**UPDATED** Question about online shipments and being sent more than you ordered?

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NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
OK, so I used $80 in Staples Rewards to purchase a few gift cards last week online. I ordered a $25 Starbucks card and a $50 VISA gift card. Today, I received two $25 Starbucks gift cards in the mail.

Being that I was expecting a VISA card and a Starbucks card, I figured they screwed up somehow, and I called Staples. They didn't know WTF was going on, so they transferred me to GiftCardMall, which processes gift card orders for Staples.

Turns out, somehow a mistake was made and two orders were placed under my name: so that means 2x Starbucks cards, and 2x VISA cards. According to the CSR, the two Starbucks cards were sent out first, and the two VISA cards are on their way.

I was only charged for one order (a total of $2.35 after my rewards were taken into account).

The CSR said that I should just call back in once the two VISA cards arrive, and they would be able to "cancel" one of the orders.

Now technically, if they sent me this stuff, and I didn't ask for two of each, and I wasn't charged for two of each, could I legally keep both Starbucks cards and both VISA cards? That would be the douchey thing to do I guess, but what exactly would be their recourse?


**Update**

I called in to have the extra cards deactivated over the weekend (once the two VISA gift cards arrived). The woman I talked to said she had worked for GiftCardMall for over 3 years and have NEVER seen an issue like this before. She thanked me for being honest.
Click to expand...
 
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Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,419
1,599
126
uh, you can buy starbucks cards and visa cards with rewards?

*runs to staples.com to cash out my rewards*
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Ns1 said:
uh, you can buy starbucks cards and visa cards with rewards?

*runs to staples.com to cash out my rewards*
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can't use Rewards in Staples B&M stores on gift cards, but you can use them online. Go figure!

http://www.staples.com/Shop-All-Gift-Cards/cat_CL166326

They do tack on a $1.99 fee for shipping the gift cards though (not that big a deal to me as my Rewards checks are basically free money anyway).
 
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PottedMeat

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
won't they just deactivate one of each eventually? or charge you for both if you use all of them before they catch it?
 
N

natto fire

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2000
7,117
10
76
Legally, yeah I think you could. The whole gift card industry is rife with douche, so you are just throwing more douche on the fire, thief or not.
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
PottedMeat said:
won't they just deactivate one of each eventually? or charge you for both if you use all of them before they catch it?
Click to expand...

They are supposed to be delivered by February 28 (they'll likely get here much sooner if the Starbucks cards are any indication). She said to wait until at least then to call back.

With the VISA cards, I could just activate them and buy whatever I wanted right away. However, it would take me a while to burn through $50 of Starbucks gift cards :)

I still think being honest is the best route though.
 
B

bradley

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2000
3,671
2
81
NFS4 said:
Yeah, you can't use Rewards in Staples B&M stores on gift cards, but you can use them online. Go figure!

http://www.staples.com/Shop-All-Gift-Cards/cat_CL166326

They do tack on a $1.99 fee for shipping the gift cards though (not that big a deal to me as my Rewards checks are basically free money anyway).
Click to expand...

Actually, Staples' policy disallows using Rewards to purchase gift cards B&M or online. You just happened to fall through the cracks.

Most of the time an influx of Slickdealers has Staples closing the loophole; however Staples is inept, and therefore the process indefinitely repeats itself. So quietly enjoy :)
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
bradley said:
Actually, Staples' policy disallows using Rewards to purchase gift cards B&M or online. You just happened to fall through the cracks.

Most of the time an influx of Slickdealers has Staples closing the loophole; however Staples is inept, and therefore the process indefinitely repeats itself. So quietly enjoy :)
Click to expand...

They must be really inept because I've been doing it for years :)
 
kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,019
156
106
Slew Foot said:
Legally, anything extra sent to you in the mail is considered a free gift.
Click to expand...

Well, no. Unsolicited merchandise that you were told you can either pay for or return - that's what is covered by the law, and you can keep that stuff. Not errors in fulfilling orders, not things delivered to the wrong address. Just things that some company tried to force on you and demand payment or the return of the item.
 
B

bradley

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2000
3,671
2
81
B

bradley

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2000
3,671
2
81
The worst that can happen is Staples may invalidate your Rewards account and blacklist you from participating in the program.

"Staples Rewards cannot be redeemed for or applied against cash, taxes, credit remittance, delivery charges, custom printing orders placed online, promotional products, GIFT CARDS, prepaid phone cards, postage stamps, prior purchases, Staples Industrialsm purchases or purchases on third-party Web sites. The sale, barter or transfer of Rewards, except by Staples, is expressly prohibited. Abuse of the Staples Rewards program, including violation of program policies, or other improper conduct as determined by Staples, may result in legal action, cancellation of member’s account, exclusion from the program, forfeiture of all Rewards accrued, and liability for past Rewards redeemed."

Just be sure to cash out your Rewards ASAP, due to a rash of thefts.
http://slickdeals.net/f/2133000-Has-anyone-dealt-with-Staples-rewards-Theft?
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
bradley said:
The worst that can happen is Staples may invalidate your Rewards account and blacklist you from participating in the program.

"Staples Rewards cannot be redeemed for or applied against cash, taxes, credit remittance, delivery charges, custom printing orders placed online, promotional products, GIFT CARDS, prepaid phone cards, postage stamps, prior purchases, Staples Industrialsm purchases or purchases on third-party Web sites. The sale, barter or transfer of Rewards, except by Staples, is expressly prohibited. Abuse of the Staples Rewards program, including violation of program policies, or other improper conduct as determined by Staples, may result in legal action, cancellation of member’s account, exclusion from the program, forfeiture of all Rewards accrued, and liability for past Rewards redeemed."

Just be sure to cash out your Rewards ASAP, due to a rash of thefts.
http://slickdeals.net/f/2133000-Has-anyone-dealt-with-Staples-rewards-Theft?
Click to expand...

Gift card theft is almost zero now that they don't include your rewards number in the Rewards coupon code anymore. It's now randomized. Before, it was easier for scammers to generate codes from your rewards number.
 
Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,419
1,599
126
NFS4 said:
Gift card theft is almost zero now that they don't include your rewards number in the Rewards coupon code anymore. It's now randomized. Before, it was easier for scammers to generate codes from your rewards number.
Click to expand...

this
 
B

bradley

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2000
3,671
2
81
NFS4 said:
Gift card theft is almost zero now that they don't include your rewards number in the Rewards coupon code anymore. It's now randomized. Before, it was easier for scammers to generate codes from your rewards number.
Click to expand...

I haven't looked at a physical coupon in a while. That's good to know. I still miss the days of being able to generate your own coupons with random guesswork. lol
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Well, I guess doing the right thing has it plusses. I called in to have the extra cards deactivated over the weekend (once the two VISA gift cards arrived). The woman I talked to said she had worked for GiftCardMall for over 3 years and have NEVER seen an issue like this before. She thanked me for being honest.

Well today, I got an email from Best Buy saying that I had $45 in Rewards to use. This got a big WTF from me because I'm banking points via Best Buy and have about $80 accumulated. I checked the email, and it was for someone else (some lady) with her Rewards number.

Just to make sure it wasn't some scam, I placed an item in my cart and plugged in the Rewards number and Rewards certificate number. Sure enough, it took off $45.

So I called Best Buy Rewards and told them what happened -- they have never seen this problem before. Turns out that somehow my email address was attached to her account, so I was receiving her Rewards statements. They escalated the issue and for being a "Good Samaritan", they credited my account with 500 points ($10).

:)
 
JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,737
126
NFS4 said:
OK, so I used $80 in Staples Rewards to purchase a few gift cards last week online. I ordered a $25 Starbucks card and a $50 VISA gift card. Today, I received two $25 Starbucks gift cards in the mail.

Being that I was expecting a VISA card and a Starbucks card, I figured they screwed up somehow, and I called Staples. They didn't know WTF was going on, so they transferred me to GiftCardMall, which processes gift card orders for Staples.

Turns out, somehow a mistake was made and two orders were placed under my name: so that means 2x Starbucks cards, and 2x VISA cards. According to the CSR, the two Starbucks cards were sent out first, and the two VISA cards are on their way.

I was only charged for one order (a total of $2.35 after my rewards were taken into account).

The CSR said that I should just call back in once the two VISA cards arrive, and they would be able to "cancel" one of the orders.

Now technically, if they sent me this stuff, and I didn't ask for two of each, and I wasn't charged for two of each, could I legally keep both Starbucks cards and both VISA cards? That would be the douchey thing to do I guess, but what exactly would be their recourse?
Click to expand...

so wheres the update?
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
JEDI said:
so wheres the update?
Click to expand...

A few posts up:

I called in to have the extra cards deactivated over the weekend (once the two VISA gift cards arrived). The woman I talked to said she had worked for GiftCardMall for over 3 years and have NEVER seen an issue like this before. She thanked me for being honest.
Click to expand...
 
SKORPI0

SKORPI0

Lifer
Jan 18, 2000
18,466
2,399
136
Happened to me last year. Ordered a $310 item and got it delivered after a few weeks delay. 2 1/2 months later, same exact item is delivered via DHL, I didn't order it this time.
Same order#, but different shipping/tracking#. Contacted the seller from eBay via email several times explaining the situation and never heard from them. Would have
been happy to pay for it since prices went up to $500 one time.

Item is still packaged/foam wrapped after 6 months and now worth about $381-$500. I guess I'm keeping it. :\
 
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