Has anyone ever experienced this? Gift card related

[gbailey]

DH's sister sent DD a Walmart Moneycard for Christmas. It was a nice gesture and appreciated. We weren't able to activate the card without the receipt number which she gave when we called to say thank you for the gift. Activating the card requires one of our social security numbers whether we activate it online or over the telephone. Neither myself or DH are comfortable giving our SS # to activate a gift card with money on it already. It seems odd that Walmart wants this considering there is money on the card already. Has anyone ever had to do this? DH says he'll ask his sister to activate the card herself.

[RiverSky]

Yikes! That sounds highly invasive. No wonder you don't want to do it!

[mamadelbosque]

Umm.. yeah, thats crazy. I was always under the impression that gift cards were activated as soon as you bought them?? And no, I definetly would *NOT* give my SS# to frigging walmart, of all places...

[limabean]

That's crazy! I've never had to give one bit of personal info about myself when activating a gift card.

Is that really how Walmart does their gift cards (I've never received one)? It sounds like a very cumbersome process, especially this time of year! Even getting the activation code from the original sales receipt is annoying -- what if a teacher gets a bunch from her students or something? She's supposed to track down and contact each parent for the code before she can use it? How irritating! Are they hoping that people will buy gift cards but the process will annoy potential customers out of actually redeeming them for products?

Can you take it to Walmart and ask them to give you plain old store credit instead? Hopefully a manager will understand that asking for your SSN is ridiculous, especially since they've already been paid for the card.

[sahmmie]

That's crazy. I just received three walmart gift cards and used all three of them without having to give any information whatsoever.

[swd12422]

Originally Posted by sahmmie

That's crazy. I just received three walmart gift cards and used all three of them without having to give any information whatsoever.

Yeah, that's sketchy. NEVER give out your SSN, unless it's to the IRS or your employer! Have your sister deal with it, or just don't use it.

[calebsmommy25]

That is weird. Are moneycards different than giftcards from walmart? I've had giftcards from walmart before and did not have to do this. It is my understanding that giftcards need to be activated before they are bought. I hope you sister-in-law gets this figured out for you. Man, what a hassle!

[ShadowMoon]

I definitely wouldn't give anyone your SS#. That doesn't sound right at all.

[frontstreetmama]

I just went to:

www.walmartmoneycard.com

and it appears that you can use the temporary non-reloadable card WITHOUT further identification but in order to get a personal reloadable money card that works like a VISA you do need to give them some sort of gov't ID

[gbailey]

Originally Posted by calebsmommy25

That is weird. Are moneycards different than giftcards from walmart? I've had giftcards from walmart before and did not have to do this. It is my understanding that giftcards need to be activated before they are bought. I hope you sister-in-law gets this figured out for you. Man, what a hassle!

It's different. This card you can reload and put more money on it and the person who buys it pays $3.00 for it. I tried going to the website and trying to activate it without the ss number but it wouldn't allow me too. I did a google search and heard so many negative things about the card I am too paranoid to put the number.

At this point, I am so ticked off at my sister in law, I want to mail the card back but that's another thread. LOL

[Oonah]

from the money card user agreement

Activating Your Temporary Card. The one-time load to a Temporary Card may be made only at a participating Walmart store through the Green Dot Financial Network in a minimum amount of $20, and a maximum of $500 (or $1,500 if you received the Temporary Card when you cashed a check at Walmart). A Temporary Card is non-reloadable. You must activate the Temporary Card and choose a Personal Identification Number ("PIN"), either by going online to walmartmoneycard.com or by calling toll-free [phone]. You must have both your Temporary Card and receipt with you when you call to activate or for any refunds. After you activate your Temporary Card and we have verified your identity and confirmed that you are at least 16 years of age, we will send you a Personalized Card in the mail. If we are unable to verify your identity or confirm that you are at least 16 years of age, you will not receive a Personalized Card. We will return to you the amount loaded on the Temporary Card and any fees you paid or, at our option, allow you to use the Temporary Card until the balance on the card is zero.

I definitely would NOT give out my ssn - fortunately it looks like you have some options.

[Drummer's Wife]

hmmm, while that seems odd for a true gift card (walmart's cute ones with a variety of prints/designs to choose from do not require a SS#) - we have used Walmart's Moneycard, which cost $3 to load, had monthly fees, and needed a SS# as well as name, address, DOB to activate -- and were very happy with it. It worked just like any other bank issued Debit Card (and really, it's a bank that is partnered with walmart). We also had to have that sales receipt and numbers on it before getting our money - even though we had only 20 minutes before handed an associate over $500 to load it. I remember this clearly b/c I misplaced that dang tiny extra receipt and drove myself nutty finding it.

How much $ is it? I guess if it's not a high amount and you aren't comfortable activating the card as required - then could you give your DD the $20 or whatever to spend on something for herself? I'm pretty sure your SIL is out the money, unless you give it back to her and she activates it in her own name. Otherwise they won't refund her money b/c it's not really walmart you are dealing with. The money is in a bank account now.

Personally, having used walmart's moneycard and being glad it was available for check cashing, and paying bills when we had banking issues - I wouldn't hesitate myself to go thru the process in order to be able to spend the money. I would call during their 'real people answering' hours and see what alternative they have besides using a social security number. Can people w/o one not use it? I bet they have a way around this.

Surely, this must not be a walmart giftcard only valid at walmart - it's for your DD to spend wherever, right? It's been awhile since we used our moneycard (though I keep it active by paying the small monthly fee) so unless they have added a whole other card - I'm guessing it's the same thing.

anyhow, good luck figuring out. It's too bad the gift wasn't easier to receive (though, I'm sure your SIL meant well).

[gbailey]

Originally Posted by Oonah

from the money card user agreement


I definitely would NOT give out my ssn - fortunately it looks like you have some options.

Thanks! I appreciate that info!

Drummer's Wife, thanks for the info too. It doesn't say how much the card is. I figured I would let DH ask his sister. LOL

At the risk of sounding ungrateful, this really is an annoying process. I've never had to do this with a gift card. I get DH iTunes gift cards and all the cashier does is activate it. Nothing else. I mean he has to enter the code when he's buying music but not provide other info.

[Ajbaby]

Like drummers wife said, its not a gift card. It is really for people with poor credit that cannot get a credit or debit card.

They really don't have them labeled right in the store, I know it creates a lot of confusion because walmart also has the shopping card (that can only be used in store and online) and a visa gift card that can be used anywhere, plus the green dot ones.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move this to Frugality and Finances since it's less of a parenting question and more of a money one.

[JessicaS]

I got one of those for Christmas one year. I refused to give them my SS#. They ended up cutting me a check.

[Usually Curious]

Drummer's Wife, we had a good experience w/it, too. My dh took one to Israel twice. It was great and I was able to load more money on it from home while he was in Israel.

[Drummer's Wife]

It really can be convenient. One of the good things about a pre-paid debit card is no chance of overdrafting or other unexpected fees. Another thing is being able to use it online, or for one time use things that sometimes have re-occuring charges you may not be aware of (like once when I thought it was $15 to get a credit report, when it was really a monthly fee - if we used a pre-paid debit card, and the money wasn't there the following months, it would simply decline it). I have BOA and sometimes don't catch smaller charges like this if I'm not watching the statements closely.

I guess unless someone refuses to open a bank account anywhere (which requires the same info) I'm not entirely understanding being hesitant to activate a pre-loaded moneycard. It's essentially like the giver set up a bank account for the reciever. If once the money is spent you don't want to add more, you don't even have to formally close it. Walmart's now have 'Money Centers' located near the front of the store, which is just like a mini bank that lets you cash checks, pay utility bills, or add money to your account/card.

OP, since it was gift - your SIL would have been better off giving plain old cash - but it's certainly not a scam or a risk, IMO, to activate the card and spend the money.

ETA: I've been thinking about this some more and I guess it wouldn't be a big deal if it was something you got for yourself... 'cause then you would have read all the fine print about fees/activation and knew what you were getting into. The fact that it was a gift, but not really a gift card, makes it annoying. I can see that now. B/C it was a little quirky and frustrating for even myself when I first got one to pay bills with and shop online -- but after having it for a month or so and using it, I really liked it, especially the bill pay system, text msg's about balance, and being able to track spending online. This after we had unauthorized charges on our regular bank account resulting in a loss of a big sum of money (and then our accounts frozen!) SOOO, for us, it was something we needed at the time and worth the annoying aspects.

If you haven't already, OP, see about getting a check sent out and the card closed. [and sorry for all my rambling I'm tired, but talkative]

[Cheshire]

I wouldn't do it since you didn't want it for yourself. If you give a SS# it could show up as an acct on your credit report. This was supposed to just be a gift - you shouldn't have to share your SS# for that.

Either ask Walmart to send you a check for the amount or ask SIL to exchange it for a regular gift card.

What a PIA - I bet SIL had no idea it would be such a hassle.

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by Cheshire

I wouldn't do it since you didn't want it for yourself. If you give a SS# it could show up as an acct on your credit report. This was supposed to just be a gift - you shouldn't have to share your SS# for that.

Either ask Walmart to send you a check for the amount or ask SIL to exchange it for a regular gift card.

What a PIA - I bet SIL had no idea it would be such a hassle.

It's not a credit account, there's no way that it could turn up as an account on your credit card/