A North Texas business owner said scammers stole $100 from him by tampering with two Home Depot gift cards.
Anthony Vance bought two $50 Home Depot gift cards to use as raffle prizes for his customers. But when the winners tried to use them, they were told the cards had been tampered with — and had no money on them.
Vance said he believes he fell victim to a common scam in which thieves place fake barcode stickers over the real barcodes on gift cards. When the fake barcode is scanned at the register, the money is loaded onto a different card — the scammer’s — instead of the one the customer actually takes home.
Vance’s raffle winners took photos of the tampered cards, including one image where he says a Home Depot employee is seen peeling off the fake barcode sticker. Vance said a store assistant manager was able to scan the fake barcode from the photo and pull up the fraudulent card information on Home Depot’s internal system.
At that point, the money had not yet been spent. But when Vance requested a refund, providing both his original receipt and the credit card he used, he says Home Depot told him the situation needed to be investigated first.
After weeks with no follow-up from the store or corporate office, Vance said he gave up — and covered the $100 prize money out of his own pocket.
That’s when he contacted NBC 5 Responds.
Once our consumer investigator reached out to Home Depot, the company confirmed it would resolve the issue and refund Vance the full $100.
In an email to NBC 5, Vance wrote:
“I feel so sorry for other people that don’t have the persistence that I have, or are lucky enough to get help from you,” Vance wrote. “The attempts at the store with management, calling corporate, and contesting with American Express did nothing! But you getting involved made a huge difference.”
NBC 5 Responds is committed to researching your concerns and recovering your money. Our goal is to get you answers and, if possible, solutions and a resolution. Call us at 844-5RESPND (844-573-7763) or fill out our customer complaint form.
Great Job Kristi Nelson & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Source link for sharing this story.
