I recently received a $15 rebate from a purchase made at newegg.com. The rebate came as a Visa prepaid debit card through Citi Bank. This weekend I used the card for a purchase at OfficeMax. The purchase came to $15.93, so I told the cashier I had $15 on a card (which he referred to as a gift card), and handed him the card and a $1 bill.
He swiped the card and told me the charge went through, then handed me back the card and the $1 bill. At first I assumed I had simply misheard the price or remembered the amount of the rebate wrong, but today I noticed the receipt said the card now had a $-.93 balance. I immediately expected this to turn into a horror story- overdraft fees on a gift card, customer service nightmare- but it was not to be. I called the customer service number on the card and was told by the CSR that their policy is to automatically cover a small amount of overage- I think the CSR said $5- as a courtesy. I was told I did not have to pay the 93 cents, and would not incur a fee.
This was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I have now come away with a better impression of both Visa and Citi Bank. It may not quite be above and beyond, but it is an experience worth sharing.
No, it's not to the level of "above and beyond." Still, it's nice to hear that the bank has such a friendly policy.
The question is, who eats the extra $5? The bank? Perhaps the unredeemed amount (not to mention fees) on thousands or millions of other prepaid cards more than makes up for any overages.
(Photo: pstardesign)
]]>I'm a fan of this idea because I hate knowing that I have 23c or something on a gift card, which is pointless to keep around if it's not somewhere I go often (Had a former employer give me a starbucks card when my position ended. Not really a starbucks type, but it's the thought that counts... *really* appreciate it after working 400 hours for an unpaid internship and getting a handshake at the end), OR possibly that I can't even spend-- not all stores can take 23c of a card and the rest in cash.
]]>Not to nitpick, but the OP says "I think the CSR said $5." So unless we can get confirmation of the overage allowed, I am not going to say it's too much.
But I like the concept.
Is a Visa prepaid debit card different than a Visa Giftcard?
]]>@jeffbone: I had a similar experience with a $20 rebate from Motorola. Took nearly half a year and very frustrating. Their rebate processor went out of business, but that's still no excuse for more than 5 months of delay (especially since from the beginning they said all the paperwork was in order).
If you're feeling stuck, try calling lots of different numbers for the rebate processor & Newegg. Anyone you can get ahold of. Get names of people you speak with, and try to send faxes/pdfs of your documents whenever possible. Good luck!
]]>As a part owner, I think this is a fine rule.
]]>@wagenejm: No chasing down required. Most merchants have a system where they can accept multiple forms of payment (multiple gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, and cash). The cashier simply swipes the card, and the amount on the card is deducted, and you then pay for the remaining balance with another form of payment. In this situation, $15 should have been deducted from the card, and the remaining $0.93 taken from the $1.00 bill. No chasing down of people, no penalty fee, and no "free" money being handed out.
]]>"Here's a giftcard for your birthday son, but don't spend more than it's worth or Daddy will get raped by the issuer"?
]]>93 cents is nothing, what with all the rebates they stole from the Shell Mastercard holders they just closed.
]]>Just my WAG.
]]>I can also attest that this is not a universal policy among card issuers. I receive a card for $20 as a rebate and tried to purchase just under $20 worth of stuff. It was declined because the $1 per transaction fee would have put it over the limit.
]]>I would understand perhaps a 5-10% window depending on the value of the card. However, I betcha as soon as this story went up on Consumerist, someone at Citi said "WHAT!!!?" and closed this loophole.
]]>Its attitudes like that discredit consumer advocacy. Nothing comes free. Companies don't have to give you things for free, unless they're trying to make up for a mistake.
In this case, they're making up for potential customer mistakes (not thinking about taxes or incorrectly assuming the amount left on a card) and they're making up for it at their own expense.
A $5 variance is above and beyond expectations of a prepaid card.
]]>I hate rebates and avoid them where possible, even more so from now on...
]]>I could understand a policy of maybe 50 cents or even $1, in cases where maybe someone underestimated sales tax.
]]>The fact it didn't go as expected, and the customer had to take time to call Citibank in fear of reprisal is not a good thing.
That statement is a great example of the over-inflated sense of entitlement so many people have.
]]>No, that is way above and beyond the expected. A $5 overage policy, summed over thousands and thousands of people, is a HUGE sum of money. Even at $1 this will cost Citibank a lot over the long run, so this is a ridiculously consumer friendly policy.
]]>i can see this "loophole" being closed quickly if everyone starts using their $15 gift cards for $19 purchases.
]]>Also, $5 EACH card? I mean, dang! Even if it was $1.00 over a million gift cards, that's $1,000,000 the bank is shelling out needlessly.
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