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Cracker Barrel Gift card remainder funds gone!

D

dixie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
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Location
texas
Had a $50 Cracker Barrel gift card that had a remaining balance of $11.85 on it. Went to use remaining $11.85 and they said the balance was zero:0! We never go to Cracker Barrel but decided to go yesterday to use the remaining balance. Has this ever happened to you???
 
It happened at appleby to me


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
How long have you had the gift card. Was it more than a year from the first time you used the gift card?
 
How old was the gift card? Was it before the rules for gift cards changed back in the mid 2000s? Possible that the funds previously expired? Not sure if you can check card activity by checking the balance online? If so, you might be able to see what happened to those funds.
 
Thanks, but we do not need to check the balance. We were told at Cracker Barrel yesterday it was zero. We called corperate and they said another transaction was made after our original purchase and it was not by us... No one had access to our card. I keep hearing others are having the same problem with other gift cards too. So, do you think an employee that has access to the number can do it?
 
VacationForever said:
Yes, employees can run it as their tips... just saying... It happened to me at another local restaurant here.
Click to expand...
The difference at Cracker Barrel is that you pay at the counter. They give you a receipt where you write your tip amount and then they print out another slip with the final amount. The tip amount can't be adjusted as far as I know after that.
 
dixie said:
Thanks, but we do not need to check the balance. We were told at Cracker Barrel yesterday it was zero. We called corperate and they said another transaction was made after our original purchase and it was not by us... No one had access to our card. I keep hearing others are having the same problem with other gift cards too. So, do you think an employee that has access to the number can do it?
Click to expand...
Did you have two cards and burn one and they accidentally gave that one back to you instead of the one with the remaining balance?

We recently went to Outback Steakhouse and used a couple gift cards. I didn't realize until I got home that they never gave back either card and one still would have had about $3 left on it after the tip amount we provided.
 
We always tip generously. Yesterday we actually handed our waitress a generous cash tip. The only other time "we" used the card we added the tip to the card got the receipt and then wrote the remainder amount on the actual gift card with a marker. So... that is why we were so surprised when they told us it had a zero balance. It had the $11.85 marker written on the card from the only other time it was used. Makes me scared to give gift cards and also wondering if I want to buy anymore...:/!
 
No, we just had the one.
dioxide45 said:
Did you have two cards and burn one and they accidentally gave that one back to you instead of the one with the remaining balance?

We recently went to Outback Steakhouse and used a couple gift cards. I didn't realize until I got home that they never gave back either card and one still would have had about $3 left on it after the tip amount we provided.
Click to expand...
 
You could still try looking up the balance online, it may provide activity that will show when, where, or how that other $11.85 went missing.
 
I went to Outback about three weeks ago and had two $50 cards. Our bill was $60 and I left a cash tip. A few days ago, I went back to Outback to use the remainder of the $40 on the gift card that was supposed to be there. When the waiter came back with the bill, he informed me that the card only had $6 remaining on it. I am sure my waiter three weeks ago helped himself to an extra tip, but what could I do but suck it up and move on. I plan to use up a gift card on each visit or not use one at all.
 
In cases like these, I would bring my suspicions corporate's attention. You may not get anywhere, but at least you'll know you didn't sit back and do nothing.

Shoe on the other foot: Last year, I ordered some gift cards online, and the processor messed up. Instead of sending me 2 - $50 cards, they sent 2 - $100 cards, and only charged $100. I brought the matter to the manager of the local eatery but he didn't want to deal with it. "We don't get involved. You'll have to contact the corporate office." Well, screw that, we'll just dine here on the extra $100.
.
 
We had a huge gift card for Outback. It's a $250 gift card. Anyway, we took all of the family to dinner, 10 of us. The bill was $170 or so. The kids left tips on the table to total about 22% of the bill. When we went to use the card the next time, a week later, 20% additional was taken out of balance. The server apparently decided 22% of the total bill left in cash was not enough, so he took 20% on top of that. I am pretty negative on gift cards after that experience.

We were able to see a history of the gift card, and it was taken out that evening of our family dinner. Told the manager about it, he said he would call us back. No call. Went in again, new manager now, he said, "This server has been here a long time, I don't see him doing such a thing."
 
rickandcindy23 said:
We had a huge gift card for Outback. It's a $250 gift card. Anyway, we took all of the family to dinner, 10 of us. The bill was $170 or so. The kids left tips on the table to total about 22% of the bill. When we went to use the card the next time, a week later, 20% additional was taken out of balance. The server apparently decided 22% of the total bill left in cash was not enough, so he took 20% on top of that. I am pretty negative on gift cards after that experience.

We were able to see a history of the gift card, and it was taken out that evening of our family dinner. Told the manager about it, he said he would call us back. No call. Went in again, new manager now, he said, "This server has been here a long time, I don't see him doing such a thing."
Click to expand...
It is possible that the tip was automatically added to the bill since you had such a larger party? Usually automatically added with a party of 8 or more.

I know when I look up Outback gift card balances online, I am able to see the history of charges.
 
And this thread really has soured me on GIFT CARDS. I rather not PUT the "wait staff" into a position of be coming a dishonest employee.

And if businesses can't monitor employee actions ... or put safeguards in place to protect customers paying with credit cards or gift cards .... then their customers will (via social media) will help that business to go out of business.

As most TUG users are familiar with the internet ...
 
I still have the card and the original bill, and there is no 20% automatically added to the final total. That charge would be added to the bill already, before it arrived to our table. The guy purposely took more money from that gift card and kept the cash as well. No one will do anything about it. We printed out the history. But like our kids said, It's our word against the server's word that a cash tip was also on the table. We didn't sign for additional tip to be added. I am bummed. I wrote a letter to the manager and waiting to hear. I sent a copy of the printout for the charges and a copy of our bill.
 
We keep the receipt and write with a marker on the card the amount left on card. Yes, we have contacted corporate and they will investigate the other charge. Just start checking your gift cards. This seems to happen quite often... The manager of Cracker Barrel said he is going to get to the bottom of this.
 
I had a gift card for Ruth Chris steak house, the waitress checked balance and told me there was 76, and I thought I had a a lot more but left the card and cash. At the last minute I grabbed the card, and called the number on the back. Turned out there was $76 left after paying for the dinner, so glad I kept the card


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Hmm...making me a little hesitant to use gift cards. The companies need to remedy these unfair practices.
 
I have used gift cards and had a balance on them. I keep the receipt along with the card. I ask them to print out the balance if any left on the card. This is how I keep track of what is left. If I use the whole gift card I ask them to throw it out or I shred it when I get home.
 
Our family is soured on gift cards.

For Christmas 2015 my eldest DS gave me a $100 (Canadian) Visa Vanilla Gift Card. He purchased about a dozen of them all at the same time to give to some family members as well as some of his suppliers & trades people for work. We left for the winter immediately after Christmas so I didn't try to use the card until that spring. When I opened the packaging I saw that it did not have as many digits on it as other cards I had used. When I tried to make a purchase with the card it read invalid number (or something to that effect). The store clerk said she had never seen that message before. We phoned the number on the back of the card and Visa had me read off all the numbers on the front and asked what about the rest of them? I said that's all the numbers that are there. Then she asked for the numbers off the back. She told me that Visa Vanilla had a misprint of a batch of their cards but thought they had caught all of them before they were shipped out but this was from that batch.

They said they'd replace it if I mailed the defective card to them along with the original store receipt. I asked her who still has their Christmas gift receipts in May? I called DS to explain. Of course he didn't keep the receipt and all he had was his credit card statement showing the total purchase at that store. Then he started to wonder how many of the others he bought were also misprints but the recipients were too embarrassed to tell him. I was the only family member to get one.

I contacted a Toronto TV station that tries to solve consumer issues but even they couldn't get around the original receipt rule -even though Visa knew full well they had a batch of misprints. They never issued a warning or recall about them when they realized what had happened.:mad:

DS has stopped using that kind of gift card now and keeps all his receipts for them until the value of the card is used up. I, and who knows how many other people, were screwed out of a Christmas gift. DS made up for it at my birthday with diamond earrings though!:banana:

So if you buy any type of gift card -keep the receipt until the card value has been used up!


~Diane
 
rickandcindy23 said:
We had a huge gift card for Outback. It's a $250 gift card. Anyway, we took all of the family to dinner, 10 of us. The bill was $170 or so. The kids left tips on the table to total about 22% of the bill. When we went to use the card the next time, a week later, 20% additional was taken out of balance. The server apparently decided 22% of the total bill left in cash was not enough, so he took 20% on top of that. I am pretty negative on gift cards after that experience.

We were able to see a history of the gift card, and it was taken out that evening of our family dinner. Told the manager about it, he said he would call us back. No call. Went in again, new manager now, he said, "This server has been here a long time, I don't see him doing such a thing."
Click to expand...

Usually, there is a notice on the menu stating that for parties larger than (usually) 8 a standard mandatory gratuity (often 18%) will be charged. It should be on the receipt, though.

Also, regarding Cracker Barrel: they could have kept your card with the credit, and given you the last customer's empty card. I have always told cashiers to throw away empty cards, but I think I will stop doing that.
 
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