...to query a zero balance on a gift card?!

[Nessalina]

I got a £50 gift card from work when I left for maternity leave - I've just gone to spend it and there's no money on it! I feel super awkward asking the lass who sorted it out about it, but I don't see what else to do, other than chalk it up to a loss
I didn't keep the receipt that was in the gift card, so if it's gone out of her account, then there's no tracing it I assume? She's lovely, so I'm worried that a) she'll be mortified, and b) even if it has come out, she'll just stump up the £50 herself and put herself out of pocket which wouldn't be right.

Good result, just when I was being impressed by Asda they've confirmed that they are actually as rubbish as I've always found them to be.

Sounds like they lied the first time when they told you that they could see that no cards had been sold on that day, thank goodness your workmate paid by card.

Actually thinking about it a bit more, the card must have been bought on its own, would they be able to identify one thing out of a whole load of shopping to be sure a card had been bought?

I wonder how they'll be able to be sure that the card you have is actually the same one and not just one you've picked up for a scam.

I have a bee in my bonnet about asda today because of some rubbish customer service I had to endure today. The were unable to sort out a very simple issue which is why I'm amazed they've sorted a complicated thing so easily.

Ii can guarantee you are not dealing with my local store

Great update!

I know its off topic but I was really annoyed with my local asda last week. I went through the self scan with a chicken and some veg but I hadn't got a bag and there were none to pick up. Asked the assistant and she said she could give me a 5p one. I asked for the bag for life as I had got to carry the shopping home. We're running short she says I can give you a 5p one. I re-iterated I'd got to carry it half a mile and the shopping was too heavy for the flimsy bag. I could see some on the tills and pointed this out " those are for the other shoppers" she said. I had to firmly insist I was a shopper worthy of a bag for life and she reluctantly fetched one!

That's good news OP!

Whilst you're all on the subject of gift cards and expired ones in particular, if you've got an expired one from JD Sport, email customer services and they give you a new one! DH went to buy something with a card that he got for Christmas 2015, so 18 months or so ago and the woman on the till told him that.

It was completely painless. Emailed head office, they sent me a case number and asked me to return the card. Within a week, I had a new card, fully topped up.

Sounds like they lied the first time when they told you that they could see that no cards had been sold on that day, thank goodness your workmate paid by card.

Not necessarily, it depends on how they were searching for it and the specifics of what they were searcing.

I work in Asda in Customer Services instore and the system for finding transactions is not the most user friendly - if I am looking for a specific transaction on a specific day I can narrow down the search somewhat but if the search term is too broad then it will take too long to look through (if I highlighted every transaction that contained a gift card in the last 2 months it would be thousands of transactions) but if you're too specific then it can discount legitimate transactions if they fall just outside the specific parameters set. (eg if you search the wrong day/time or the customer tells you they paid cash when it was their card or they give you their credit card details when they used their debit card etc)

There has been more than one occasion where a customer has been unsure if the transaction I'm searching for was carried out on Monday or Tuesday and I've looked through all the transactions on both days and it's not shown up but when another colleague does the same search and it pops up first time .... or it turns out that the system shows that the transaction happened on Wednesday even though they were adamant it was Monday or Tuesday and therefore there was no way I would ever find it just by looking at those specific days.

I wonder how they'll be able to be sure that the card you have is actually the same one and not just one you've picked up for a scam.

Because when you buy an Asda gift card the unique card number printed on the card will be shown at the bottom of the receipt where it will also show the balance (and the colleague instore will be able to match the two up and check the card's credit redemption history to see it wasn't loaded as opposed to being spent)

If it's a card for another retailer it will have a barcode that was scanned when it was bought and at the top of the receipt there should be a unique activation code. When the OP brings it in the colleague can match the barcode number on the card to the one on the receipt and also the unique activation code to the activation code on the card.

If it's a card for another retailer it will have a barcode that was scanned when it was bought and at the top of the receipt there should be a unique activation code. When the OP brings it in the colleague can match the barcode number on the card to the one on the receipt and also the unique activation code to the activation code on the card.

Good intel! But I don't have a receipt, and my card wasn't activated, so it won't match the code? Ah well I guess I'll see when I go in tomorrow...

Bold fail! Top paragraph was quoting Melj

Good intel! But I don't have a receipt, and my card wasn't activated, so it won't match the code? Ah well I guess I'll see when I go in tomorrow...

However if the store has found it on the system then that is basically a copy of the receipt (the system is just the computer files of every transaction) and therefore they will have a copy of the card's barcode number and the activation code and therefore will be able to match up the card from the receipt to the physical card you bring in and know it is the same one.

Just because the card is showing a zero balance doesn't mean it wasn't activated on the system (it could be a faulty card the mag strip could have been compromised etc but you won't know till it can be checked) so they will have the capability to check it against the records on the system.

Awesome sauce Fingers crossed it all comes together...

I regularly buy gift cards for teacher collections at end of year/Christmas. You always get a gift card receipt which should be tucked into the gift card envelope. That's the proof the money was added on. In addition I keep the receipt of payment and send a copy of the receipt to the people who donated to the collection.

Sorted! Went into the shop and a very nice customer service manager chap checked it all and their system shows my specific card being paid for and activated, even though it wasn't! He basically fudged a cash refund somehow and topped me up a new one. He said he had no idea how it had happened as these cards are processed like phone top up cards and activated when they are scanned, there's no second activation stage, so he said the funds must just be lost in the ether. Though interestingly this one was purchased at a self scan machine so that could have had something to do with it.
Anyways, I have my £50 to spend!!!

Hurrah!

Asda should have given you more for the inconvenience to you. Our store gives you petrol costs + a little something extra for such matters.