Coles Gift Mastercard

I purchased a $100 gift card and when i got it home, I noticed it was already opened.
Calling coles gift cards an hour after purchase to block and ask for a replacement / transfer to a new card surfaced actually how they deal with such issues and highlights their "no care what so ever" attitude.

[name removed], the customer care lady i spoke with said they can not / dont transfer funds to new cards and they dont send out new cards (makes me think how will they handle stolen cards based on this comment).

I believe this is obviously a warranty issue, the funds are still there but the card has been compromised even before i brought it (and as indicated by others, this seems to occur a lot). Its ultimately a defective product. Still the response is they cant do anything and my best bet is to try at the coles store as they may be able to swap it (and of course they wont as they dont know its been spent or not etc). Asking further on this point, is there any notes or process that you can include which helps highlight this issue to the shop so they can swap it, they said no, its totally independent and up to the shop. Having now called the shop, they confirmed they cant swap a gift card either (as suspected, it may have been spent etc, they dont know, they also wouldnt know its been locked and why its been locked etc)

Asking to escalate this to the manager as i believe acl protects against faulty products with refund, replacement, repair options and what [name removed] is saying contradicts this (Harvey Norman got pined big time for misleading consumers of their rights.... coles may follow based on this lady?) she said that she is the escalation point and there is no one else to escalate to. Now, not saying she isnt the escalation point, but it does sound fishy that the management / escalation point is the person who is also on the phone answering the day to day calls and doing first level support (usually managers have better things to do and delegate that part out to people who can do it for cheaper / not on management pay)

She was nice enough to offer the following advice...
1: when gifting to your friend, also gift them the receipt so they can call up coles at the time they plan to use the gift card and unlock it (and assuming if they spent only half, re-lock it, hold on to the receipt again etc)
2: use the gift card to buy another gift card (some how i assumed gift cards can not buy new gift cards but on top of that, there is additional fee in buying a gift card).

Obviously none of the above really works for a gift (and therefore not fit for purpose for a gift card).
Sadly after being on the phone for over an hour between 3 different departments (coles giftcards apparently is very separate from coles and could not help, the store could not help, coles main customer care has redirected to another department which may be able to help but apparently no refunds even if its fault), i have come to the conclusion that coles really doesnt seem to care or live up to any obligations.....

Best advice, stay away from coles, choose a different brand etc.

I bought 2 pcs of $100 Coles Gift Mastercard and when I tried using them, both were declined by the eftos machine. When I checked the value online, they were used up even before I tried using it. Called and emailed the customer service and they had no care at all. They always point you at T&C of the card which basically makes you responsible for the unauthorized usage of the card. They didn't help at all. I won't recommend anyone to buy this as there's not enough security features. Anyone who looked at the numbers (due to poor packaging) prior your purchase will be able to use the card online.

I have a Coles Credit Card and it gets a good Cannex Rating. Recently they have started sending emails saying "Your statement for xxx month is now ready for viewing on line". But when you go to the link it is NOT there. Only the previous months. I complained about this and they had some explanation about a glitch. I said "well don't send out an email unless it is ACTUALLY there for viewing (obvious?). And now it has happened again for this month. Get a new programmer?

Tried using it at an online store in AUD currency and at the Apple store today.. Didn't work, had to pay with my own money. Called up the customer hotline and the lady says on the transaction history it says I've only attempted to make purchases above the $50 amount. But I've only tried using exactly $50 or $48 or $49. When I go online to check my balance it says it's $50 and my transaction history shows no attempted purchases, it only displays the date the value was loaded on. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

I bought this from a Coles Supermarket, and it works on every online store purchase I make. Haven't really use in a physical store, but so far so good!

I purchased two gift cards for a friend. Upon trying to use them 6 months later they were declined, too embarrassed to argue with the shop they had to use their own money to pay. I am mortified!!! When we called Coles they said the cards had been cancelled due to terms & conditions months ago and that I had to APPLY for a refund. They cancelled the cards & never bothered to advise me or refund them. Now I have to wait for them to refund the cards which I have called them several times about but I am still yet to see the money. plus I have to give my friend the money back so they aren't charged credit card interest. What a joke, they basically kept my money. makes me wonder how many people have tried using them without any luck & have been too embarrassed to tell their gift giver. I would not recommend Coles prepaid "gift" cards to anyone.