Gift Card already redeemed Issue

Nope. When a gift card is sold, any gift card... Apple, Amazon, restaurant, etc., it is activated at checkout by the cashier. If they fail to activate it correctly, it has no value. This is to ensure that someone can't just pocket a gift card at the big display and walk out with thousands of dollars worth of gift cards...

You have to take this up with the store where you purchased it. Someone at the retailer had to activate the card, then use the value and return it to the display where you picked it up, or you had to leave it somewhere where someone could steal the code from it and use it before you attempted to redeem it.

The same thing happened to me yesterday. I purchased a $50 gift card for my father from Target. When we got home and tried to add it to his account, there was a message that the card had already been redeemed. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Apple just to be told there was nothing they could do. I was told the card was redeemed 10-15 minutes after I purchased it and there was no value on it. They were able to see which Apple account used it and they were supposedly shutting that account down, which did nothing to help me as they were unwilling to transfer those stolen funds to my dad's account. I was speechless and frustrated with the lack of support from Apple that I did not have the energy to contact Target and possibly go through the same thing. However, I completed an online survey about my experience and I received a call from a manager at Target the next morning. He told me I could bring the iTunes gift card along with my receipt to the store and they would replace the gift card. I took my dad with me and we opened the new gift card and redeemed it at the counter. I read that some folks are not getting a positive response from the retailers that sold the gift card; however, I was happy to get such a quick and helpful response from Target.

I just recently received an email from Target asking about my recent shopping trip accompanied by a survey. While my most recent trip wasn't the one where I purchased my already redeemed gift card, I took the opportunity to review that trip. I received a email from Target's management which stated they have been having an issue specifically with Apple's iTunes gift cards, and if I brought it into the store they would refund my money. I believe this is an oversight on Apple's behalf that needs correcting. I agree, it's headed for a lawsuit if this trend continues.

OK everyone! Here is the answer and it’s not something criminal! It’s an error in scanning at Target. Most likely you all went through the self check out. The Apple gift cards that are sold through Target are specific. You must scan the top barcode to activate the card and then scan the lower barcode to buy the card. Your gift card is still valid it was just never activated. You can compare my photo below with an Apple gift card from someplace else. You’ll notice that there are TWO barcodes on the target gift card and only one on say a card purchased at Walmart. I hope this comes as a relief to everyone that this was not something criminal and that somebody stole your code it was just never activated by the person that gave it to you or the store

That's not entirely accurate KiltedTim. Yes the cashier has to activate it, if not activated properly, the gift card won't function as intended. However, that isnt was this discussion is about; people didn't buy gift cards only to get them home and discover they were never activated; they got them home and discovered the balances were stolen and registered to a different account, all while being properly sealed, with a trail to prove it; why would another user go to the trouble to put a used gift card back on the shelf and who would buy a man opened iTunes gift card. Your whole argument is kinda invalid. Scammers are getting more clever. In some cases, these scammers steal unactivated gift cards, copy the code that is exposed on the back without opening the gift card , put it back on the shelf and then once it's activated they are notified (how? I don't know, I'm a productive member of society and don't partake in such activities) at which point they are able to take the balance.

Should the retailer refund the stolen funds? In my opinion, yes. They sold the product. If I bought a defective electronic or a boxed furniture piece from target, they would refund my money. Ultimately, they are selling a product they can't guarantee and then won't stand behind. Apple gives you the illusion their gift cards are safe by being packaged when if fact they're not. If consumers are having a problem with a product, in this case Apple gift cards, then a retailer shouldn't offer them for sale, keep them locked up available by request only, or guarantee their effectiveness.

Was the card purchased at Target? Self checkout? The top barcode must be scanned first to activate it. Lower barcode second to purchase. If not activated, you will get the message that it has already been redeemed. Only Target purchased cards have this issue.

I ran into the same issue where I have purchased three $50 from Walmart Market that were redeemed. and unusable. I called Apple Support and the best advice they had was if the cards were purchased with a Debit/Credit card then reach out to the card merchant and report fraud and stolen card value and hopefully they'll refund the cost back to the card. I asked if they could tell me the date it was used, what software was purchased, iOS App, subscription charged against it or to which Apple iTunes email/acct it was applied to and she told me they had NO WAY OF SEEING WHAT the cards were used for which I find extremely odd since these would have a high likelihood of being added to someone's iTunes Acct in which requires a login and then the card info added to the iTunes acct to be charged against. We know there are instances that this information could be provided & the amt could be charged back against that thief's iTunes acct or debited from the card connected to their Apple ID etc and covered in the terms and conditions a disclaimer ref stolen APPLE Gift Cards applied to their accounts, especially when the rightful owner can provide the card, the card envelope, the sales receipt, verify the card used to purchase belongs to the person making the claim etc. There are many ways the purchaser who had no control over the theft but seeing the big picture, why should APPLE care, they're getting their money regardless so no loss to them, just tell the consumer to go buy another one and good luck next time. It's a poor and greedy business practice. Home Depot requires the purchaser to scan their DL or ID card and add their mobile number at the time of issue which automatically registers it to that person and upon redeeming the card you must provide the same information to prevent this kind of fraud and theft. The technology has been developed & implemented for at least 2 years now & the POS software is available and ready to be used by much smaller companies outside of the tech industry. If APPLE was on the losing end then they'd have implemented a cure for the disease long ago but Gift Card Fraud only hurts their consumers and increases their profits with additional sales with us buying more cards when needed. APPLE, you need to do better than this.

That’s right. Apple kept me on the phone for an hour and a half knowing what the result would be. They do nothing. Do the survey at the end of your Target receipt and talk about your experience. Hopefully you will have the same response I did and they will offer you a replacement card. This time redeem it in the store prior to leaving the register.

Was the card purchased at Target? Self checkout? The top barcode must be scanned first to activate it. Lower barcode second to purchase. If not activated, you will get the message that it has already been redeemed. Only Target purchased cards have this issue.

I'm a little late to the party here, but Target won't do anything. I'm going through this right now. Essentially, they are saying it shows it was successfully activated when I purchased it, so the fact that it was already redeemed when I tried to redeem it is irrelevant since it was successfully purchased. Makes no sense. Consequently Target, and most retailers, are selling gift cards but can't guarantee them in any way; Target told me to call my police department or the FTC. Apple support pretty much said sorry, we can't help you either. At the end of the day, there's no one who is liable for gift cards and it's becoming a gamble when you buy them.

Apple is not going to help you. Hopefully the retailer can refund you if you return it quick enough otherwise you can try disputing the charge if you bought it using a credit card.

@AraceliMadrigal Your only chance is to go to the store where you got it, and see if they will refund your money. Apple doesn’t care. They just took your $25 and gave it to someone else.

Don’t buy physical Apple gift cards.

I did get some movement on this. No refund. You can forget that. But I did discover that Target has a different process on how they activate the cards. Odds are you probably went through self-check out when you made your purchase. The Apple cards sold by Target have two barcodes. One at the top and one at the bottom. The one top has to be scanned first before the one on the bottom. This activate the card. Target is the only one that does this. The clerk showed me when I went to go make a purchase

Hello Nicolas Rizo1,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities!

Based on what you mentioned, you have a gift card that is not usable. Take a moment to review: If you can't redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes Gift Card.

If you still have trouble, you may be able to get help where you are for this concern when you Contact Apple for support and service.

Best wishes!

This has happened to me twice now, both were gifts to me from family members, each were $50, and both purchased at a Target store. First time was this past Christmas, my family member called Apple and wasted several days of calling back and forth for them to say, call Target because nothing they could do, Target would not do anything about it. Second time was this morning, my wife bought me one for v-day, I checked it see if it was not tampered with, unsealed it, scanned it, and it was already redeemed. I called Apple and they said it was redeemed within 10 minutes of the purchase! They said to contact Target, but I already know it’s a list cause. Don’t buy Apple physical Apple gift cards. They are all compromised and worthless.