Children’s Place Gift Cards Hacked….AGAIN!
Children’s Place has been a gift card reseller’s best friend in the past and their worst enemy. They are not quite on the level of Hyatt gift cards when it comes to hacking but they have had their issues.
They have had a few sales recently on PayPal Digital Gifts and Kroger’s website (via GiftCardMall) and it looks like both where hit by hackers. Well at least the Miles to Memories team got hit.
Details
Three of us bought Children’s Place gift cards to resell and all 3 of us had some drained. Shawn had 5, I had 2, and Danny had 2.
The ones that were compromised for me were from a Kroger sale on April 11th and a PPDG sale on March 8th.
There may have been more sales compromised but these are the two we know of for right now.
What to do Now?
I called the number listed on their gift card website last night. They list two numbers there:
- 800-501-3232
- 855-793-8451
They weren’t a ton of help. The customer service rep just kept telling me the card had a zero balance and had been used. I kept saying not by me. Finally she said she could escalate and I should get an answer in 7-10 days. She also said I could call their customer relations department at 877-752-2387 and they should be able to handle it quickly. I didn’t trust her to do anything properly so I took down the number and still need to call. They are open from 9am-8pm EST.
From reports it sounds like they aren’t being the most helpful but if enough of us call maybe we can force their hand. The other option is to file a chargeback with your credit card company. Depending on how many you had compromised that may be more hassle than it is worth.
Conclusion
This is the first time I have been burned by Children’s Place but I know many have had issues with them in the past. I will probably steer clear in the future.
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[…] at Miles To Memories has recently reported that there have been several issues with The Children’s Place gift cards. It’d therefore be best to steer clear of those unless you’re planning on using them […]
This is what they’re saying.
Gift cards and eGift cards can be used for purchases of merchandise at THE CHILDREN’S PLACE stores or outlets, or online at childrensplace.com. Redeemable in US only. Not redeemable for cash unless required by law and cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or used without your permission. Return of merchandise purchased with this card is subject to store return policy.
I suppose the takeaway is that if you purchase a gift card of TCP, you can expect that it might have no balance when you go to use it, and if that’s the case, then the assumption is that it was “used without your permission” and cannot be replaced. I imagine we could get some news outlets interested in this. I’m going to send a letter to CA AG soon regarding this matter….CA AG got eBay to give us a month to use eBay GCs on 3PGCs so I imagine they might have some clout here too.
That is a good idea. I know I am staying away in the future. They are gonna lose some sales from this.
I had one go bad from PPDG. I sent them an email on eBay and they said to call TCP. I wrote back and said this was drained before I received it and unfair for me to deal with. They haven’t replied.
I think we need to keep the pressure on. I’ve read from another blog that they got a blanket reply after it was escalated that said they aren’t responsible if anyone else uses it. Pretty crappy if you ask me. So you buy gift cards, legally, someone hacks their system or algorithm and the consumer eats the cost? I don’t see how that’s fair. A huge PR nightmare and, as a teacher and uncle, that place won’t get another dime.
Not a good look – hopefully they budge when the amount of people calling continues to build
bummer, mine are all good from that same deal 🙁
Nice – hope it stays that way
It may be that PPDG is the issue. I have 2 of 5 drained from them but the ones from Gyft and Safeway are ok.
I don’t think so since the Kroger GCM has a ton of DP’s against – more so then PPDG
I was unable to redeem 3 of my The Children’s Place $50 gift cards. This is really too bad that they are shifting the cost of their own security problem to their customers. Sadly I think mass charge backs are the only way to get their attention and make ourselves whole. Unfortunately that could also lead to getting banned from GCM/PPDG.
I’m giving it a week and then calling in. Hopefully the pressure increases by then.