'Still no refund': Coles shopper $2000 out of pocket after buying faulty Apple gift cards

A Coles shopper who purchased $2000 worth of faulty Apple gift cards from a Coles supermarket in Melbourne is yet to receive a refund.

Georgia Perry, an illustrator and designer, went public with her complaint about the gift cards, which she purchased from the Yarraville store on May 19.

"I was scammed out of two grand by Coles last night," Perry shared on Instagram.

Watch the video above.

She said she decided to go public with her story to prevent this from happening to anyone else, but also to get to the bottom of what had occurred, adding she was "crashing out".

"So I'm at Coles, I need a new phone. I see the massive sign, '20 times Flybuys points on Apple gift cards'. I think, 'I'm going to spend the money anyway. Why not get the gift cards, get the points, get the phone?'

"Sounds like a good deal, right?"

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Instead, she said it turned into a "nightmare".

Perry purchased four Apple gift cards from Coles and "loaded them with $500 each", which she planned to use to purchase a $2000 phone.

When she got home and took a closer look, she realised they had been tampered with. The tampering isn't visible until the gift cards are opened for use.

Perry said the Coles staff member had scanned the gift cards when placing the $500 on them, however the codes she needed to redeem the value had been removed.

"There's no code," she said, showing the faulty gift card, "That's where the redemption code would normally be."

The code appears to have been manually removed, with clear damage showing on the cards.

At first she thought she had accidentally ripped it off, but when she checked the other gift cards, she realised they had all seemingly been tampered with.

When she returned to Coles for a refund, Perry said she was told they were unable to do so because gift cards are a "third party product" and she would need to contact customer service, which was closed at the time.

Next, she contacted Apple directly and was asked to send photos of the gift cards including the serial numbers, however these had also been tampered with.

She also contacted Coles on social media in a further effort to get her money back.

The supermarket later contacted Perry to inform her the gift cards had been deactivated and they would refund her for the full amount.

However, when she attended Coles to collect the refund, she said she was told by the staffer they had to "wait for an email from head office" before they could process her refund, and that there was a "huge backlog of refund requests emails from customers with the same issue".

She was told to call the store the following day for an update on her refund request.

Perry told nine.com.au as of this morning, there is "still no refund unfortunately".

"The first person didn't know anything about it. They called their shift manager and they said, 'Oh no, it's not ready. We need more information.' I showed her the email from Coles and the case number. She just said, 'We don't have sign off from head office to be able to give you a refund.'"

Perry said she plans to try again today.

In good news, Perry shared on social media that she did receive the bonus Flybuys points, but added she "won't be buying gift cards again".

A Coles spokesperson has told nine.com.au: "We are aware of this matter and have been in regular contact with the customer since she first contacted us yesterday morning.
Our Customer Care team responded within one hour of receiving her enquiry and has continued working with her to investigate the issue and work towards a resolution.

“We are also working closely with our supplier as part of our investigation into the gift cards involved.Gift cards are managed through a specialist support process, which is why the customer was directed to contact our Customer Care team so the matter could be formally reviewed and investigated.

“We understand how frustrating situations like this can be and we take reports involving gift cards very seriously. Protecting our customers and investigating suspected tampering or scam activity is extremely important to us."

A spokesperson for the ACCC has told nine.com.au if consumers experience difficultly redeeming their gift cards, including if they find they have purchased already redeemed gift cards, they should raise this issue with both the gift card provider and the retailer.

"Consumers are able to return such gift cards to the retailer they purchased from, providing proof of purchase, to seek a refund or replacement gift card.

"However, consumers may also need to provide the retailer with information from the gift card provider confirming that the gift card funds were redeemed fraudulently.

"Although signs of physical tampering are not always present when there is gift card fraud, consumers are encouraged to inspect the gift card carefully before purchasing to check for any signs of damage or tampering, as one issue that can indicate validity or redemption problems.

"If consumers have a gift card issue that they can't resolve directly with the gift card provider or retailer, they can contact their state or territory consumer protection agency, who may be able to assist."

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