Faulty Apple Gift card purchased in store at Tesco.

sharkmeister

Hello hoping for some help on an issue relating to the purchase of an Apple Gift card from a local Tesco store.

My son bought his mum a £25 Apple Gift Card for Mothers day. His mum did not try to activate the card until last Sunday as she already had a gift card balance. However when she tried to activate the card it said it was invalid.

We raised a ticket with Apple support and it turns out that there are two serial numbers; one on the outer sleeve and one on the inner sleeve underneath the activation code that gets input into itunes. Apple support said that both serial numbers need to match and this is the problem that we have. We have no way of proving they were different because we would have had to film opening the gift card. Apple have already pointed out that we could be using this as an excuse to get a free gift card which frankly for the hassle it would take to do that no one in their right mind would want to try. For me it is now out of principal that I'm trying to get this resolved so that apple do not pocket the £25 for absolutely nothing.

I've done some googling and it seems that there is very little regulation on gift cards and companies seemingly make millions from invalid cards. I've also found that gift cards are potentially covered under DSR as they are classed as a provision of service in that they are digital currency. Is anyone able to confirm if this is the case?

Further to this on the apple terms and conditions from the link stated on the back of the apple gift card https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/giftcards/uk/terms.html it states under clause 8:

"8. Faulty Gift Cards/Content Code 

If a Gift Card or content code is non-functional, you are entitled to a replacement gift card or content code, credited with the unused balance that was held on the non-functional card or code."

Would this clause obligate them to issue a replacement card / code? Where does the burden of proof lie as we are not able to prove the card was faulty other than that we can't activate it and likewise can Apple point blank refuse to replace?

The support team also said they needed proof of purchase which we have done by going back to Tesco and getting a copy of the receipt which we have sent them. Tesco were unable to provide a copy of the Activation receipt that you also get at the time of purchase. As we no longer have the activation receipt this is what apple are using to say they cannot give a refund. Am I right in thinking that when Tesco gave the activation receipt would this have sent a notifcation to apple to say this particular gift card was activated? Do Apple have to give proof of when the card was activiated by the third party? Otherwise how can it know the code is invalid when you try to input it into itunes?

Apologies for the long post but trying to get a result for the consumer vs a big corporation.

Alderbank

sharkmeister said:

...it turns out that there are two serial numbers; one on the outer sleeve and one on the inner sleeve underneath the activation code that gets input into itunes. Apple support said that both serial numbers need to match and this is the problem that we have. We have no way of proving they were different because we would have had to film opening the gift card. 

Why? What would filming do?

What is the serial number printed on the outer sleeve?
What is the serial number printed on the inner sleeve?

sharkmeister

The only reason why I said about filming is that is the only way you can definitiely prove that the serial numbers were different. 

The serial number on the outer sleeve is PBH(Removed by Forum Team). This is the one that Tesco scan to activate the purchase and give you the receipt for confirmation.
The serial number on the inner sleeve under the itunes activation code is PBH(Removed by Forum Team).

These were the numbers we gave to apple support and they confirmed they needed to match.

Grumpy_chap

What happens if you simply enter the same number at both the input data fields?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Grumpy_chap said:

What happens if you simply enter the same number at both the input data fields?

Is this going to turn into a surprise £25 profit 😉

sharkmeister

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Grumpy_chap said:

What happens if you simply enter the same number at both the input data fields?

Is this going to turn into a surprise £25 profit 😉

Unfortunately not as they are different to the actual code you enter into itunes. The itunes code is only 16 characters long and on this card starts XGQW. When you enter this code into itunes it comes up saying the code is invalid. The serial number is on the barcode on the outer sleeve that is scanned by the retailer to say to apple we have sold this gift card and it can now be redeemed by the consumer.

Back in the day when the cards were plastic you just scratched off the silver covering to reveal the code you put into itunes. Now they are cardboard sealed so you can't check anything until you break the seal on the out packaging. 

Williebhoy1967

I have the exact same problem on Monday 15th July, I purchased both a £ 100 & a £ 50 gift card from Tesco's. I returned to the same store on Tuesday 16th July to report the problem that the cards would not redeem. I have since returned to the store a further 4 x times, after speaking to Apple Management in Portugal seveal times. I was asked to obtain a copy of the receipt, Apple say they must keep ALL receipts for six years. However Tesco told me gift card receipts are only held for 28 days!!!   I had requested this within the 28 day period, but the assistant said she could nto find it.   By chance I bumped into an Apple area rep, who informed me that Tesco has contacted all their stores and let them decide if the gift cards should still be sold due to ongoing problems such as this. I purchased these cards at Redding, Falkirk...but Tesco Camelon have removed them from sale.  Having spoken to Apple several times, I feel I m merely being fed from a script (Well used) to make it seem like they are helping, but reality is different. Tesco refuse to accept responsibility as hey are claiming to be 3rd party sellers !!

I have requested a refund or at very worst new cards that can actually redeem my money.

Now apple have stopped responding to me emails !!

Any help on next step would be greatly appreciated

Surely Apple or Tesco MUST accept full responsibility, also ALL receipts MUST be kept for audit purposes. I cannot see any way they would remove just the gift cards after 28 days...I expect ALL sales to be recorded on cpmputers, so think the Tesco Managers are lying to me

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Williebhoy1967 said:

Surely Apple or Tesco MUST accept full responsibility

Tesco are the retailer who sold you the gift card so are responsible.

Them being third party sellers would only mean something if they were an agent but I assume you get a normal Tesco receipt when buying gift cards? 

PHK

Lessons from this thread:

Complain to the correct company/organisation. If you buy from X then complain to X. 

In financial matters or services keep your invoices/receipts/activation slips until you have accessed the benefit. 

Don’t hang on to things for months before using/checking them. 

Don’t get into conspiracy theory mode, concentrate on your own problem. 

Know how to complain and the organisations escalation process. 

Williebhoy1967

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Williebhoy1967 said:

Surely Apple or Tesco MUST accept full responsibility

Tesco are the retailer who sold you the gift card so are responsible.

Them being third party sellers would only mean something if they were an agent but I assume you get a normal Tesco receipt when buying gift cards? 

I have reported the matter to Tesco (been back 6 x times) and spoken to 2 different Managers...but they claim they are ONLY 3rd party sellers and that ALL responsibility lies with Apple, who refuse to do anything without the actual sales receipt which Tesco claim they can no longer provide as it is outwith 28 days (Although I did request it initially within the 28 days but was told they couldn't find it !  I feel that both Apple & Tesco are fully aware of the problems, hence Tesco issued an internal Memor to store managers to remove Apple Gift cards at their own discretion. I am certain both Apple & Tesco are now working from a pre-prepared script to delay and hope to put customers off from claiming a full refund by blaming one another, delayin tactics and then saying it is too late !!!