Soldato
I've been having an issue with a gifted £50 Mastercard Vanilla giftcard (no chip and pin, no contactless, just old-fashioned swiping) for a while and the background is as follows:
1. I have tried to use one gifted to me in Tesco supermarkets and TK Maxx, and nowhere would accept them, despite trying to get their tills to accept it. I thought I would use it online instead, but to do that it needs registering, but their registration portal has been down forever, apparently for planned maintenance. https://www.myvanillagiftcard.com/
2. As advised on a few websites, I've tried topping up my Amazon account, doing purchases, under £40 but none have worked.
3. The company has 600 reviews and 90% 1*, with loads wanting to give zero. There are a lot of news articles for these cards being hacked, albeit in the US, as recent as January.
4. I tried to use it in a large Sainsburys around 2 weeks ago, and the card was not accepted again. The super helpful cashier at the customer service desk phoned Vanilla to speak to an agent. It took a while but they told him that apparently there was a block on the card which was why I couldn't use it. The agent didn't know why and would go find out with another team. The agent asked to speak to me, and took my phone number and email address. I received a phone call, and subsequent email last week to say that they could refund me £50 to my bank account, but no explanation as to the reason for the block. To refund the £50, they need me to send them a copy of my bank statement and proof of identification by email or post. I asked whether this applied to me as recipient of the gift card, and not the purchaser, and they said yes. I asked about just getting another gift card posted, but they couldn't do this, for reasons unknown to me.
I may be cynical in my middle age, but this all seems too easy, and I am very suspicious of simply getting money back for sending these personal details. What risk do I open myself to, giving them the above?
1. I have tried to use one gifted to me in Tesco supermarkets and TK Maxx, and nowhere would accept them, despite trying to get their tills to accept it. I thought I would use it online instead, but to do that it needs registering, but their registration portal has been down forever, apparently for planned maintenance. https://www.myvanillagiftcard.com/
2. As advised on a few websites, I've tried topping up my Amazon account, doing purchases, under £40 but none have worked.
3. The company has 600 reviews and 90% 1*, with loads wanting to give zero. There are a lot of news articles for these cards being hacked, albeit in the US, as recent as January.
4. I tried to use it in a large Sainsburys around 2 weeks ago, and the card was not accepted again. The super helpful cashier at the customer service desk phoned Vanilla to speak to an agent. It took a while but they told him that apparently there was a block on the card which was why I couldn't use it. The agent didn't know why and would go find out with another team. The agent asked to speak to me, and took my phone number and email address. I received a phone call, and subsequent email last week to say that they could refund me £50 to my bank account, but no explanation as to the reason for the block. To refund the £50, they need me to send them a copy of my bank statement and proof of identification by email or post. I asked whether this applied to me as recipient of the gift card, and not the purchaser, and they said yes. I asked about just getting another gift card posted, but they couldn't do this, for reasons unknown to me.
Bank Transfer – Once requested, this would be sent to the bank account within 30 days. To ensure we are sending the bank transfer to the correct bank account, we would require either a PDF copy of your bank statement emailed to us or a copy of a bank statement posted to us at: Customer Services, PO Box 3883, Swindon SN3 9EA; we would recommend emailing us a PDF of your bank statement, as there may be delays when documents are sent through the post. Please note that the bank statement needs to be dated within the last 3 months. It also must displaying your full name, address, sort code and account number. Along with your bank statement, we also require one form of identification from the list below.
- Documents must show the same personal details you used when you applied for your card i.e. name, address and date of birth
- Documents must show the full document and be clearly readable
- Your passport, driving licence or national ID card must be within the expiry date
- Utility bills, bank statements or benefit letters must confirm your name & address and be dated within the last 3 months
- Letters from your employer must be on headed paper, confirm you work for them and must also confirm your address.
- If you’re under 18 and can’t provide any items from list B, you can send us a photocopy of your passport along with an item from list B in your parent or guardian’s name
I may be cynical in my middle age, but this all seems too easy, and I am very suspicious of simply getting money back for sending these personal details. What risk do I open myself to, giving them the above?
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