Are BT Reward cards a scam?

[dazedandconfused2016]

Hi,

I signed up to a BT fibre broadband deal offering a £75 reward card, which I am finding virtually impossible to use.

I got the card, which is preloaded with £75, and thought I validated it and was ready to use it. But when I tried to use it in the shop they said I needed a PIN. I don't ever recall having received a PIN.

So I contacted BT and that's where the fun and games started.

I don't want to go into the whole rigmarole here as I am stressed after spending the best part of two hours either on phone or web chat to BT, who are unable to help me today and need to "investigate" and will get back to me in 48 hours. Even though I contacted them last Friday and they said someone would get back to me within 24 hours. They did but managed to misunderstand my original query.

If I rang my bank to say I'd lost a PIN number, or never received one in the first place, it would be sorted. But BT customer service on telephone just gave me a load of excuses about how their access was restricted to BT reward cards and said I would be better off speaking to the webchat team. So I just did, but they can't give me an immediate answer and the matter has to be "investigated", which will take 48 hours.

Apparently if this is not sorted within the next couple of weeks I'll lose my £75 reward card cash and the way things have gone so far does not inspire much faith that the problem will be dealt with in time.

I am starting to think this is a scam. Has anyone else had problems claiming BT rewards or spending their money on the card once received?

I've found other forums where people have complained about the difficulty in redeeming BT reward cards/cash or they did get the reward but it was less than the amount promised/advertised.

I would really like to hear from anyone who has had similar problems. Or can suggest to me how I resolve this. Thanks

We had one for £125 earlier this year and used it no problem.
If I remember correctly you get the pin online. When you activate the card you click on the button to retrieve pin. Have a look on the pure card website and see if you can still get it.

Got a £200 this year no problems. Pin came through Just changed it to one I could remember. Also had a £125 Sainsbury’s one uses no problems a couple of years ago from BT

All registered online and you can track what’s left. Will no doubt get another one in a year or so once I leave and return. Also got an extra £80 from quid Co.

Same as others, no issues here. Usually there's a named card provider - call them rather than BT.

you are ringing the wrong people reward central is managed online and you can get full contact details from the website .Bt customer service will not be able to help you with this. The card is issued by bt but managed by different company. When you get the card you need to register and activate it online. This is not a scam and the letter the card comes attached to give all the instructions and contact details

Purecard is a product from a company called Grass Roots Group. They were recently bought by Blackhawk Network. They're one of the biggest providers of prepaid cards in Europe and the US.

BT issue these cards as a reward for new customers. The cards are issued on BT's authority and the orders are fulfilled by Grass Roots. These cards MUST be activated at the PURECARD website and NOT the BT website before use. All the instructions are provided in the card carrier (the delivery letter) and upon activation, you'll be presented with your card PIN. From herein, you simply use the card anywhere you see the MasterCard logo. Support issues relating to the card and the service should be directed to Purecard, not BT.

This activation process is required to protect the money BT load onto the card.

I got similar problem,
I got the BT reward card, and I have never recieve the activation code, as I was busy, I forgot to call them, now they said the activation expired.