Vanilla Gift Cards review: Rip off 151

I (and several other family members) had the exact same problem occur (just after Christmas) with this ripoff card. After calling Vanilla VISA Customer Service and FINALLY getting an actual customer service rep on the line, I was given a little more information explaining the continual card "declines" I was experiencing.

The first time my Visa gift card was declined, the company blamed it on IT technical issues they were supposedly experiencing at the time. THEN I found out that if the purchaser is attempting to purchase something that costs more than the value on the card, the store clerk must calculate the cost difference in ADVANCE and collect the difference in cost from the customer BEFORE scanning the Visa gift card. If the store tries to scan the card FIRST (applying it against the total purchase price) and collect the cost difference from the customer second, the card will be declined. Even though these merchants are supposed to have some kind of contract in place with Visa instructing them as to the exact sequence in which to process these transactions, the problem is that MOST store clerks are CLUELESS as to how to go through this ridiculous exercise.

The process should not be this difficult and the burden should NOT be placed on the customer to have to teach store clerks how to process this stupid card!

Because of all these card acceptance hassles and the fact that the card continually decreases in value over time, as far as I am concerned, these VISA gift cards (and others like them) are a ripoff and a scam. If the givers of these cards really care about the recipients they are trying to gift, they should stay away from these cards. Better to give cash or an actual store gift card that will be applied against the purchase price in a NORMAL fashion, without having to go through this nonsense.

I bought a Vanilla Visa gift card for my husband in June of last year. Beginning in December and January they took out a $2.50 service charge. The back of the card says that after the 13th month from purchase they will take out a $1.50 per month. I called and they said they changed it and had the right to do so as it states in the paperwork that comes with the card. Interesting that ALL of the cards say the same thing! However they started in December, whih is the 6th month and I literally had to argue with the girl on the phone that December was only the 6th month. Finally they credited Decembers charge. The card states in several places that the balance never expires. Well, if they are taking out $2.50/month until the balance reaches 0 doesn't that mean that it expires? According to them the balance doesn't expire and although the card has an expiration date, you can pay $5.95 and be reissued a new card. My husband's card expires in Nov of 2010. By then his balance will have been depleted from the service charges every month. So in essence doesn't that mean the balance expires? I feel like this is a HUGE scam! I paid $25 for the card plus $4.95 activation fee and I lost $10 so far, just because my husband had nothing he wanted to buy at this time. So he had to rush and buy something so that he could get the most of the card. On the same note, my son received a $50 Vanilla Visa on his birthday in May of last year and they began taking out $2.50 starting in November. He has plenty of toys and clothes so I was going to save it for a rainy day. So now I will have to go buy a Target gift card with the remaining balance so that I can get the most, and Target's cards never expire, but now I am concerned that I won't even be able to do that. His card says exactly the same thing as my husband's. I have filed a complaint with the better business bureau asking for a full refund but who knows if that will ever happn.

I've gotta disagree, I use these cards alot and most of the time I don't keep them around for long. If you actually take the due diligence to learn about a financial product before buying one, you wouldn't be surprised that gift cards charge fees. Why? Because they are not actual banks that invest your money. You have to pay for the space in the servers to keep all your transaction history and if you keep it open too long, it gets expensive. This is NOT by far a savings tool and doesn't claim to be. Would you keep an outstanding balance on a normal credit card that charges $30 to $60 annually for a service fee? $1.50 a month or $2.50 a month may seem high but that's only after 6 months. Pay attention and maybe you won't feel ripped off when your really just ignorant.

Hey Gugablue9, I understand companies have got to make a profit, but scamming people is wrong. when you do take the due diligence to read the card agreement that came with you're purchase and it says "1.50 after 13 months", that's what you agreed to. they they go and change the terms (hidden in the website) to 2.50 after 7 months, yet i'm getting fees of 1.50 the 2nd month after i buy the thing, 3.50 on the 3rd month, 2.00 on the 4th month, and none of the customer service people can give me a straight answer other than "i know it really doesn't make sense, but you'd have to talk to "corporate"", THAT'S CRAP.

they ARE a scam. I bought a fresh $100 visa and ive tried making purchases with it in several different sites, ive registered it on their website, sat on phone with their customer service and they basically told me im beat. I cant use this card and i want to KEEEL Them. hundred dollar piece of plastic.

Signed

REaAAAAL Tickedoff

Hey Onion,

i filed a complaint with the BBB out of Columbus Ga (i think, that's where this Vanilla Visa is registered to) and was able to get all of my money back. It took a few weeks, but I told them that the card kept being declined everywhere i tried to use it and also about all the fees added sporadically (to mine) which ate up my entire balance with in a few months time. Vanilla Visa claims that it is something the stores are doing incorrectly, and "blah, blah, blah" about how it's not their fault, BUTTTTTTTT, as a COURTESY, they reset the card to the balance it was suppose to be. To use it though, you must know the EXACT-TO THE PENNY- amount that is available on the card and tell who ever is ringing it up exactly how much to charge to that card. Otherwise...another embarrassing DECLINE. I'm never buying these cards again. from now on, i buy Walmart, Target, ect cards where then whom ever you give them to can exchange it for another gift card, whether for Visa, Applebee's, ect. GOOD LUCK.

I agree, I bought one also and try to use it on line and different stores and they wouldn't accept the card. They say the company that issued the card is restricted. NOBODY wants to accept this card. I called vanilla visa and try to get a refund but, they say they couldn't refund my money. These guys are criminals. The Bureu of businnes should close this guys. I will never buy another vanilla card again.

As upset as I was about the new service charge (that didn't apply when the card was purchased for me), I wrote to them via email and 10 minutes later, they responded back and restored my card to its full value. That is outstanding customer service! Lesson learned: ALWAYS read the fine print! And use gift cards ASAP!:)

I bought a $50.00 visa for my daughter as a birthday gift in April.
I have been told it was not activated and they would take care of it.
Here it is July and it is still being rejected.
I bought the card at Walmart and they say I have to talk to Vaniila .
All I get is a dumb recording which does not address my problem.
I'm really ticked off

I bought a $50.00 vanilla visa gift card for my sister's birthday. She has not been able to use it anywhere, I called to the number on the back of the card and they said that the card was not activated properly at the store, went to the store and they don't have a clue on what to do about it, they also called vanilla visa and the visa-representative asked for the numbers on the card and the serial on the outside of the paper card holder and now they are saying that the numbers don't match. Implying that I've changed the card and I'm trying to get the money back.
It's unbelievable that nobody tried to help me, Dollar General or Vanilla Visa, they just simply STOLE my money.

I will NEVER, EVER buy a vanilla visa card again, this was my first time and the last one. I have also told as many people as I can about this ripp off.

Doribel

I think I have to disagree. I actually like the card. I do not own my own credit card so when I need to make an online purchase, I just grab one of these things. It's quick, simple, and easy. The only downside is the $6.95 I have to pay to buy the card. After the sale, I usually am left with about $2.00. I go buy a drink. Now I am left with $0.20. So in total I lose about $7.00, but that is not so bad. It comes in handy when I want to buy something that requires a credit card, which requires my mom to know about...

These products are absolutely nothing but a scam for the card companies or whoever provides them. It may be one thing to knowingly purchase one of these cards for personal needs but to give and receive as a gift, which is most likely the majority of uses, is a pure scam as most people would have no clue to check into the card details. What kind of world do we live in where people give a gift with good-hearted intentions, only to be victims of this scam. I will do everything I can to save others from suffering from this scam.

I bought this 25 dollar vanilla visa card to buy some stuff online and now i can't because it's declines. I registered the card with paypal, and now my balance is 21 dollars and 2 dollar balance on paypal.. what the ###? This card is a piece of ###! It declines everytime i use it online lol

piece of ###! Declines online!

My young daughters had received Visa gift cards from their uncle and, god bless their hearts, decided to save them up so they could buy stereos for their rooms. They tucked them away until they had collected enough over the course of xmas and their birthdays. But when we went to use them, I was informed that there wasn't enough money on their cards. How could that be? The cards totaled $150 and the stereos were only $129.99. So, I contacted Visa and they informed me that each card had declined by $2 a month due to admin fees.
WTF? Admin fees? For not using a gift card? I understand an admin fee for a regular credit card, but a gift card?
And get this...here in Ontario, Canada, the government passed a law in October 2007 banning both expiry dates and admin fees on gift cards. Yet these ### at Visa have completely ignored it and are still charging fees.
Honestly, I have told everyone I know to stay away from these Visa My Treat gift cards. Maybe they should change the name to Visa Our Treat gift cards as they are scamming consumers out of countless dollars for doing nothing.
For more on this, check out my blog: http://brainfarts-garywatson.blogspot.com

I never really realized how much of a scam these cards are until I started thinking analyzing my usage of a card. I received a rebate as a gift card and I'm tracking every penny, it's a pain in the ###. You have to enter your info into the site in order to find the balance, it's a pain to split purchases since many merchants get irritated with you ask.

The credit card companies issuing these cards know exactly what their doing and I feel they are capitalizing on people's laziness, complacency and inability to give gifts.
People may have stopped giving cash because it doesn't look like you put too much thought into it- not that a prepaid visa is any better, but at least you got off your ### to purchase a gift for someone. Personally, don't care, but I can imagine there are many people who feel that way.

My question is:
What is the percentage of people who actually use the full(every penny) amount on the card before it expires or starts to collect fees?
Just think, if 200, 000 people receive a card and half of them(100, 000 people) leave .50 cents on it to expire- that's 50, 000 dollars on just .50 cents! So, what if 100, 000 people leave 5 dollars, that's half a million dollars for the issuing company. See what time saying?
In dealing with these cards:
It is imperitive that the person receiving the card track every single penny of it. How realistic is that when you have other cards or other ways to pay things? It's very easy to forget that you have it, especially when it only has a few bucks on it. I'm willing to bet many people don't track these cards and use them to the fullest.

That being said, the other day I received another gift card and will go to the post office and buy a money order with it. It will probably cost a couple bucks, but I'd rather give the post office my cash than a legal scammer.

All we have to do is put out the word and let people know that it's a scam.
For the few that don't believe it's a scam, I don't know what to tell you; I guess keep buying them, wasting your time tracking them and giving the credit card companies an opportunity to track your purchases as well(perhaps selling demographic info as well).

I have virtually the same complaints. Received a card for Xmas 2008. Expiration date wasn't until 7/10. Used it in 11/09 and it was declined. They kept saying to bring it back to where you purchased it or fax in the receipt. It was a gift from my out of state sister. Absolutely horrendous. I never had this experience with ANY OTHER gift card I've bought or used. Why does this company put the burden on the customer. On top of that, the cust. service is snotty.

Never purchase a vanilla visa gift card! WAste of time and money.

"Vanilla Visa Gift Card" are the biggest ripp off i've seen. I spent my time setting it up on paypal, waiting for the 4 verification numbers confirming it as a card. Just to find out that it was declined by multiple online websites that wont accept the card. Big waste of time, plus the $1.85 paypal charges to verify that it is yours. Without reading throughly i clicked the verification button 3 times to find out that my card was charged $5.55. When the card was declined i decided to try to purchase the item via google checkout, i went through the procedure giving my information to find it was charged another $1.00. After having this card for one day i have already spent $6.55 on nothing. Horrible card, i will email friends and family telling them to NEVER purchase one of these horrid cards.

i purchased a vanilla visa gift card and had the same problems as most of you. i was unable to use the card for a few days while they re-booted their system that was down when i purchased my card. i called in to ask why i was having the trouble using the card, and they said the system was down when i purchased it and they were experiencing "technical difficulties". i faxed a copy of the sales receipt and they filled out a trouble ticket for me; which was the required action to remedy this situation. 48 hrs later, i was able to use my card to make purchases at amazon.com.

although i was extremely irritated when i first learned i had to wait to use my card, i took the necessary steps and let time take its course. i would recommend vanilla visa to anyone, but with this advice: "USE THE CARD RIGHT AWAY, DONT LET IT SIT AROUND". if you procrastennate on using the card, you will incur the service charges that are clearly laid out in the card agreement.

NEVER BUY OR GIVE A VANILLA GIFT CARD. IT'S A RIP-OFF. I HAVE A GIFT CARD FOR $50.00 WITH AN EXPIRATION DATE OF 07/10. I received it at Christmas time last year. Tried to use it in November, and it only had a balance fof $7.50 cents on it, although it showed only debits of $22.50 only for fees and no purchases. I was charged five months of fees at $2.50 per month. The back of my card says I will be charged $1.50 per month after the 13th month. They started charging me a fee afer 6 months, and at a rate of $2.50. Same thing happened to me on another Vanilla Gift Card received at the same time

Totally agree. This has to be the worst pre-paid CC company there is. My kids each have a $50 card, both were declined several times today, no one to talk to as far as customer service goes, and their website is down for maintenance. How convenient.

I received a vanilla visa for $300 and when I checked the balance, it said there was only $100 on the card. Now (after two weeks of back and forth calling and faxing) I am still with no resolution. Vanilla Visa is actually a different company paying visa to use their name, so that is probably where a substantial amount of the fees are going. I am so angry about this whole fiasco and I will never buy another Vanilla Visa gift card.

This is the biggest ###ing scam EVER. I have my giftcard in my hand and I registered it to MY name and MY birthday online. yet, somehow, a "replacement" card has been mysteriously ordered my someone with a different birthday than mine and my card is no longer valid. And whoever gets that replacement card, they get to activate it and use it. I had to email the company 4 times because I could not get a real live person on the phone. The one email said to press 4 to speak with a rep. There wasn't an option 4 to press! And so I emailed again, and was told to hit #0 3 times in a row and THEN hit 4! Are you kidding me? Do NOT buy this card and I CANNOT WAIT to complain to BBB about this scam. Such ###!

Yesterday I purchased a Vanilla Visa to send to my brother. I took it out of the bulky packing to pop it into the card and just happened to decide to call to confirm the balance. "Invalid Card." So I assumed it would take time to activate. I logged into the website and was given the same error message.

I called the company, who told me that the card was improperly activated. I returned to Walgreen's where the card was purchased, and was told that because I was given a confirmation receipt, that the card was indeed activated and that from there standpoint, there was no next actionable step.

BACK on the phone with Vanilla Visa. By now, I have grown concerned that the card inside the package may not have matched the information on the cardboard packaging. I tried bringing this to the attention of the customer service representative that I was speaking with who told me that they could do NOTHING with anything except for the card number, and that number was invalid.

By now, I am afraid that the activation number per my receipt is linked to another account. I am also afraid that because of their inaction, that the money will be spent by the time they are willing to investigate this. Furious, I called back, AGAIN. I was receiving the same runaround when I asked the rep for her ID. Her name was 'Tracy' and she begrudgingly gave me her id- 5148. I said "I paid you 100 dollars and a service fee to provide me with a preloaded card. This has not happened. What is my next step?" She mumbled a bit, and started on about going back to the retailer, and finally I said "They are unable to help me further. This is a Vanilla Visa problem. WHAT IS MY NEXT STEP!?" She finally initiated a ticket number and I am to fax in my receipt for an investigation which 'may' result in my receiving a refund.

I understand that people in this world will try anything for a free buck. HOWEVER, if Vanilla Visa is willing to take 100 dollars and a service fee from me, they need to have a course of action when that 100 dollars does not make it to it's destination. The people at Walgreen's were extremely helpful and actually regretted not having further action available. Vanilla Visa has been nothing but rude, aggressive and only marginally competent. Believe me, I am NOT going to stop here. I will follow this through as far as it takes on principle, this is simply not okay.

I received a $100 Vanilla Visa gift card. I registered the card under my home address. I tried to use it to purchase an item online through a site that excepted it. My card was declined due to having unmatching AVS numbers. I tried numerous times to use it online & each time I received the same message that stated my shipping & billing address did not match up. Finally I tried again & only entered a shipping address & left the billing area blank. This worked.

I AGREE. IT WOULD NEVER WORK THEN IT FINALLY EXPRIED.
ITS A SCAM AND THEN AS THE GIFT RECEIVER, DO WE TELL THE GIFT GIVER THAT IT NEVER WORKED?

AGREED!
EVERY TIME I TRIED TO USE IT, IT WAS DECLINED.
FINALLY IT EXPIRED.
QUESTION NOW: DO YOU TELL THE GIFT GIVER OR NOT?
WHAT A SCAM!

Oh yeah, the VVGC is a definite rip off. First of all, things like this aren't supposed to be complicated to use and cause frustration. Secondly, the information the card comes with is misleading and so is the info on the website about registering it before online use... it does not work! I don't know why they continue to sell this card because there are a lot of complaints about it. It's crazy because not everyone wants to get a credit/debit card from a bank or be involved in bank mess. One just wants to be able to get a card, purchase whatever online or where ever and keep it moving w/out worrying about extra fees and what not from the bank. These companies are just making it hard for the simple folk. Filing a claim with the Better Business Bureau is ur best bet at getting a refund because the VVGC company will not refund and neither will the place u bought the care at will. I have read quite a few complaints on Google and most of the people got full refunds by filing claims. Hope it works out...

We need to put this company out of business. They are cheating way too many people! Their customer service is horrible and they just don't care about your business!

I bought this card a few times to make purchases online cuz i didn't want to use my debit card that's connected to my bank account to prevent me from overspending...i never had a problem wit this card...what people should know is..gift cards are meant to be spent...and they want you to spend it right away that's why they say they'll charge you after so many months...if it's such a humongous problem for people...tell people to give cash money instead of cards..saves you the headache...one thing is...when the purchase exceeds the balance on the card...it's gonna decline cuz most likely the cashier swiped it then accepted your money for the rest of the balance...i told my husband to use the rest of the money on the card and came back pissed cuz it was declined...he doesn't listen sometimes :(...that's y it declines for some of yall!...just remind the cashier..give cash first...then the card if the purchase exceeds the balance!...

I called the Ontario Consumer and Commercial affairs and they told me to call the feds. The feds told me to call the provincial.? I guess my next step is to contact my MPP or MP as the Citizen' Bank Visa "GIFT CARD is extortionist to say the least!

i bought this card a week ago from shoppers drug mart in canada, i was charged for the 250 dollars plus the activation fee, and when i decided to register online to check balance error came up saying it was never sold and does not match anything in the database. so i call customer service and have to report the card stolen in order to talk to someone. they straight up told me that i have to go to the store because it wasnt bought properly, and that the drug store should have a technician to look at the system. when i got there the clerks said they had no idea that they had a technician for fixing problems like this... the manager came and was willing to help but he did not know wat to do so he called them and they basically started playing the blaming game. however, its very clear that the store did nothing wrong, because when they rescan the card and the system said it was issued yet "vanilla" had no record of it. this company is a scam in every aspect of business, they would lie to a customer about information regarding an imaginary "technician" at a drug store, then blame others for their incompetence. after i called back having no intentions of being on hold again since they hung up on me before, they finally said they would put me on the list for technical support that will probably give me a call back in a week, and no i am not actually expecting them to even look at my file because this company is a total scam and needs to be shut down immediately.

Well I use these Cards when I have to do a purchase online so if some hackers get the info of the credit card they won't find [censored], this is the only use, why I should pay 5 dollars of activation for give the card as a gift, I would give cash, instead of giving 50 dollars card I will give 55 dollars cash gift. But stupid people they give to VISA 5 dollars gift and then their friends, wake up even if they do not charge you the 2.5 dollars still stupid to use it for a gift.

anyway use it only for online purchase. then the rest I shop with it ASAP. Period.

Vanilla Card Fraud

I have just purchased a $250 Visa Vanilla Card from a Canadian local drug store, Pharmaprix

and when I opened the package that it came in and tried to activate it, it failed..., So I called the number that is on the package, to activate by phone, the automated voice, failed to activate the card
So, I went back to the store with the receipet and the card, and explained them the situation but, they refused to refund me or replace the card.they said it is not their problem... call visa. and they have givin me a number to call.
so I called a company called income that supposed to service the vanilla visa, and when I gave them the number that is on my card, the woman who answered said that the card is not theirs.
so I told them that it says on the card vanilla and it looks genuine. I even offoered to mail the card with the package that it came in to them to verify, and she refused and said "the card is not ours, I can't do nothing about it, good bye",
so I have got screwed in a day light robbery

She claims that the card is not theirs because all their 16 digits visa cards starts with 4315 and mine starts with 4729..
so either I'm a liar (who is holding a proof of purchase and a card that looks genuine ) or they are a fraud.

Hey Folks I have I believe if its correct THE address these Vanilla cards use. Im not 100% sure but pretty sure this is THE ADDRESS for Vanilla Visa (Vanilla Gift Visa $25 $50 $100 Reloadable) Cards. Alot of searching and trying makes me believe this is correct. If this is indeed the Correct address for these cards then the only thing left to tackle is the name. But im certain its possible. If this is the address and someone can verify please expose these people to the world for there services they KNOW is ridiculous. This Name and Address situation where you cannot add a name or address to the card has got to stop. If the government wont put a end to it WE need to. Its not the card thats the issue with me, its the principle. So if this is the address please spread this as fast as possible over the internet so they dont have a chance to change this. As I said only need to tackle the name issue now which should be easy enough. Enjoy!

250 WILLIAMS ST NW SUITE M100
ATLANTA, GA [protected]

Just like that folks!
btw they claim to have an address in California...
So much unexplained fishy things going on. Lets end it.

BEWEARE DON'T BUY A VANILLA VISA CARD Bought one yesterday at CVS to make an online purchase. Card was declined even though transaction amount was equal to card value. Tried calling their customer service number on the back of the card and had to listed to about 4 minutes of recording and then prompted to select an option but none of the options were to speak to a live person. Thinking that perhaps because it was Sunday, they were closed. So I tried again today, Monday, after 9am California time and still same recording and no option to speak to a live agent.

I then called CVS corporate office to let them know they might want to think twice about carrying Vanilla Visa cards. CVS customer relations was very interested in the complaint and they're attempting to resolve it through their vendor hotline.

If you look closely at the fine print on the back of the card it says the card was issued by Silverton Bank. I Googled them and found a number and the woman who answered the phone says "Receivership for Silverton Bank, How may I help you". I was transfered finally to someone that helped me. The REAL customer service number isn't the one on the back of the card but the Silverton Bank number which is [protected], which is the one I had to find on my own on Google. Apparently Silverton Bank is in trouble and has been taken over by the FDIC and they own Vanilla Visa.

I have been ripped off by this company too. I have just filed a compaint with better business bureau www.bbb.org . Maybe if they get enough comopaints on them they will actually penalize them.

I had a $50 gift card inside a $100 packet. Cstomer Service will not issue new card and CVS will not refund the money.

Vanilla Gift card is scam do not buy, I was charged $17.50 have filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau.

i bought 2 100 dollar cards and neither one of them work, ive been on hold for about 15 minutes with vanilla ugh stupid [censor]ers

HORRIBLE card! My husband drove to Michigan last night (a 12 hour drive) and i gave him cash as well as $200 on this Vanilla Visa Card so that he could get gas if there was no attendent around. He tried to use the card at the gas station, it declined it and told him to go inside and so he did and then he called the number on the back and apparently since he tried to get gas with it, there is a 75$ HOLD on the card for like 4 days... WTF! Now i am going to have to go through the hassel and MORE MONEY and transfer him money. I WILL NEVER BUY A VANILLA VISA GIFT CARD OR ANY VISA GIFT CARD EVER AGAIN!