The advice thread for random problems #4

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Hi everyone - I’m not sure if anyone can help but I guess it’s worth a try, thank you in advance!

I received a gift card for Christmas but it doesn’t work when I try redeeming it. I’ve just noticed the gift card number printed on the receipt doesn’t match the one on the card - the last 2 digits are different.

They bought it from Tesco, so I wondered if maybe the checkout person activated the wrong card number by mistake?

Does anyone know if they manually type in the number or scan the card, in which case it’s unlikely to be a human error?

I was going to go to Tescos tomorrow but I get nervous about confrontation. It’s not the end of the world, I just feel bad that the person spent their money on a card that can’t be used
 
You usually scan the gift card at checkout and enter the amount you want to put on it. I’ve not had to manually enter gift card numbers when I’ve brought them before x
 
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Sounds like the worker scammed your friend and how are you going ro prove that
 
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You usually scan the gift card at checkout and enter the amount you want to put on it. I’ve not had to manually enter gift card numbers when I’ve brought them before x
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I dont buy gift cards very often and couldn’t remember how it works when you activate them in store.

In that case, the only other thing I can think of is maybe they bought more than one gift card at the same time and mixed up the receipts?

It was a present from my boyfriend’s sister so I feel a bit awkward asking her and I doubt she’ll still have the other receipt so think I’ll just have to give up on using the gift card sadly
 
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Could your friend have perhaps bought more than one gift card, and got the receipts mixed up?
 
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Any thoughts on what I could/should do in this situation? So the last couple of years I worked with this monstrous person, nasty, lazy, sexist, intimidating bully etc etc. Many people complained but it was never formally addressed. Then a rather serious incident occurred and fact finding took place where I was asked to give statements. I asked to remain anonymous as I didn’t want to be the scapegoat for them finally taking action against this person (my complaint was as a witness) I was assured that with so many incidents and so much evidence against this person, no witness could be identified! Basically assured with “I promise it’s finally being dealt with we have lots of evidence” so insinuating they’d be dismissed. All went quiet for a couple of months, then an all staff email is sent, saying how the person has left to join another department where they’d always wanted to work, their hard work rewarded etc, they were sure we’d all be congratulating them on their success in their new role! Honestly I feel utterly sick about it. So being a sexist, bullying pig has resulted in them being moved to a great new team with a prestigious new role! No mention of the disciplinary investigation! So how do I handle this; accept they’ve done it to move this pig on so they’re someone else’s problem and forget about it? Or challenge the director, ask why the bully has been rewarded with a new role and why we’re being gaslit with that horrible email like we’re all idiots who haven’t been subjected to hell by this person, like none of it ever happened! I just feel like because I was one of very few who actually spoke out & gave evidence, if I pursue this with management it’ll look like a vendetta against the bully! But it’s all so wrong & unjust.
 
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The number is usually on the gift card, do you have the card with you rather than the receipt?
 
I received an offer from that interview place (thankfully there wasn't a second/third interview). Should I let my current place of work know I'm open for a counter-offer or not say anything??

It's not necessarily a "bad" place to work, it's just the circumstances make the new place of work more convenient for me
 
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Could your friend have perhaps bought more than one gift card, and got the receipts mixed up?
Yes I think that must be what’s happened unfortunately, they probably bought a few gift cards at the same time as it was Christmas!

The number is usually on the gift card, do you have the card with you rather than the receipt?
I have the physical gift card with the card number, pin and the receipt. It’s only when I went to use it that it didn’t work and that’s when I realised the number on the receipt was slightly different.

I’ve sent Tesco a message on Twitter to see if they can help and emailed the retailer directly too. Not sure if anything can be done but I don’t want to make my boyfriend’s sister feel bad by mentioning it!

Thank you for helping me! I always forget to use gift cards so it’s typical this happens when I finally remembered for once
 
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Sounds like the cards been used previously then rather than a wrong receipt because even if she gave you a wrong receipt then the gift card should still have the money on it but if it’s not working then it must’ve been spent
 
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Sounds like the cards been used previously then rather than a wrong receipt because even if she gave you a wrong receipt then the gift card should still have the money on it but if it’s not working then it must’ve been spent
I don’t think it could’ve been used before, I only scratched off the silver PIN code today. I did a bit of googling and I think the gift card hasn’t been activated properly, apparently it happens quite a lot!

Can you not ask your boyfriend about it?
I explained it to him and he said he can ask his sister, but there’s probably not much she can do if she gave the receipt to another person (as they might’ve already used it and thrown it away). I don’t want to make a big fuss about it though

I’ll just wait and see what Tesco says, maybe they can find the transaction on their system or something. Fingers crossed!
 
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Ah okay cant have been activated properly then and hopefully Tesco can help you! Especially if you say it was a gift and have one receipt but you believe it’s the wrong one they should be able to help hopefully
 
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I think you'll have to make peace with it - this stuff happens all the time in the workplace. It's wrong and it sucks, but you can see why places deal with wrong uns like this (to avoid the hassle and potential legal issues of sacking someone). It's really shitty though to know that this person got 'managed out' and didn't face any real consequences.

On the bright side, at least this person is gone from your immediate area now. You did well in doing your part of giving evidence and telling the truth. You can't control how the organisation has dealt with it, but feel proud that you did the right thing over the bit that was within your control (giving evidence).
 
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Not sure if this is the right place to ask this - but what age do you stop giving presents to nieces / nephews? We have one that has turned 18 now, gave for their 18th birthday last year and the Christmas just gone, but is it the "done" thing to stop now? Don't want to be tight, but also we never get a "thank you" from this one!
 
Every family is different on this one and probably best to chat to the parents and work out everyone’s expectations. Personally I’d get 18 and 21 no matter what. And then only bring a little something (a tenner in a card) if I was actually invited to a birthday celebration for 19 or 20. Sadly I don’t think thanks really play a part in it, if there’s a more grateful niece/ nephew that you would still buy for past 18 you should really do the same for everyone in my opinion.
 
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I got 18th for my niece but haven’t last year for 19, I’ll buy again for 21 as it’s a special occasion but won’t after that. It’s how we’ve always done it in my family x
 
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Well, a rather dramatic update on this - she messaged this evening. I have heard nothing from her since mid-December and after all your lovely advice I chose to simply not proactively message either.

She is 'sad and disappointed' in my attitude - I act like she 'no longer exists' after giving me her cat 'took everything out of her emotionally'. It is 'negligent and cruel' of me. She 'expected me to keep promises'.

The actual message is about 500 words long and full of her moaning about me, her life, etc. Let me make it clear - when she gave me the cat, no strict agreement was given regarding any kind of messages, updates, etc.

I messaged back to say I'm quite shocked to hear all this, I haven't received any messages from her at all and she only need ask for updates. I'd love to tell her to fly into the sun but I'm actually in love with the cat now and have this lingering fear she'll go full psycho and try to get him back.
 
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This is such a strange story!! She seems like a right oddball!
To make sure kitty stays with you, I’d try keep in her good books and send her the updates every now and then. If she’s elderly then you might not have to do it for very long
 
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This is such a strange story!! She seems like a right oddball!
To make sure kitty stays with you, I’d try keep in her good books and send her the updates every now and then. If she’s elderly then you might not have to do it for very long
It's absolutely insane, isn't it? The message was so hostile. I would understand somewhat if she had messaged and I had consistently ignored her.

I just got a message back - very passive aggressively saying I need to proactively send her photos and news and that my reasoning that she had not messaged herself 'changes nothing'. She then went on to say she had tried to come round - while I was at work - but nobody answered the door!!

I really have no idea what to do. I'm a private person and I certainly don't do impromptu visits from an ex-neighbour I've met 5, maybe 6 times in my life. I've sent quite a cold response saying I was likely not in as my daughter was having surgery and don't answer the door unless it's a planned visit, and that I'll send pictures but if it isn't enough for her it's on her to tell me.
 
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