BEWARE if you purchased Petro-Canada GC at Target

[Bargain Seeker]

There was a problem with the activation of Petro-Canada gift cards purchased at Target on the week-end. First purchase the cashier told me that the note "Inactive" showed up on his screen; at that point we did not think too much of it since the transaction went through.

Second time I tried to purchase another Petro-Canada gift card the system crashed on us. We thought there was a problem with the chip on my Mastercard so I switched to my Target debit card. Again, the transaction went through.

Later in the day I tried to use the Petro-Canada card and it showed inactive. Went back to Target and they told me I had to wait at least 24 hours before it would be activated. It has now been 48 hours and still shows as inactive. I called the Petro-Canada 1-800 number and I was told that there was a problem with the sales and activation of Petro-Canada cards on the weekend. They are receiving tons of calls.

To make a long story short if you purchased Petro-Canada GC at Target this weekend you should check them asap.

[torontogal12]

The same gift card problems seem to pop up. Always seems to happen when you purchase a gift card for a different store than the one you're in.
Be careful, everyone!

[hollyquaiscer]

I'm sorry that has happened to you. Not only does it not work, but the inconvenience to have to go back to Target and/or Petro Canada to get the problems corrected. It's to bad that if PC knew they were having issues, that they didn't sent out a message to the stores telling them to stop selling the cards (until they corrected the problem). But then again, it speaks to the greed of some companies. Would they sooner sell gc's to unsuspecting customers all the while knowing that the customer is going to have issues just so they won't miss a sale??? NOT NICE.

[Ciel]

I know that President's Choice cards (prepaid long distance) have the same 24h activation period disclaimer printed on store receipts at Fortino's but the cards are activated without issue within an hour or so of purchase.

Good to note the gift cards that seem to take longer to activate, if at all. Would not want to encounter that scenario in Nov/Dec gift rush when many people consider gift cards for their recipients.

[seylz_gurl]

^ouch, didn't they have issues with gc's recently. nice of you to give everyone the heads up. hope things work out for you.

[seylz_gurl]

I've also been told not to use gc's until the next day (ie 24 hrs.) before using. However, I've never had a problem using them right away? Usually I buy them for personal use right away. Wonder why they always give that warning "don't use until tomorrow"?

I know that President's Choice cards (prepaid long distance) have the same 24h activation period disclaimer printed on store receipts at Fortino's but the cards are activated without issue within an hour or so of purchase.

Good to note the gift cards that seem to take longer to activate, if at all. Would not want to encounter that scenario in Nov/Dec gift rush when many people consider gift cards for their recipients.

[walkonby]

thanks for posting Bargain Seeker.

[DianneS]

I called the Petro-Canada 1-800 number and I was told that there was a problem with the sales and activation of Petro-Canada cards on the weekend. They are receiving tons of calls.

To make a long story short if you purchased Petro-Canada GC at Target this weekend you should check them asap.

Thanks for the post. In the past, SDM has had the same issues with Petro-Canada GC's. To be fair, it sounds like this is a PetroCanada problem, not a Target issue.

[cinpow]

I get BestBuy GCs at Loblaws, and they are activated on the same day of purchase. I think once the cashier scans the card at the till, it prompts the card to activate.

[TooCouponCrazy]

Ugh, that stinks. Thanks for posting.

[shunshun]

is that possible because of the target promo "buy 50 get 10 gift card"?

I heard many people bought lots of gas gift card during that promo and got big discounts, like 20%off of the card face value