Help using gift card

Flea93
Contributor
Contributor

I recently got a pre-paid American Express gift card for $50.

I want to make a purchase via Steam with it, but Steam will not accept it.

So I tried Paypal, but then again I do not have a bank account so I can't verify!

I just need to make one purchase but this is being way too difficult.

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Flea93
Contributor
Contributor

AND NOW I GET ALL THESE!

 

i want those off right now paypal wtf!

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12 REPLIES 12
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Flea93
Contributor
Contributor

AND NOW I GET ALL THESE!

 

i want those off right now paypal wtf!

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billiebeesaved
New Community Member

I just bought a VISA $25.00 gift card...

And I was going to buy a membership on a website..

I am signing up as a first time Paypal member, But PayPal wont accept my card...since its not a credit card and the website i am purchasing from uses PayPal

 

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Thanks

 

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TaupinJohn
Member
Member

   This is EXACTLY the problem I'm having.  I decided to get myself a membership to FARK.com (five bucks a month, I figured I'd try it out) and the only options they give me to pay is with PayPal or with a credit card.  When I try to pay with my Visa gift card ($50 value, which I bought just for this purpose) they won't take it.

    So, if I can't use it to pay FARK directly, and I can't use it to put money into PayPal, wtf?  Besides opening my door when I lock myself out of my apartment, what good is the card at all?

    If you get any answers, please let me know.  Aaah, I see they won't let me put my e-mail addy on here, even when I tried to slide it in cleverly.  That's okay, if you'll reply to me here, that would be great, too.  I would sure appreciate it. 

    Also, when I first went to PayPal to open an account, it said I already had one.  I went 'round and 'round with Sarah, the Automated Idiot, then finally called the long-distance number.  The person I got (after about ten minutes of pressing this and that...) spoke with broken English and said I'd started an account like ten years ago, and he wanted the last four digits of that account number.  I told him I don't even live in the same country now, am divorced, and haven't a clue as to even which bank we were using at the time.  He suggested I call the bank and ask them my account number.  Not easy to do when I don't know the name of the bloody bank!  This guy was a broken record -- of broken English, and he was ridiculously robotic, asking the same questions over and over. 

    So I said, "Okay, why don't we just forget I ever had an account, and let me start a new one?"  He said, "Okay, but we can't transfer your funds to your new account."  I said, "If we're just talking five or ten bucks, that's fine.  But if it's a substantial amount, please tell me; maybe I can go through some old medical records and find that account or at least the name of the bank."  He said he wasn't allowed to tell me that.  So I said, "Is it worth the time, I mean?  Like, just tell me if it's over ten bucks!" 

    Instead of answering me, he said, "Okay, so you want to start up a new account?  I can help you do that."  And I said, "What happens to the money in my existing account?  Who gets that?"

    His English became suddenly worse, and he acted as though I'd just asked him something as irrelevant as his opinion on quantum physics.  Reminded me of that housekeeper on the Simpsons... "no, no.... No English...no..."

     I said, "Well, the money HAS to go somewhere, can you tell me where?"  And he said he would e-mail me that information.  Riiiight.  Along with information on the 3 million bucks someone in Nigeria is holding for me, huh?  I won't hold my breath.

     Anyway, sorry I got off-topic.  But what IS it with people who cannot speak nor understand English getting jobs that pretty much require them to speak and listen IN ENGLISH 100% of the time?  Is it some kind of job requirement, like "Must be able to speak only broken English" -- like that? 

     ::sigh::  I need a xanax.  I would order some online, but I'd probably wind up with someone going, "So you need zantacs, no?"  Which would result in my throwing my phone out my second story apartment balcony.  Probably hitting someone in the head.... Someone who, when asked if okay, would answer, "No comprende' English... you find attorney for me, yes?" 

    Thanks for listening, really.Smiley Wink

--Tonnie Moon, Chattanooga TN

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YarnLust
Contributor
Contributor

Well. This is good to know. Too late, but good. Now to go close out my account here. *(grumblegrumblecomplaingrumblewhine)*

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luvstampin
Contributor
Contributor

The only card you can use to add money is a MONEYPAK card from Walmart or a few other places.

The pending authorizations should fall off within 1 week.

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Corbybear
Member
Member

So basically paypal accepted to link your gift card and took all of about $6.95 off your card but they will not allow you to purchase anything else with it? If i'm correct this is called stealing. You did not authorize them to take ANY money off your account. It has done the same thing with my card taking $2.95 off. I did not authorize this nor was I asked if this acceptable by me. Flea93, if I were you I would contact your local police department.

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JimInHotAZ
Member
Member

I did not see the solution so sorry if this is a repeat.  I purchased 4 Amex gift cards.  One of them worked on Pal Pay AFTER I called Amex to have them put a name and address to the gift card (I used an alias for both).  The card was originally $100.  The first charge for $55 did not work because of no name and address, but the merchant was able to do something to make it work and it charged $55 leaving $45 balance on gift card.  The next transaction was going to be for $30 via PayPal but since I didn't contact Amex to have a name/address put on the card, PayPal rejected the charge request for $30.  I tried this 4 or 5 times with PayPal and what PayPal does is run a test charge of $1.00 on the card before putting the charge through.  According the Amex, the $1.00 test charge gets credited within 7 days.  So at this point, my balance has gone from $45 to either $41 or $40 and I still want to pay that $30.  Next I called Amex and had them put an alias name/address on the card.  I think tried to pay the $30 invoice from PayPal and put in the name/address I gave Amex....and poof, IT WENT THROUGH AND WORKED.  Now, what I'm not sure is whether it did another $1.00 test charge and then $30.00 (like I said, I don't know if I tried 4 or 5 times before calling Amex).  So now my balance on that card is down to $10 and I should get $5 back from PayPal (should).  KEEP READING.....I had another gift card for $100 and an invoice from PayPal for $100.  I called Amex FIRST to register the card and then tried to run the $100 card and it DID NOT work, BUT it did do a test charge for $1.00....my guess is that PayPal ran the test $1 charge and then ran the $100 charge for a total of $101 on a $100 gift card.  PayPal stinks.  So now I will work at getting a new invoice for $98 from the merchant and run it through with my card that now has $99.  I don't know if it will go to $1 balance or $0 balance but will find out.

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TyrRoi
Contributor
Contributor

I called the PayPal help desk - PayPal does not accept "Gift Card" or "Pre-Paid Credit Card" even if get through the first process of linking the card, you can not purchase anything with it.

 

 

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Sazuify
New Community Member

Whaaat. No waaaay. 8( I was looking forward to it.

 

/cry

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