Overcharged for GiftCertificates.com Order
 

Used promo code for $$ off and order confirmation reflected the discount. Today on getting my credit card statement, the amount charged to my credit card was the full amount without discount. Is anyone else seeing this happen to them?

All of our orders checked out correctly, even got confirmed correctly, but then about an hour after that we would receive a "new" confirmation email with the full amount, no discount listed.

Still waiting for our credit card statements. We will probably just dispute the charges as we have all the correct receipts/confirmations/etc. They could decided to not award miles, that's their prerogative, but that cannot retroactively decide to charge more after you "checkout" and they should have to face the consequences from the credit card companies.

A good reason to save a screen shot of every checkout on sites that could be shady.....

I do this for every web site except amazon.com which I have grown to fully trust.

Yes, same here. Screenshots and the initial email order confirmation all show the discounted price, but a second confirmation shows the full price, and that's what got charged to my CCs. I'll try to rectify this with Giftcertificates.com via email (calling is not fun), and then I'll dispute with my CC.

Are you actually getting responses via email? Our last 2 emails have gone unanswered (7 and 15 days) and calling them is worse than flipping a coin on a decent shot to talk to someone competent (after the obligatory long hold time).

I feel we have given them too many chances already and their next communication should be with someone more powerful than they-like Amex or Citibank, etc.

Amazon does have a pretty decent track record...but I still wouldn't "fully trust" any retailer. Most of the good ones will make good, but that screen shot still helps the best ones to "remember" to do the right thing when there are screw-ups.

Maybe this is naive, but I sent them an email and am giving the benefit of the doubt for another week. After all, it's likely they have a lot of staff on vacation, especially ones with the power to fix billing errors. My story is they offered me the one-day 15% off sale by email. I made the purchase, received a confirmation email showing the correct amount, yet I was charged the full amount. You can dispute charges up to 60 days after receiving your CC statement.

Sometimes people just have bad customer service and are not necessarily crooks.

I no longer trust them either. They backed out on a black Friday deal on Wiis that was supposed to include some extras, but claimed the page never listed the items. Noone seems to have a printout from during checkout, so many of us are waiting for the BBB to resolve it.

As for gc.com, I saved all my receipts. I called in early on for 2 of my orders and after over an hour a nice but very slow to understand gentleman said he'd put in a refund request. The rest of my orders I used virtual credit cards with limits, but 2 of them I think they caught on because they have not sent the supercerts yet. I may call today and sit on hold for the expected 2+ hours.

Giftcertificates.com says they will fix my billing error in 3-5 business days. Hold time was 45 minutes.

Forget about it... calling is the worst you can do because you ave no reciept for it.

Send an email, if no answer comes call AMEX and they sort it out !

It looks like I am having the same problem with the discount not being applied. Also, how long does it take for the miles to post after the purchase is confirmed? Spec, AA?

I've bought 4 large supercertificates and have had problems with every one of them.
I do call, however (in spite of the long waits - 1hour 10minutes and 45minutes) and have spoken to reps who either have put on their supervisor or just taken all the information verbally (I'm pretty sure they know what's on the receipt that gets printed after the online sale) and say they will "escalate" it and get the problem resolved....but they need to send it to another department. This morning I asked if I could fax a copy of the computer confirmation I printed out but they said the other department was not where they were so they would contact me if they needed that.
The first time I saw this discrepancy (thinking I was getting a 10% discount when I ordered and paid) I canceled the supercertificate since they said I couldn't get the discount. After that (and after reading FT) I got smart and decided that if I had a receipt, then they better honor it. Actually on my last redemption - a blurb came up for me to enjoy 10% off - so I ordered another 10% of gift cards. During today's telephone call the agent told me the 10% was not good on redemptions. I said I wasn't the one who put it on my computer screen - it was offered to me during my shopping spree. We'll see what happens. I sincerely believe it to be fraud on their part if they refuse to honor it.
But - the caveat - I print out all "receipts" and make note of all my conversations.
In the beginning - I also wrote an email to which I received no response. Since then - I find things to do while I wait on the phone. Now I just hope all the miles and bonus miles post as I always entered the site through the AA shopping portal and still the bonus banner (most recently 10poff200) was on the site. When talking to them they tried to say it was a one day only bonus....but if it's on the site and shows up on checkout - how can it not be legitimate?
Anyway - sorry to be so longwinded and disjointed. Up until this last call today, however, everything has been taken care of to my satisfaction. I am anticipating the same for my last purchase. Just don't give up!

Well the SUPER1507 code is dead now. IMHO due to people calling in while it was still alive. As one person noted someone at CG.com indicated the code was valid until 1/1.

Another deal prematurely dead - IMHO.

I already emailed 2 days ago. No, calling is not the worst thing. It may get my request processed faster.

Filing a dispute so soon during a double-holiday week is a little nuts. For future reference, if you have a serious dispute and want to win it, you should be sending a paper letter certified return receipt, not email as you suggest. For comparison, I have a billing error with another company this week, and they are not fixing it until after Jan. 1st.

I did get a polite rep by the way.

Not true.

GC solicited me with this offer, and here are the terms & conditions they provided. If it lasted more than 1 day, you're just lucky. No one killed it for you.

Save 15% Today Only!
Offer valid only on December 23, 2007. Limited to one use per customer on an order over $100. Valid only on GiftCertificates.com™ e-SuperCertificate® Gifts. Offer not valid on previous purchases or corporate pricing. Offer is not combinable with any other promotion or offer.

As I posted here min posted as the non-discount amount too. I called to cancel my order - 90 minutes on hold!!! They were happy to cancel but were surprised when I asked for a notification and confirmation number - had to be me on hold :confused: I really don't trust that. I got a number but it feels it is made up.

Will be interesting to know whether th refund posts and in what amount - full or discounted? My feeling is I will be disputing the charge once my statement is generated.

These guys are just unprofessional. their site stinks. their customer service is non-existent - staff on vacation during probably their busiest time of the year :confused: I don't buy it.

I refuse to use GC.com again.

I get your point.

Could you post the entire contents of the promotion email?

Thanks.

FWIW: I did get my 10% Holiday2 discount refunded to my credit card approximately 48-72 hours after calling them (around mid-December).

I agree that this is frustrating, but I'd say that it's worth the hassle. 15% off the initial order, then another 10% off when turning the Supercertificate into giftcards, plus 5% cashback through the Citi Cash Rewards card, plus 4 TYPs per dollar spent ... yeah, I don't know, call me nuts, but I find this offer hard to refuse.

GC.com a bit deceitful
 

When I bought, using the 15% off code on 12/23, Amazon and Target were readily available.

But now, it seems that those certificates are only available with the use of a "select" supercertificate.

I will try to contact them, but will wait until after the holidays.

We've had problems with every order (different family members), with every code. Arggh!!

I know we'll have to dispute the charges for the orders we've already placed, we're already resigned to that, but then today we get this email for an order placed on Dec 18th:

__________________________________________________ __________

Date: Fri Dec 28 03:26:14 2007
From: <[email protected]>
[ Add to Address Book | Block Address | Report as Spam ]
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Your GiftCertificates.com order (349072XXXXX)

Order confirmation number: 349072XXXXX

The order you placed at GiftCertificates.com could not be processed at this time.

For more information, please email mailto:[email protected].

====================================

GiftCertificates.com
http://www.GiftCertificates.com

Customer Service: 1-800-773-7368

__________________________________________________ __________

Excuse me, but wth???? They don't like people using promotion codes they themselves email out? Or is it just a "glitch"? Yeah, right. And it takes 10 days for them to figure it out?

We purchased a computer on J&R on Dec. 22nd and it arrived here via UPS ground yesterday (in the midwest) and GC.com can't even send out an email before now??? They already haven't responded to 2 emails we've sent about other orders and don't have time to wait on the phone for an hour to get a CSR. Same CC used for other orders. (Called them, no charge attempts were rejected).

Loved the double/triple dip opportunities from the past, but we've had it. What a horrible, ridiculous way to run a business. :td:

I received the same two emails. The first confirmation reflected to the 10% off and cited Coupon Code: CJ_AFFILIATE and 10POFF100. The second confirmation email showed the full amount w/out the 10% off. The Coupon Code section only reflected the CJ_AFFILIATE.

I had planned on waiting a few days and then checking my Citicard activity to see which amount was charged. However, since this seems to being a recurring problem I'm calling first (on hold now) and following up w/an email. If it's not rectified promptly, Citicard can takeover the dispute.

It is likely the 10% will be honored, but the miles wil never post...that's a potential dispute for a later date.

Hmm, I'm still on hold w/giftcertificates.com...14minutes and counting, grrr.

Only 15 minutes? :) I've been on hold for 30 minutes.

Ugh, it sounds like email is the better option. I'm going to hang up, call back, and select the "purchase certificates" option rather than the "existing orders" option. In the past, I've been successful w/this (other merchants) as merchants often answer new purchase calls quicker. I'll post if this expedites things. :(

I did not have any luck w/my call as I was on hold 15 minutes before I hung up. I'm tempted to cancel the order completely. I'll send an email and give them a few days to reply before disputing it w/Citibank.

I was not overcharged. I was charged the correct amount for the supercertificate. I redeemed with the 10% off code and my order is still showing as "ordered." It has been almost a week since I ordered. They normally ship immediately.

Sill on hold... 1 hour & 3 minutes according to my phone.

Well, after being on hold nearly 2 hours, I got a person who said the reason my order has not shipped is because they are waiting for inventory.

I pressed further regarding why I wasn't notified of this, since it's supposed to be same day shipping, and was told this information isn't usually given when placing the order, nor are updates given via email. She also said she has no idea when they might come in.

Since I was charge the correct amount for the supercertificate, and no mention was made of a problem with the additional 10% off on the order, I will just wait a bit longer.

I can say that I doubt I will ever use them again.

[QUOTE=Mary2e;8979095]Well, after being on hold nearly 2 hours, I got a person who said the reason my order has not shipped is because they are waiting for inventory.

She also said she has no idea when they might come in.

QUOTE]

2 Hours :mad:, you have far more patience that I do. That's not a reasonable period of time to wait EVER whether near a holiday or not...poor customer service! I thought the promo offer(s) seemed to good to be true. :(

My order still reflects "ordered", but it's only the 3rd day. Are any of these the same as the ones you ordered: AA, Spafinder, Macys, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Bath & Body, & Starbucks? If so, I imagine I'll have two issues to address...the overcharge & delayed shipping.

Actually, I have speaker phones all over, so I just turned them all on & went about my business :) I agree, 2 hours is unacceptable. 1 hour is. They should tell people how long the wait will be.

My order was for Hyatt gift cards.

Just got this too. 15 minutes into my hold. This was an order redeeming my SC for some GCs. I called their "security" department over a week ago because they had questions on the order. I used AAshop and 10% redeeming the SC, and I suspect they tried to charge the extra 10% on my credit card. I got the same type of error when they tried to charge more than the correct amount on a limited virtual CC number. Now I wish I hadn't set limits, because disputing the over charge would have been much easier than getting them to cough up the certs now.

When I bought this SC, it was valid on Amazon, so I am going to hold them to letting me redeem for it. If not, BBB and AG will be getting letters. It is not acceptable to sell a GC, then change the terms of the GC afterwards.

This is exactly what happened to me. No email responses, phone call was on hold for 25 minutes, and hung up.

I plan to dispute charge w/ credit card, and not deal w/ gc.com again.

I'm now in the wait for AA gift cards (as probably many here are).

As I'm also relatively new to this game, how long does giftcertificates normally take to actually go from "ordered" to "shipped?" Everything seems to have gone well so far (at least with respect to credit card billing and such)...

Though I probably left money on the table by not using the 10% off code after the 15% off code on the (credit card)->(supercertificate)->(aa gift card) series...

Spoke too soon
 

GiftCertificates.com has charged the full value of the SuperCert to my credit card; no discount was applied. Time to wait in line on their Customer Service queue. :mad::mad:

What really annoys me isn't that they charged full value, it's that they made no notification of it.

I'm also waiting on AA GCs (among others) and was wondering the same thing as my order history still reflects "ordered" after 5 days. In addition, my overcharge has yet to be resolved. :(

UPDATE: I just spoke w/an agent of GC. I was advised AA cards are out of stock w/inventory expected to be in stock w/in 1-10 days. Shipping charges were waived.

As far as overcharges, I was advised my Coupon Code section reflects the 10% off and they'll honor the 10% off, but my total in their system does not reflect a discount and I "may or may not be charged the full amount" (huh??). I was advised to "call for an adjustment" if my statement does not reflect the discount. Hmm, my 'order history' on their website reflects the discount in the total thus I'm not sure how that info is not accessible.

Based on others comments, it looks like I'll be seeking an adjustment in a few weeks. If the discounted amount wasn't $$$, I would just eat it and not do biz w/them again. Grrr. :td:

Please add one business day to the durations below placed after 2PM EST. Orders placed before 2PM EST will follow the delivery time stated below:

* Email gift certificates will be sent the same business day.
* US Mail orders ship the same business day and are delivered within 6-13 days.
* FedEx® 2nd Day ship the same business day and are delivered within two business days.
* FedEx® Priority Overnight ships the same business day and are delivered on the next business day.
* FedEx® Saturday Delivery ships the same day and is delivered the next day.
* Orders made on legal holidays will be processed and shipped the following business day and delivered according to the shipping option you choose.

I'm more concerned with the post by jurisdr:
Additionally, I am based in Canada, not the US, making the mail that much slower.

I had 3 orders:

(1) 11/16 bought $750 in cards at full price. 1500 miles posted around 12/20.

(2) 12/9 bought $500 supercert at 10% off. Billed fine. Miles show as pending, but won't be surprised if I don't get them. Last week I tried redeeming with another 10% off coupon. Still waiting to see if I get my gift cards.

(3) I ordered $1000 supercert at 15% off. Was billed full price, and requested a refund 12/27 by phone (45 min. hold time at 3:00pm EST). Refund appeared on my statement 1/2.

no reply to email sent a full week ago about this. have been on hold on phone for 55 minutes and still running trying to get resolved. this is ridiculous.

Here's my current status:

Ordered a $1000 Supercert on 12/27 with the 10poff150 promo code.
Redeemed on 12/28 for 4 AA $250 cards
Had the same issue with double confirmation emails, one showing the discount, the second revising it on both the initial Supercertificate Order and the AA gift certificate redemption.

Called giftcertificates.com today. Hold time about 20 minutes. Per the CSR, the AA cards in my order are batched and either have gone out or will go out today. She also agreed with no argument to make a credit adjustment for the 10% off on the initial order, however, denied the discount per her supervisor on the redemption for the AA cards. I didn't want to fight that one on the phone, so I am printing out the order confirmations along with a screen shot of the promo code and writing them a letter.

Common sense would tell me that they should honor their initial order, but does anyone know what their obligations really are? I've never heard of any company that used a promo code that didn't have a provision for invalidating it *at the order* not afterwards.

I'm not sure I can dispute the redemption issue with my credit card company as the actual purchase on the card was already dealt with and they've agreed to the correct charge.

Except for your use of 10poff150, my situation is identical. I'm fully prepared to do a transaction dispute with my bank, especially while armed with screenshots and printouts of receipts.

Yes, they technically can refuse any transaction (as per their T&Cs). However, they cannot change the terms of offer and presume that you will accept. That's a simple breach of contract law, and they will definitely lose if challenged.