A Melbourne mother has expressed her frustration after purchasing $2,000 worth of Apple gift cards from Coles, only to discover the redemption codes had been scratched off, rendering them useless. Georgia Perry, 40, bought four $500 Apple gift cards from her local Yarraville store on May 19, enticed by a promotion offering 20 times the usual Flybuys points. She intended to use the cards to purchase a new iPhone.
However, when she attempted to redeem the cards, she found the codes had already been tampered with. 'I had the phone in my cart and opened the gift cards to enter the redemption codes, and that's when I discovered they were missing completely,' she told the Daily Mail. 'My initial thought was I'd accidentally scratched it as I was opening the package, but I realised that wasn't the case when I opened the next one and it was identical... it was like a nightmare unfolding.'
Ms Perry immediately returned to the store seeking a refund, but was turned away. 'They said they'd seen similar things happen before and kept saying there was nothing they could do as it is a third party product,' she said. She questioned why gift cards are not treated like other defective products, such as moldy bread, which would typically be refunded. She also highlighted that Coles profits from the sale of these cards.
To make matters worse, Ms Perry has only received automated responses from Coles' customer service. Frustrated, she took to social media and was inundated with messages from others who experienced similar issues. 'If this is a known issue, and they are so easily tampered with or made defective, then why are they not behind the counter?' she asked. She suggested Coles should use its profits to investigate such fraud or place gift cards in secure locations.
This incident follows a recent case where Coles was found to have misled shoppers with illusory discounts. A Coles spokesperson stated the company is aware of the matter and is investigating, working closely with the supplier. 'Gift cards are managed through a specialist support process, which is why the customer was directed to contact our Customer Care team,' the spokesperson said. They emphasised that protecting customers from tampering and scam activity is a priority.
However, gift cards are treated as cash equivalents and cannot be refunded or replaced in store, leaving customers like Ms Perry out of pocket. She has vowed never to shop at Coles again.
