iTunes Gift Cards Fraud

vuvuzela

BatOutOfhell wrote: »

Regardless of the details of my particular situation, there are plenty of other people posting on the Apple Community Forums and elsewhere that they had the receipt for their giftcard and they still couldn't get their money back.

So can I just say this one more time.....
This forum is Praise Vent & Warnings and no matter whose fault any of you think it is, or what you think I should have done with the card, I am WARNING people to be aware that there is a problem with iTunes giftcards and that if you buy one and have the same problem as me, neither Apple nor the Retailer will give you your money back.

Please stop being so horrible to me for posting a valid warning to other members.

Really, nobody is being horrible to you. You are simply being asked legitimate questions, no-one's given you abuse.

Azari

vuvuzela wrote: »

Really, nobody is being horrible to you. You are simply being asked legitimate questions, no-one's given you abuse.

People are being pretty nasty. As so often on this forum people are siding with the supplier and harping on about irrelevances such as the time before use was made of a card on which there is no time restriction.

The OP has been defrauded and the responsible supplier (HMV) is not fulfilling their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act.

There is a known defect with these cards that is allowing a lot of customers to be defrauded. It is, however, standard apple practice to blame the users for any problems with their products until enough of a stink is created and they have to back down. (e.g. Broken screens, open emergency calling on locked phones, aerial problems on iphone.)

However, the OP needs to take a pro-active approach and inform HMV that he will take them to court if they continue to fail to fulfill their obligations under the SOGA.

real1314

Azari wrote: »

People are being pretty nasty. As so often on this forum people are siding with the supplier and harping on about irrelevances such as the time before use was made of a card on which there is no time restriction.

The OP has been defrauded and the responsible supplier (HMV) is not fulfilling their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act.

There is a known defect with these cards that is allowing a lot of customers to be defrauded. It is, however, standard apple practice to blame the users for any problems with their products until enough of a stink is created and they have to back down. (e.g. Broken screens, open emergency calling on locked phones, aerial problems on iphone.)

However, the OP needs to take a pro-active approach and inform HMV that he will take them to court if they continue to fail to fulfill their obligations under the SOGA.

Well, i'd guess my post is the "harshest" but I'd defy you to actually find anything in it other than an analysis of the OP's comments.

The time-line is unconvincing, being inherently impossible (to desire a product that does not exist), rather than improbable; hence I can see why a retailer would refuse.

However I have clearly advised the OP of this, yet rather than explain why they said their son wanted an iPad3 (I suspect an invented reason for non-use rather than the simple truth - something like they forgot about the card) they have instead gone all "stop picking on me".

Do you really think they wanted an iPad3 over 12 months ago? :cool:

CoolHotCold

This is a praise, Vents and Warnings sub-forum, if you wanted advice on what to do you should of posted to the consumer forum. That said, the advice (regardless of what tone it was delivered here) is mostly correct.

BatOutOfhell

CoolHotCold wrote: »

This is a praise, Vents and Warnings sub-forum, if you wanted advice on what to do you should of posted to the consumer forum. That said, the advice (regardless of what tone it was delivered here) is mostly correct.

At no time did I ask for consumer advice so I am posting on the correct forum. Having said that, I will not be posting on it again.

Zedicus

BatOutOfhell wrote: »

At no time did I ask for consumer advice so I am posting on the correct forum. Having said that, I will not be posting on it again.

It was a useful warning, even if no one can be held to blame.

PrinceGaz

If you purchase an iTunes gift-card in a store you should receive two receipts, one for the purchase of the item (along with anything else you happen to have bought), and a second receipt which is an iTunes gift-card authorisation/activation/whatever which is specific to that giftcard.

Without that second receipt, which must be provided to prove you purchased and had that exact card authorised there and then, the other receipt is worthless.

There are a few problems with this if you don't take care.

Any iTunes gift-card which has been authorised can be used without having the code revealed by contacting Apple support by email and providing some other codes on the card, and they will email you back with code from the card to enter into iTunes. I did that after I'd over-excitedly used a coin to scratch at the covering over the code which resulted in the code being removed as well.

I wasn't trying to defraud anyone as once I used the code, the card went in the bin, but obviously this means a pristine looking gift-card with the code unrevealed may well have already been used if it sold to you by an unscrupulous seller, who might already have used the same method to obtain the redemption-code under the scratch-layer. Buy said card for a "bargain price" from someone in the pub, or a dodgy store and it is worthless.

There is also a potential issue with unscrupulous sales-staff because it's pretty obvious the same technique could apply to well-known high-street stores selling genuine cards which are authorised at the checkout, but the sales-assistant does a quick switch for an already used card they give you, whilst keeping your original just authorised unused one for his/herself.

I know the overwhelming majority of sales-staff wouldn't do this as they'd be fired if caught and not be able to work in a similar position again, though at £25 or so per shot, if they're on the minimum wage, that could be half a day's pay each time they do it. That's a very real vulnerability to the system which is designed to ensure a thief can never just pocket a gift-card in-store and walk out with it, but potentially allows dodgy staff to sell what are in effect stolen cards without the customer realising it.