Princess Cruiseline Egift Card not sent

[WilliamN962907]

Just posting a message to warn people of trying to purchase egiftcards thru this site.  I "purchased" a $500 Princess Cruise gift card--my credit card was immediately charged but never received an email containing the egiftcard.  (I didn't even receive an email confirmation of purchase.)  I also checked the aarp site and the "purchase" is listed under my account, but no link to egiftcard.  Upon further search of site, I notice that this is an ongoing issue with their electronic gift cards.  (Had I known this, I would not have "purchased" one.)  I tried to contact aarp online chat to resolve the issue, but was disconnected.  It's an Egift card.  It should be sent automatically or within minutes--just like my credit card was charged. One should not have to extensively search and contact people for it.  There was no time frame listed on site of when egiftcard would be sent; it has been about 24 hours.

At this time I'm not certain if this is a scam or just poor business practice (tip: a credit card should never be charged until product can be supplied; an email confirmation of payment received should also be sent).  I know people that have purchased from site successfully in past.  I will make another attempt to resolve issue and then contact my credit card company to dispute "purchase" that was not received.

[WilliamN962907]

UPDATE: Wednesday 5/3/2023, $450 charge is posted/cleared to credit card and no longer in pending state. Customer service was contacted to send or resend card on 5/1; they asked email adress and I provided it again--which was the one they had on file; I was given a specific time that I would receive the card by (Monday 5/1/23 at 420PT). I never received an email confirmation of purchase, although it is listed as a "purchase" in my aarp account. GIFT CARD WAS NEVER RECEIVED OR SENT. I checked spam folder as well as deleted emails in case it was accidentally deleted. (There were also posts on this thread supposedly from AARP stating they would resolve the issue. Again, the ONLY way this can be resolved for me is to 1. For AARP to provide the purchased electronic gift card or 2. Reverse the credit card charge.  I think that I'm being reasonable, not sure what there is more to discuss.)

Obviously, for me, this WAS a scam (I don't know what other word to better describe it as at this point. I made a purchase, they received the money, I contacted customer service, no service was provided.) I did file a dispute with my credit card today.

I am posting my experience in hopes that others will read prior to purchase and be cautious of this website, especially since it is targeted to seniors or elderly people. I suspect they think that people will "forget" they purchased the card (by not sending email confirmations) or not look over their credit card charges. AARP would have made no attempt to contact me in regards to this issue if I had not contacted them first. (This is also blatantly noticeable by a supposed "representative" trying to "help" here.)

I would like to think that the "card was out of stock", there was an IT issue, payment had to clear before issuing, etc...but again, there were ZERO email attempts to relay a delay in processing time to me.  

That said, I do know a person that has successfully purchased from this organization in the past (over 1 year ago). Sadly, this is NOT my current experience.  

I will update this post if anything changes.

[AARPJanelleM]

@WilliamN962907 Hi William, I followed up on your escalation and our team emailed you yesterday requesting more information. Please be sure to call the team back on the phone # provided in the email so they can get the additional info needed. 

[WilliamN962907]

What information is needed?

The payment to AARP from my credit card has been cleared. It is not pending. No credit card information is needed.

It is an electronic gift card. My mailing address is not needed.If "your team can email me" to call them, then my email address is not needed.

If there was "good intent" by AARP, I would have beed provided an automatic receipt at purchase, followed by constant followup for any reason of delay, and if there was an issue with providing service my credit card should NEVER have been charged. I certainly should not have to spend days searching for a gift card that is paid for.  And, I'm definitely not providing additional personal information!

Janelle, I feel sorry for you having to be the "middle person". I have seen the hundreds of others that have posted with similar issues. I'm glad that you were able to help a few. In my situation, AARP has to explain to my credit card company (as i have filed a dispute) why they accepted payment and admit to having my email address, yet refuse to send the Princess gift card. I continue to post only to warn others of making the same mistake. Thank you for your time.

[AARPJanelleM]

@WilliamN962907 It's a technical issue on your purchase that needs to be investigated. I don't know exactly which additional info the escalations team is requesting, but they can't resolve the issue without speaking to you first. If you'd like the escalation request to move forward, I invite you to call the phone # provided in the email. Please don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything I can do, I'm here to help. 

[WilliamN962907]

Again, the only technical issue is that AARP has $450 of my money and I have nothing to show for it.

There is no issue with my credit card. AARP received payment. You have acknowledged the transaction.

There is no question with my identity or AARP would not have charged my card. Again, this is NOT a pending charge. It is a posted/processed charge.

It is an ELECTRONICALLY TRANSFERRED GIFT CARD, my home address is not necessary. The payment would not have processed with an incorrect mailing address. Actually, I would have received it by now if it was mailed.

You admit that my email address is correct by telling me to "call the number emailed to you."

I REFUSE to give any additional personal information over the phone. If I wanted to do that, I would have "purchased"  it over the phone.  Had an attempt to "resolve a technical issue" been made prior to payment being finalized, I would have contacted the number out of curiosity.  However, it appears to be an attempt to further defraud me.

I'm being as patient and understanding as I can be. I have filed a dispute with my credit card company for AARP to explain their side of the situation of why they refuse to provide me with the princess gift card that they received payment for despite having all of my contact information.  It's also very blatant that I'm not the first scammed; hopefully I'm the last.

Again, at this point, I'm only here to warn others of purchasing gift cards from this site.

[AARPJanelleM]

@WilliamN962907 I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. I reviewed your account and that purchase was processed less than 24 hours ago. Please allow the full 24 hour delivery timeframe before we can investigate it further. 

[WilliamN962907]

It has been over 24 hours and the only thing that I received is a $450 charge for nothing received from AARP on my credit card.

@AARPJanelleM wrote:

@WilliamN962907 I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. I reviewed your account and that purchase was processed less than 24 hours ago. Please allow the full 24 hour delivery timeframe before we can investigate it further. 

day.

[AARPJanelleM]

@WilliamN962907 Got it, thanks for that update. I'm terribly sorry that you have not received your gift card yet. I sent this to our escalations team for assistance, you can expect a resolution within 3 days. 

[Karyn8]

Were you actually charged or the charge pending? I bought the same gift card and received the code right away and used it however I was double charged. You should call the rewards number not the chat nor aarp. Here's the right phone number 866-451-6305. Hope it gets resolved.

[WilliamN962907]

Still pending. It should clear today; if I don't receive the gift card today I'll dispute with my credit card.  I wish I would have read the message boards so that I was aware about the extreme amount of issues with AARP issuing the electronic gift cards.  A friend had ordered a few last year without issue, so I thought that it was legit and a nice way to save a few dollars.  Guess even AARP tries to scam seniors nowadays.  Live and learn.  I hope you got your issue resolved as well.

[Karyn8]

I don't believe we're being scammed, I believe the tech support for AARP is sub standard. When the charge is still pending you cannot open a dispute. Both my pending charges are still just pending so I'll wait to see if one or both get actually posted before I do anything.  It is problematic that you didn't get your card immediately. I have always gotten mine within a few minutes and then go straight to Princess to apply them.

   Keep your printed e certificate because if your cruise is cancelled or you cancel the gift card gets credited no refunds.