Buyer Beware

A few weeks before Christmas, to make Christmas shopping for my brother and sister and their families easier, I bought them what I gave them last year -- a family day out.

Essentially, a $100 American Express gift card, and a camera to take photos of whatever they do with it.

It worked so well last year that when I mentioned switching to actual gifts this year, they said no, that they liked the "family fun day" idea instead.

So I went down to my local Vons, and bought two $100 American Express gift cards, which are cool because they can be used anywhere.

Fast forward a few months. My sister, who lives in Connecticut, finally goes to use hers -- and they tell her it was reported stolen. So she sends it back to me, to try and get things sorted out.

I contact my brother in Alaska, asking him to check his. He finally does, and finds that inside the $100 gift card packaging is a $50 gift card, and when he checks it online it tells him that there is $2.13 on it.

What. The. Fuck.

He eventually sent his gift card back, and I took it back to Vons, and they are trying to take care of it, though they weren't happy to see me. Why not?

Because they'd already had to deal with a ton of similar incidents. Just in this one Vons.

So I don't know what's going on, but there seems to have been a screw-up of epic proportions somewhere, though I haven't heard of any mentions of it anywhere.

Hopefully it'll get straightened out, and I'll get my cash back.

Beware when you buy any sort of gift card, though, particularly American Express. And save every receipt you get (I didn't, and it is complicating things).

Meanwhile, I'll be sending out checks next year.