Steve M.

I purchased 5 Visa giftcards and was locked out of using 3 of them from the first attempt to use them. It is worth noting that the attempted usage was in the same city that the cards were purchased and activated in, so it makes little sense that their system would auto-lock them for suspected fraud. Despite numerous calls to Blackhawk and promises they would be unlocked in 2-4 hours they remained locked for several days. When they were finally unlocked, I was told they had been permanently locked out from being used at Giant, one of the largest supermarket chains in the northeast with a parent company that owns over 19 national supermarket brands. Several hours after finally being unlocked, someone attempted to charge $500 to a $200 card 900 miles away from the cards registered location with a company that seems to solely exist for the purpose of laundering giftcards under the guise of charity - 3 clear indications of fraud that any regular credit card would have blocked and yet Blackhawk's system didn't flag it. Nonetheless, they flagged my $200 transaction days earlier at a local supermarket, but allowed the fraudulent transaction to go through. When I reported the fraudulent transaction within hours, the Blackhawk rep mishandled the case and failed to lock the card or even file a dispute. Luckily, I called back the following day else the dispute never would have been filed at all. Thus far, Blackhawk has been dragging their feet and has failed to provide me with the $200 they owe me. Moreover, I have learned that their reps are not supposed to ask for the number on the front of the card and yet one of them did - likely the person that fraudulently used it - a Blackhawk employee. These people are thieves that make their living off ripping off their customers. Check the back of the giftcard packaging for their brand name and if you see it, RUN. They WILL rip you off.

BPP sells gray market cameras which usually come with none of the items (manuals, chargers, etc.) that come with the retail versions and occasionally come with no US warranty. Your credit card number will inevitably be used without your authorization at another merchant as well. Stay away!