have been subtracted from my account. Apparently, the rules were changed and the points are now awarded for the net (after discount) purchase amount.
The questions on my mind now are:
How much longer will GoldPoints hold our points hostage? Don't they state on their website that the points will be available at most 30 days after the transaction?
Can GoldPoints change the rules on us and award points for the net amount paid instead of the gross as stated previously? I personally think it's really bad customer service to award points and then take them away without a good reason.
Overall, I think this is the most poorly thought out and executed promotion since the LatinPass fiasco! A strongly worded letter to GoldPoints from each of us is in order.
[This message has been edited by Darien-l (edited 01-25-2002).]
Jan 22, 2002, 12:21 pm
#68
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 363
Darien-l: glad to hear you also heard that they were posting on gross.
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO MAKE THE RULES. WE FOLLOWED THEM TO THE T. WE EVEN FAXED IN MODIFIED RETURN POLICY AGREEMENTS. and this is what we get??!?!?!??!
i'm waiting for someone to make a call to the AG's office.
if there's one thing i've learned about FT in the short time i've been here, is that there are a lot of very intelligent, educated individuals. also, these are individuals with a substantial amount of clout. we need to band together. (sorry - i sound like i'm trying to form a union)
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO MAKE THE RULES. WE FOLLOWED THEM TO THE T. WE EVEN FAXED IN MODIFIED RETURN POLICY AGREEMENTS. and this is what we get??!?!?!??!
i'm waiting for someone to make a call to the AG's office.
if there's one thing i've learned about FT in the short time i've been here, is that there are a lot of very intelligent, educated individuals. also, these are individuals with a substantial amount of clout. we need to band together. (sorry - i sound like i'm trying to form a union)
Jan 22, 2002, 1:42 pm
#69
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 40
Darien-I: You're not the one with the auditing problem. I've had quite a few but they told me Feb 2 is the date it'll be released which is not too far away. If they don't release them on that day, I'm going to blow up... Let me know about your situation and if you get them sooner.
Jan 22, 2002, 2:32 pm
#70
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Mineral Point, PA
Programs: No status
Posts: 104
I made four purchases from ValueMags back in December, giving a total of just over 80,000 GoldPoints. Unlike many of you, my points posted within a couple of days, and I was happy.
I asked GP to transfer these points to UA Mileage Plus, but three weeks later, they hadn't. So I called again last week, and this Sunday the points were pulled from my account, with the transaction history indicating a transfer to UA just as I had asked.
But my UA account summary doesn't show the miles yet (two days later). Is this normal, or should I be concerned?
(Also, in case some of you forgot, we're supposed to get magazines out of this deal. I haven't seen any evidence for magazines yet, from orders in mid-December. Has anyone else?)
I asked GP to transfer these points to UA Mileage Plus, but three weeks later, they hadn't. So I called again last week, and this Sunday the points were pulled from my account, with the transaction history indicating a transfer to UA just as I had asked.
But my UA account summary doesn't show the miles yet (two days later). Is this normal, or should I be concerned?
(Also, in case some of you forgot, we're supposed to get magazines out of this deal. I haven't seen any evidence for magazines yet, from orders in mid-December. Has anyone else?)
Jan 22, 2002, 2:34 pm
#71
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,622
Careful with those bomb threats. :-)
Seriously, I think that people are being overly impatient. My corollary to Occam's Razor is: Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by simple incompetence.
Seriously, I think that people are being overly impatient. My corollary to Occam's Razor is: Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by simple incompetence.
Jan 22, 2002, 2:37 pm
#72
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA LT PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,564
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mph:
I made four purchases from ValueMags back in December, giving a total of just over 80,000 GoldPoints. Unlike many of you, my points posted within a couple of days, and I was happy.
I asked GP to transfer these points to UA Mileage Plus, but three weeks later, they hadn't. So I called again last week, and this Sunday the points were pulled from my account, with the transaction history indicating a transfer to UA just as I had asked.
But my UA account summary doesn't show the miles yet (two days later). Is this normal, or should I be concerned?
(Also, in case some of you forgot, we're supposed to get magazines out of this deal. I haven't seen any evidence for magazines yet, from orders in mid-December. Has anyone else?)</font>
I made four purchases from ValueMags back in December, giving a total of just over 80,000 GoldPoints. Unlike many of you, my points posted within a couple of days, and I was happy.
I asked GP to transfer these points to UA Mileage Plus, but three weeks later, they hadn't. So I called again last week, and this Sunday the points were pulled from my account, with the transaction history indicating a transfer to UA just as I had asked.
But my UA account summary doesn't show the miles yet (two days later). Is this normal, or should I be concerned?
(Also, in case some of you forgot, we're supposed to get magazines out of this deal. I haven't seen any evidence for magazines yet, from orders in mid-December. Has anyone else?)</font>
regarding the miles, it usually takes a few days between the time gp transfers the miles to the airline and the time they are actually posted to your ff account, so you're probably ok.
regarding the magazines, valuemags website says that the subscriptions would begin in 4 to 6 weeks and it's probably just been about 4 weeks for most of us so it's too early to start screaming about that yet too.
Jan 22, 2002, 2:39 pm
#73
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Jersey Isle
Programs: BA Gold, BMI Gold, LH Senator, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,175
Help, need to contact GoldPoints but link no longer includes Valumags as Radisson partner! Only partners like Fridays, Thrifty Car Rental, etc. showed up. Tried to also find out what city Valumags or GoldPoints are operating in to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
http://www.goldpoints.com/servlet/Co...tactInfoAction
Also, in regards to credit card refund, Visa clearly states that if you did not receive what you ordered in a timely manner, you may request a full refund no questions asked at any time. Has anyone received magazines? I have neither miles nor magazines and even lost points from my Radisson stays!
I truly feel like a sucker too because my credit card had been charged and I paid it off last month.
I definitely want the miles advertised otherwise I am giving up. This is just too much trouble.
BTW, I am no longer in the negative balance group according to Gold Points website!!! Yeah!! (sarcasm)
"Welcome Jason,
Current balance: 0"
Valumag, the Enron of magazine subscriptions?
------------------
"Fly me to the moon and let me earn alot of miles."
http://www.goldpoints.com/servlet/Co...tactInfoAction
Also, in regards to credit card refund, Visa clearly states that if you did not receive what you ordered in a timely manner, you may request a full refund no questions asked at any time. Has anyone received magazines? I have neither miles nor magazines and even lost points from my Radisson stays!
I truly feel like a sucker too because my credit card had been charged and I paid it off last month. I definitely want the miles advertised otherwise I am giving up. This is just too much trouble.
BTW, I am no longer in the negative balance group according to Gold Points website!!! Yeah!! (sarcasm)
"Welcome Jason,
Current balance: 0"
Valumag, the Enron of magazine subscriptions?
------------------
"Fly me to the moon and let me earn alot of miles."
Jan 22, 2002, 2:44 pm
#74
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 3,062
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by nsx:
Seriously, I think that people are being overly impatient. My corollary to Occam's Razor is: Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by simple incompetence.</font>
Seriously, I think that people are being overly impatient. My corollary to Occam's Razor is: Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by simple incompetence.</font>