Tesco refuse to change itunes gift card

kuberpete

Anyone had this problem? according to Tesco they get alot of itune gift cards coming back. However I purchased this gift card yesterday, when I went to scratch off the code the code is illegible as in half missing. When my partner brought it to Tesco (with receips, which stipulates "Please keep safe and take to the Customer Service Desk in case of Refund) he was told to contact itunes, am I loosing it or is it not Tescos responsibility to exchange this faulty card???

Any ideas?

calex71

As far as I'd be concerned you bought it from tesco and as such your contract is with them.

However that said you would probably have a lot less hassle going to apple direct. Question is : Is it worth letting tesco off the hook for the sake of your sanity and blood pressure? Me being the stubborn type, I'd be digging the heels in and calling tesco head office after demanding managers name.

jhegarty

Tesco are legally responsible.


It's your decision how many hours of your time being right is worth.

jahalpin

The purchase of items such as pre-pay codes etc is not quite the same as the purchase of a bottle of milk or even a DVD

The card contains a code and the code has a value electronically attached to it. Once the code has been used, it is worthless. Tesco have no way of knowing if the code was used and the card then destroyed in order to claim a refund.

It is exactly the same as the purchase of pre-pay phone credit, once the code is sold it is between the customer and the service provider as the shop has merely acted as an agent of the service provider

It would be very unwise of Tesco to offer a refund as they would open themselves up to a lot of fraud etc.

The cards on display are inactive until they are processed through the till, so there must be some identifying code in the barcode area on the back of the card or on the card sleeve.

foggy_lad

jahalpin wrote: »

The purchase of items such as pre-pay codes etc is not quite the same as the purchase of a bottle of milk or even a DVD

The card contains a code and the code has a value electronically attached to it. Once the code has been used, it is worthless. Tesco have no way of knowing if the code was used and the card then destroyed in order to claim a refund.

It is exactly the same as the purchase of pre-pay phone credit, once the code is sold it is between the customer and the service provider as the shop has merely acted as an agent of the service provider

It would be very unwise of Tesco to offer a refund as they would open themselves up to a lot of fraud etc.

The cards on display are inactive until they are processed through the till, so there must be some identifying code in the barcode area on the back of the card or on the card sleeve.

in this case the customer has been unable to activate the card ans it should be up to tesco to contact apple if they chose but they must repair replace or refund for the "faulty" card!

parsi

I don't like Tesco but this is a can of worms - I bought a few of their mis-priced iTunes cards and fecked up one of them - I think I tried to ruboff the code rather than removing the tape (or the other way round). I figured out the code in the end but once I had the problem there was no way for a 3rd party to know whether or not the code was used and in this case I'd urge the OP to go straight to Apple to speed up the process because Tesco have no way of knowing the cards status (if you brought back a faulty TV this would be obvious to them) until they go through Apple's hoops.

kuberpete

Ok so here is the update on the fiasco that is Tesco selling itune vouchers....Called Tesco head office and well really none the wiser, they are insisting on me getting in touch with apple support. According to the poor unfortunate that answered the phone Tesco have no way of knowing if the balance on the card has been used (it's very obviouse from the card as half the code is completly gone as in the plastic comes through and the other half is still silver) and how apple wont provide machines to Tesco...(not my problem). So the heal of the hunt seems to be Tesco is selling alot of these cards and well alot of them are coming back faulty to Tesco (as per customer service person) and us poor unfortunates then have to go and jump through apple's hoops...Will be trying to sort apple out tomorrow BUT can't help feeling p*ss*d off by Tesco I still think they are responsible for selling dodgy gift cards..... (rant over)!

Shelflife

Kuberpete the problem that tesco have is the same as the top up codes, whats to stop you from using the code, then defacing the voucher and saying you couldnt use it.

this leaves them open to a massive scam as they have no way of knowing whether the code has been used or not.

kuberpete

Yes I get that but it is very obvious from the card that the code has not been obtained as there is still silver on either side.

There is an idea for Tesco to print the itunes credit off from the tills like the phone credit....

emanresu

Don't worry, it's not a problem at all. You will still be able to use the card even if part of the code is illegible.

I bought a card (from Tesco also) last month, and as it was the first time I had used them, I started to scratch too deeply. I took off part of the layer of material that the number was printed on, instead of the covering material.

I went to the iTunes website and sent them a message on a webform,
giving the remaining part of the code, and the other numbers printed on the card, including a 19 digit serial number, and a number starting with EPY and followed by 14 digits, and stated where and when I bought the card.

I got the following reply within half an hour giving me the full code:

Dear .....,
Thank you for contacting iTunes Store Support to let me know you're having trouble with your iTunes Gift Card. I understand that you haven't been able to redeem it and I would be glad to help you get back on track.
I've looked into this, and I'm pleased to let you know I was able to locate the redemption code: "................". For your convenience, I am including instructions to redeem the code:
1) Open iTunes and click iTunes Store on the left side of the window.
2) Under Quick Links on the right side of the window, click Redeem.
3) Copy and paste the code "................" in the Redeem Code field and click Redeem.
Once your Gift Card is successfully redeemed, your store credit will appear next to your account name in the upper-right corner of the iTunes Store window. You will not need to redeem your Gift Card again when you want to make another purchase. Each time you make a purchase, funds will be deducted from the credit until the credit is used up. If you run over the credit amount, iTunes will ask you to enter a credit card number.
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns regarding the redemption of your iTunes Gift Card. I'll be more than happy to assist you with whatever you need.
Thank you for being part of the iTunes Store family!
Sincerely,
Amanda
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/
Please Note: I work the following days and times:
Sunday - Thursday 8 am to 4:30 pm.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.


I was very grateful to Amanda, and delighted with the speedy and helpful response. These cards are made differently to other scratch off cards such as lottery tickets that most people are familiar with. It seems to be a common problem that people scratch off the whole surface instead of just the covering. It's not Tesco's fault at all, but there is no need to contact them anyway as iTunes will sort out the problem. Apple iTunes should really find a better way of printing the cards.

kuberpete

Thanks for that, I haven't had a chance to follow up with itunes just yet but will do in the next day or two