To the editor:
My senior citizen brother purchased and sent me a gift card for my birthday. He bought the card from Calgary Westhills Safeway and it was “good” for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Taco Bell or Pizza Hut. I tried to use the card at the local Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Upon presentation of the KFC gift card I was told the gift card was not accepted so I was required to pay cash for my purchase. I was at their store to use the gift card otherwise I would not make such a purchase.
I contacted TheGiftCard.Com store, which oversees the gift card my brother purchased, and was told to go to the place of purchase with the original receipt for a refund and/or contact KFC head office. The receipt is long gone. I contacted KFC with the serial number of the gift card, how much it is worth, where it was purchased and the location refusing to honour their authorized marketing product.
I asked how one of their franchise outlets can refuse to honour an official marketing tool authorized by the head office. KFC received value but I didn’t. The contact is broken. How can a consumer get a refund? It’s been 10 days and I’ve heard nothing from KFC.
Wonder how many other consumers were/are duped into purchasing gift cards and unable to use them? My brother is out his money. I didn’t get to enjoy my birthday present but incurred a $25 expense. The $25 is not a lot of money but it is considerable for us senior citizens living on very fixed incomes. Someone is laughing and getting away with fraud.
Beware when buying your next gift card. Not all is what it seems to be.
Patrick W. Olenick, West Kelowna
