Toys-R-Us gift cards...don't do it!

(Please note:  This page conveys an incident that happened to me personally, and represents nothing more than my opinion.)


One day, my wife and I came across two Toys-R-Us gift cards given to my two little daughters by their uncle two years earlier.  To be honest, we had forgotten about them.  Since each card was good for $100, my girls were excited.  When we got to Toys-R-Us, however, they told us that they would not honor the cards.  I asked why and was told that the cards had 'expired.'  I asked how exactly they 'expired,'  was the cash used to pay for them suddenly no good?  They then informed me that after two years they 'deactivate' the cards.  When I asked them to just go ahead then and refund the $200, I was told that they get to keep that money for 'administrative fees.'  I then insisted on talking to the manager and was told by him that there was nothing he could do and I was just 'out the money.'   I told the manager that if he didn't do something to fix this,  I would never shop there again and would warn as many people as I could about their little scam.  He said that was my decision to make.  So, I am warning as many people as I can that, as I see it...

Toys-R-Us stole $200 from my two young children and couldn't have cared less!

Now you have been warned:  I'm advising anyone and everyone to not use Toys-R-Us gift cards; in fact, I would advise that you don't shop there at all...ever!  Who would want to spend their money at a business that would do something like that?  Certainly not me!

I have since found out that many other retailers seem to have similar policies (a scam in my opinion) as Toys-R-Us.  Always ask first, and read the fine print, before purchasing gift cards.  Better yet, don't purchase gift cards at all, especially not from Toys-R-Us.  And if you receive a gift card, use it fast before the retailer has a chance to steal the money!  Also, be aware that after a certain amount of time, these retailers have been known to begin stealing money from the gift card little by little.  The more time before you use it, the more money they steal from you!

Administrative fees???  I don't think Toys-R-Us had $200 worth of 'administrative fees'!!!  And I wonder how many other customers they have done this to?
Besides, the value of the money goes down with inflation, so Toys-R-Us would have gained, not lost, by letting my little girls use their cards two years later.

You have been warned.  Now, warn as many people as you can!

Don't shop at Toys-R-Us and don't buy gift cards from retailers...especially not from Toys-R-Us!



A special message to Toys-R-Us:

I truly believe the fact that I will NEVER shop at Toys-R-Us again will end up costing you a lot more than the $200 you stole from my kids!  And I further believe that the people who read this, and are smart enough to heed the warning, will cost you considerably more than the $200 you stole from my two little girls!

For $200 you were willing to lose me as a customer, as well as everyone else I can convince not to shop at your 'store.'  Apparently, your customers mean very little to you and you really don't care how badly you treat them.  Perhaps you are not aware of it, but taking good care of customers is how a business flourishes.  I doubt your organization would have ever missed that $200, but stealing that money from my kids was so important to you that you were willing to lose a loyal, regular customer over it.

Nice work Toys-R-Us.  You were willing to give one of your regular customers to a competitor for $200.

Maybe you people over there at Toys-R-Us need to spend a little time reading the Eclecticsite.com Financial Page.  You might learn a thing or two.



Sincerely,

A customer you have lost and will never get back.


P.S.  If you would like to make amends or respond to what you did to my kids, you can contact me at theboss@eclecticsite.com.  Since some of us do have integrity, I promise that after verification, I will include your response here on my website.



This article copyright © 2007 by Keith C. Rawlinson (Eclecticsite.com).  All rights reserved.
As long as it is presented in its entirety, this article may be freely copied and distributed
for any non-profit purpose.


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