Posted by Chuck on September 4, 2016
Gift Cards paypal digital gifts image

Published on September 4th, 2016 | by Chuck

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Issues With Paypal Digital Gifts Last Month (Cards With A Zero Balance)

Update: This might be the cause.

Many people report their e-gift cards purchased last month from Paypal Digital Gifts are showing with balances zeroed out.

The problem seems to be primarily focused on iTunes cards, although there is mention of a problem with Southwest gift cards and with TGI gift cards too so it might be more widespread.

This is apparently why the entire PPDG store was down for a week at the end of August as they were working on the security issue.

We haven’t heard of any issues with gift cards purchased since PPDG came back online on August 30, and we’ll assume the problem is fixed going forward unless we hear reports indicating otherwise.

If you had your balances drained…

Being that this is a widespread problem, you should eventually get a resolution by contacting PPDG support. It might take time, however, until the reps become familiar with the issue and know to process a refund or replacement. If you’re getting a runaround from PPDG reps, it might be worth waiting a week or two before calling again.

If it was purchased on eBay, it’s easy to request a refund through the eBay system. This will get the ball rolling, and you might even get a phone-free resolution.

Hopefully, you purchased the card with a credit card for an added layer of protection in case PPDG doesn’t come through.

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21 Responses to Issues With Paypal Digital Gifts Last Month (Cards With A Zero Balance)

  1. Ben says:

    Had a similar issue with a GNC gift card from PPDG. I bought it on eBay; I initially sent PPDG a direct message and they basically told me to bugger off. I then requested a refund via eBay and they processed that promptly.

    Guess it goes to show selling gift cards is a terrible business :/

  2. FamilyOnABudget says:

    Just checked my four Best Buy cards that I purchased earlier in the month and they are all $0. I always get rid of my cards immediately, but I had been holding them for a gift. Couldn’t use them last week with the shut down, now they are 0. If they were compromised they should have warned us. Wonder how much private data was compromised.

  3. Jason smith says:

    Just checked and 2 of my Best Buy gift cards have a balance of $0. The problem is clearly widespread.

  4. Boraxo says:

    Good reason never to buy a gift card from PayPal or eBay. Both sites are so yesterday now. Buy at your local store (so you get a receipt and can view the physical card for signs of tampering). And I’ve never had a problem buying a gift card direct from the merchant.

  5. Harry says:

    anyone know how far the issue would affect for the past purchase. I had some unused or partially used e-gift card (itunes, staples) purchased before June. Would they be ok?

  6. Khiem says:

    Holy cow, all 5 of my BB gc purchased on Aug 9th were zeroed out. The others purchased at various points earlier are still safe. Requested a refund and now realizing that it would be disastrous if they refunded me back $500 in the original form of payment since I already threw away my ebay gc used in the transaction. What a mess!

    • Jim says:

      You can still find the original ebay GC in your paypal records if you go to the purchase under the classic view and click on details. (just realized the same thing and found them this way).

      • Octavio says:

        How were you able to determine the actual numbers from the alphanumeric string Paypal assigns to the gift cards when they are processed?

        • Jim says:

          Sorry, I was confused. You’re right. Those alphanumeric codes are of course not the actual GC numbers. I have my stack of old ones I have to go through, then. Still waiting for any reply from PPDG anyway.

          • Khiem says:

            I tried to look at the classic page but couldn’t find anything. Luckily for me, I was able to locate the 2 gift cards used in my said purchase. But still, their solution was horrible and irresponsible. How do they expect people to keep their gift card after the balance has been drained?
            They totally ignored my follow up message asking for a replacement instead, and refunded me back to the original method of payment.

  7. karl1402 says:

    Wow, what a disaster. I have tons of iTunes cards that were zeroed. The support email page gives an error. What are people doing to get refunds?

  8. Jim says:

    I had 4 itunes purchased through ebay drained. I just submitted a return request through ebay. Of course, I paid with ebay GC back when you could still do that, so even if I get a refund, now I’m stuck with useless ebay GC. Will update when ppdg responds.

  9. Jean says:

    Purchased 5 $100 bestbuy giftcards back in July. Heard about this story, went to check balances… all 0.

    This is very widespread.

  10. Vlad says:

    My 100$ Bestbuy giftcard I bought from PPDG has 0 balance, while I never used it. Never shared any GC details with anybody. I bought it several month ago, have no idea how to get my money back, cannot open ebay case anymore…

  11. JC says:

    I filed a claim through ebay for a refund. (thankfully only one $50 gc drained). I know it’s past the guarantee window but I can’t see how paypal wouldn’t give a refund for this? Anyways, has anyone had success getting their money back on this yet? Would be nice to have a data point

  12. broker chap says:

    11 out of 13 bbgc zero.
    this is outrageous, will start class action soon if i dont get my money back

  13. ss says:

    As someone who has $1300 in Bestbuy gift cards still waiting to be redeemed I checked all my cards and they ALL are unused. But this worries me … I guess I’ll have to spend that $1300 asap.

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