Consumer complaint received 2016-07-12
Product: Prepaid card — Gift or merchant card
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (OH)

I received a pre-paid XXXX gift card that is issued by U.S. Bank National Association for my birthday in XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX - I called XXXX at XXXX to see if the gift card I received as a birthday gift needed to be activated before use. I was told that it did not and it was available for use. I also asked when it expired and was told that there is n't an expiration date, even though the front of the card says XXXX. It only " expires '' once the funds are completely removed from the card. 
Saturday XXXX XXXX, XXXX at approx. XXXX - I went to XXXX which is a local home store located in XXXX , Ohio . I went to purchase a couple of items with my XXXX Gift Card from XXXX. During checkout I was asked to swipe my gift card so the amount could be credited to my purchase. I was told that the card was declined. Since the card was not used and XXXX told me there were funds available, I was not sure why the card would not work. The cashier asked me to try again and run it as a credit card. I did. Again it was declined. The cashier asked me to run it one more time. I did and this time ran it as a debit card and entered a pin number that is on the back of the card. It was declined. The At Home store then informed me that there point of sale system would not allow the card to be swiped again and that three times was the limit. I was not able to purchase the items that I had picked out to use the gift card on. 
Monday XXXX XXXX, XXXX at XXXX - I looked at the back of my gift card and went to the website they suggest for card balance inquiries. I went to the site ( Exhibit A ) and entered my card number, the XXXX digit security code from the back and entered the robot code from the website. I hit Log In and the page refreshed removing all of the data I just entered. The page did not load or continue to a new page. The site looked to be broke. 
I then called XXXX at XXXX to determine the issue. The automated system asked me to enter my card number to make the process quicker. A customer service woman then took my call. The woman that I talked to asked me for the number on my card again. I provided the number and then she asked me what the value of the card was. I told her {$75.00}. She then proceeded to tell me that I was correct and that amount was still on the card. She told me that the card was purchased in XXXX XXXX ( this is after when I received the card ). I told her that the card was declined at a local store and she apologized for the inconvenience. She then proceeded to tell me that I would need to provide proof of purchase to them. I told her that this was a gift and that I did not purchase this card. 
I told her that I did not understand why they needed a proof of purchase when I have the card in my possession and there is still money on the card. It did not make sense. She explained that this was their process. I also wanted to know if the card was purchase with cash, what then? She stated that there was " nothing that they can do '' if there is no proof of purchase. I explained that this did not seem correct and thanked her for her time. The call ended. 
I have also found several sites where consumers of XXXX gift cards have had similar issue with this company not honoring the monetary value on their cards. Many customers have had the card value deplete due to fees from this company while the card was declined or not used. Others have had the same experience as me where they were told to provide proof of purchase and nothing was ever resolved. This company, along with the companies that are " storefronts '' to sell the cards, I believe is committing fraud and stealing funds from consumers. 
I then contacted my attorney to discuss my options.