Compromised Gift Cards

ColourSwirls

Hi all, first thread so please bear with me! In December I received 4 Xbox gift cards, x2 for a birthday and x2 for Christmas presents. I was given the receipt for the gift cards as they were all purchased in the same transaction 5/12/25 at a Sainsburys store. On 15 December 2 of the cards (£25) were scratched off and there were 3 digits missing from the codes on both cards (digits 3-5 were ineligible) I went to my local Sainsburys and the manager said it wasn’t his store so couldn’t exchange them, but gave me the phone number for Incomm(?) the third party who handle cards. Contacted them and they sent me the entire codes. Neither of the codes worked as it seemed they had already been redeemed. Went to the Sainsburys in question and the manager refused to exchange them and I was instructed to speak to Microsoft, no number or email was given to do this, so had to research myself. Finally contacted Microsoft who said that the codes were redeemed on the 10/12/25 so they were not going to honour the codes. Spoke to Sainsburys customer complaint line and they refused any liability saying it was a Microsoft issue. On Christmas Eve we scratched off the other 2 cards, x1 £10 x1 £25. We filmed scratching the code off the £25 card and again, the same 3 digits were missing. The £10 card worked and was redeemed. Went back to the Sainsburys and again was told it wasn't their responsibility and was asked to leave as I told people in the queue holding gift cards what had happened to me. Went home and contacted Sainsburys customer line and they then refused to take the complaint despite having the receipt and video evidence. Contacted Microsoft and now they have said we have taken the complaint as far as possible and they are not escalating it further and have stopped responding completely.
Really don’t know where to turn, £75 of compromised gift cards, that nobody wants to deal with and Sainsburys weren’t even bothered or curious that the cards were all from the same pack ion the shelf or that serious fraud had been committed. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

flaneurs_lobster

So someone has stolen £75-worth of Xbox credits.

Just not clear to me how, or even if it is in any way relevant.

You (or rather the purchaser) have bought £75 worth of goods (or is it a service?) from Sainsburys. The purchase is not as described, the purchaser is entitled to a replacement or refund.

Problem is in the detail, how do you demonstrate that you did not receive the credits that were paid for.

Others may suggest a different route but I think you just have to raise a formal complaint with Sainsburys. If they reject this then I think your recourse is the Small Claims Court.

People really need to stop giving gift cards.

la531983

Or, if you must do gift cards, get them online, the code is emailed straight to you.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81878306#Comment_81878306

….preferably direct from the retailer concerned

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/xbox-gift-card-digital-code/cfq7ttc0k64d/0003?icid=CNav_Xbox_Gift_Card&activetab=pivot:overviewtab

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6654680/compromised-gift-cards

Many threads about this type of thing.

flaneurs_lobster

FWIW the scam works thus.

The gift cards are not valid until the number is entered into the card issuer system (with a code) by the retailers till system at the point of sale.

The thief gets access to the gift cards somewhere in the delivery chain, accesses & copies the number/PIN, reinstates the packaging/security and returns them.

The thief enters the card details into a scanning system that periodically tries to redeem the cards, these requests are declined until such time that a shopper pays for them at a till and has the card activated.

Quite how you "fence" stolen Xbox credit I haven't looked up, but It's easier to see how you would spend retail credit stolen in this way.

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6654680/compromised-gift-cards

Whoever bought the cards has consumer rights. Neither Sainsbury's or Microsoft have to deal with you at all, you're not the customer. Get the person who purchased them to deal with it. As flaneurs_lobster advised, the purchaser needs to raise an official complaint with Sainsbury's - and that's not causing a scene in-store - and if the response isn't satisfactory, consider taking them to court.