The overall reputation of Vanilla gift cards is significantly tarnished by widespread customer dissatisfaction. Common concerns include persistent issues with card activation, frequent declines at various retailers, and ineffective customer service that fails to resolve problems promptly. Many customers report feeling scammed due to lost funds and inadequate support, with lengthy wait times for resolutions and replacement cards. While a few customers have had success using the cards at limited locations, the majority express frustration and caution against purchasing these cards, highlighting a trend of distrust and disappointment in the brand's reliability.
This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews
I call them because i lost my card. I have all the information of the card. I want a repalcement they make me wait on the phone 1hour and 30 min to tell me thy have to forward me to a supervisor after 35 minutes the supervisor came on the phone to tell me i will check for you and 30 more min latter no one show on the line.
This is just another review about getting your card and having it get rejected, just to find out that someone else used it.
It took their customer service team 3 months to tell me that they weren't going to go anything and to try and reach out to the merchant that the person bought the stuff from.
Ridiculous.
There is nothing redeeming about my experience with this company. The card I purchased as a gift remains in limbo, as it has been flagged as "compromised" several times for no apparent reason. Every time I call, I'm told that I will receive a call from the Order Management Team in "three business days", yet no call ever comes. When I call for an update, and finally reach a representative after an excessive wait time, the rep simply creates a new case and it all goes back to square one. Protect your money and do not buy from this sham of a company.
I ordered a$100 Gift Card for my Nephew who just started his freshman year in College. It was suppose
To be delivered in a Blue Box with a greeting Card. Instead it arrived in a white envelope without a card. Consequently he had no Idea who sent it. Impossible to reach anyone by phone as their options only allow speaking to a representative if card is lost or stolen.
No customer service, they steel your money. Just give cash. STAY AWAY! They will not let you use the card and keep the money. No customer service what so ever
I received a $100 gift card from very good friends. Tried to use it twice. Rejected both times (restaurant and Crate and Barrel). Called Vanilla. Entered in the card number. The auto-response I got back was the card was invalid. Tried inputting online to check balance. No luck. Have been on hold for customer service for 27 minutes. Would not recommend a Visa Vanilla Gift card to anyone. I would never buy one after my experience AND after reading their reviews (a cumulative 1-star at best).
I would rather drip hot acid into my eye then to purchase from this company again.
I purchased a few thousand dollars of these for my employees across the USA and in a couple of other countries. The employees in other countries were unable to use their cards, so i paypal'd them money and then they sent me their card info (assuming i could just use the cards in the US.) A few of the cards were not used for almost a year (expires in ten years) and when i viewed them online, they showed they still had the original few hundred dollars in credit. When i tried to use them a few days later they would not work. When i went back online to view the account, there were charges on the card from 6 months prior (that were not there a couple of days ago.) Funny thing is that these charges were on multiple cards for the same places (keep in mind that these cards were distributed to employees in other countries - but now showing used 6 months ago in the same place in the US.) These people are experts at scamming. I have been trying to dispute for weeks to no avail.
Charges were at 7-11, denny's and other places in Las Vegas.
I parched a $500 gift card early this year. I noticed three transactions for same exact amount on July of this year. I reported them s unauthorized transaction and ask them to investigate. Vanllia gift com deactivated my card but never replied to my request for investigation. After several phone calls they asked me to complete the dispute ticket which I did on July of this year. I haven't heard back except for a confirmation email that they have received my email. I have call them but no answer. They owe me around $200. My card has been deactivated and I finally decided to write this review. Never again I buy a gift card from this company.
Ordered gift card using Pay Pal. The Vanilla website is so terrible there was no way to correct shipping address. On phone for hours waiting for customer service. They refused to cancel or correct the wrong address. In addition a $75 card cost me $90 due to their outrageous fees. I will never order from them again.
GOT A $200 GIFT CARD FROM MY COUSIN $0 BALANCE! Customer service is nonresistant!
Its been 5 months and they have done NOTHING! Bet I'll never get my gift of $200
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DO NOT USE THIS GIFT CARD COMPANY! I WAS GIVEN A $500 GIFT CARD IN AUGUST 2022 AND WENT TO THE STORE TO USE IT, THE CARD WAS DECLINED BECAUSE SOMEONE USED IT AT AN ONLINE CASINO OUT OF NEW JERSEY. I REPORTED IT THE SAME DAY AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO START A DISPUTE. I EMAILED THEM ALL THE INFO THEY REQUESTED (I EVEN RECIEVED A CONFIRMATION EMAIL FROM THEM). I NEVER RECIEVED A CALL BACK FROM THEM SO I CALLED AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD SEND IT TO THE DISPUTE OFFICE TO GET IT STARTED AND I WOULD RECIEVE A PHONE CALL...AGAIN NOTHING. I HAVE CALLED ABOUT 7 TIMES ASKING ABOUT A UPDATE, EACH TIME I WAS TOLD THE SAMETHING...ITS BE INVEGASTED. I CALLED AGAIN TODAY (4 MONTHS AFTER THE FRAUD) AND I WAS TOLD ITS BEEN DENIED! NO REASON WHY, JUST SAID IIT WAS DENIED. I ASKED FOR THE PHONE NUMBER TO THE DISPUTE CENTER AND WAS TOLD THERE IS NO PHONE NUMBER TO THE DISPUTE CENTER...THATS BULLS***. THIS COMPANY RECIEVED THEIR MONEY BUT NOW THEY WILL NOT GIVE ME MINE.
I purchased a $300.00 gift card. By the time the card was going to be used to pay for a dinner, the card had a zero balance. When I called the card, the put a hold on it. Unfortunately, someone purchased a game and Google play-to name a few. I filed a dispute. Still, Vanilla states no issue with card. Do not purchase a Vanilla card.
Short version card was received as a gift on nov 5th. Unable to use on nov 7th as a debit of 50.00 had been taken. Gift card was for 50.00 so I thought there was a short hold on it. Then nov 15th was unable to use and when I again called customer service they said a de bit of 50.00 was taken that day. Card was in package no tampering evident when I received it. When I called again and spoke with an actual person (that alone could make you crazy) I was told I could file a dispute. Process unbelievable and it could take up to 150 days! Do not buy these cards.
I ordered a gift card, standard delivery 5-6 bus days. I called after 10 bus days and not received, spent days/hours on hold for anyone to pick up the phone. Agent finally said it could be another 15 business days to arrive. Why? She couldn't answer. That needs to be on the website! They refused to cancel the order at that point.
I put money on this card 4 days ago, the post hit my account 1 day latter and still no funds available. I been calling the # on hold for 20 and 30 minutes at a time. Basically VISA got me for danm near $400
There Are a lot of numbers and advertising for vanilla gift card, but these people are frauds thats stealing money from American s citizens, and I will get every dime they stole from me and they cancel your card to, when there is nothing wrong with your card, it's just that the dam people are stealing from the inside it's a inside job. And they all need to go to a dam jail cell for decades for stealing and robbing Americans of there hard earned money, and we have to pay for them to cross the border to, I a m $#*!ing angry and want justice, Go on line and read some of the complaints so sad to treat people this way.
Do yourself a favor, only send these giftcards to your enemies! Card can not be used in many places. Kept getting declined! WORST gift card customer service EVER! Contact info is a single phone number with only a list of pre-recorded lists. No chat, no email contact info. Can not get thru to a live person. And their wait on hold music is the worst EVER! Waited ON HOLD OVER one-half Hour!
I purchased a $500 card. I used it once the next day for $35. The next day I tried to use it to pay a bill and there was a $400 unauthorized charge that was pending. Called the company and told them that charge was not mine. Not to let the money go through. They said wait two days it should drop off. It didn't and even after being told the charge was fraudulent they went ahead and let it go through. Now $400 of my money has disappeared and all they'll say is they'll do a fraud investigation and I may have my money back in the next 90 days. This is completely and totally unacceptable and in no way a good business model. $400 may not mean much to some but it means a lot to me. It's the difference between feeding my family and not feeding them. This company could care less I believe that they work from the inside to take money before you have a chance to use it. Don't ever in your life purchase a card from these Crooks. I will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and the Department of Justice as well as the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. If you have a problem I suggest you do the same it's the only way you'll get any satisfaction. Crooks, crooks, Crooks!
Recently I tried to review my balance on their website. After several attempts I was able to enter my card's info and had a nice balance. Unknowing to me the site had been hacked and the next day when I went to buy groceries, by balance was 13cents. Some gutter creep had stolen $166.80 from me. I had to return all my items. Tried calling customer service, and after several minutes someone answered. I was told to call back in 7 to 8 days to file a claim. They could have easily stop the transaction being it had not fully been processed. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!
Answer: Same here. Called in and they said it was locked for my protection against a fraudulent merchant, which makes no sense since I just opened it myself and used it at a trusted store. Call in and they can re-issue a new card, though that will take several weeks to arrive
Answer: I would say the fraud dept but I had no luck when I opened a fraud case with them. Good luck!
Answer: A very long time. First time I ever got the card and never again. Sickening.