I had the gift card fiasco and now cant pay my final balance

The sage continues. I bought gift cards that ended up being fraudulent. Here is the original thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2532735

I went online to pay my final balance with my credit card. The rep that helped me with the gift card fiasco said I was banned from using any gift cards on this booking from here on out so i was using a mastercard. She said I would have to pay with a major credit card. I was . I kept getting a notice that I was not allowed to change a current booking. I called Carnival and he was blocked from taking my payment either. I get to call the accounting department on Monday as the rep could not tell me why that kept popping up on both ends.

Just a heads up to the rest of you that also had the fraudulent cards. Dont be suprised if you are blocked from paying.

Did you try PayPal? You can use your card through there.

Did you try PayPal? You can use your card through there.

They can't take any payment from me period according to the carnival rep until it is cleared in accounting. I feel like a criminal :) Banned from using gift cards because I bought a fraudulent one along with many others. I did show proof I bought them legally. The rep was very nice. I'm going to try the PayPal just to see quick. I'm thinking it won't work if the carnival rep said I was blocked from making a payment but who knows. I'll report back if it works.

Edit: tried it and same results

They can't take any payment from me period according to the carnival rep until it is cleared in accounting. I feel like a criminal :) Banned from using gift cards because I bought a fraudulent one along with many others. I did show proof I bought them legally. The rep was very nice. I'm going to try the PayPal just to see quick. I'm thinking it won't work if the carnival rep said I was blocked from making a payment but who knows. I'll report back if it works.

Please do. I'm curious.

Please do. I'm curious.

Exact same message about not being able to change an existing booking in bright red.

Exact same message about not being able to change an existing booking in bright red.

Oh well. It was worth a try. Hope you get it straightened out Monday.

They can't take any payment from me period according to the carnival rep until it is cleared in accounting. I feel like a criminal :) Banned from using gift cards because I bought a fraudulent one along with many others. I did show proof I bought them legally. The rep was very nice. I'm going to try the PayPal just to see quick. I'm thinking it won't work if the carnival rep said I was blocked from making a payment but who knows. I'll report back if it works.

 

Edit: tried it and same results

Seems like your being a victim of fraudulent gift card was not enough as a burden. Hope it is resolved. Kindly keep us posted.

Obviously, dealing with a sketchy 2nd hand gift card website (where fraud is apparently rampant) in order to try and save a few dollars seems like a substantial risk to me. Sorry you got caught up in the fraud, but Carnival is well within their rights to lock up your account.

As others have said, there are only 3 vendors from which to buy "new" valid Carnival gift cards, stick with them and this will never be an issue for you again.

Obviously, dealing with a sketchy 2nd hand gift card website (where fraud is apparently rampant) in order to try and save a few dollars seems like a substantial risk to me. Sorry you got caught up in the fraud, but Carnival is well within their rights to lock up your account.

 

As others have said, there are only 3 vendors from which to buy "new" valid Carnival gift cards, stick with them and this will never be an issue for you again.

I had no idea they were sketchy. I definitely learned my lesson. I actually saw the tip here. The Carnival rep said they were dealing with hundreds per day. I'm wondering if my account being locked was an oversite. She told me I could pay online with any major credit card. I purchased my shore excursions just fine.

Actually I sold the $100 gift card I received as a CC reward since I couldn't use it on this booking. I think it might be a few years before we take another cruise. I have loved every minute of every one. However our baby graduates from college in a few months and international travel will finally be in the budget.

keep us posted on how it goes...

Sorry, replied to wrong thread...but similar issue.

I am locked out of paying for my trip still. The regular Carnival agents can not take a payment as I stated . I had to call the accounting Dept. She is working with her boss to unlock it so she can take my final payment. She will be calling back as soon as the lock is lifted. She confirmed as a victim of the fraudulent cards that :

1. I will never again be able to use a gift card on any booking

2. I will never again be able to make a payment or book online. I will have to call the accounting dept every single time

I will not elaborate on my feeling over this any more than to say I feel like a criminal and it has really changed my opinion of carnival with the restrictions placed. I showed proof I did everything legally. She confirmed this will be the case for EVERYONE who was a victim in this scam.

Ive got to ask when she calls back how this impacts the sign and sail card.

We feel for you......and completely understand how badly you feel. I hope this is resolved for you SOON and that you will enjoy your upcoming cruise!!!

We feel for you......and completely understand how badly you feel. I hope this is resolved for you SOON and that you will enjoy your upcoming cruise!!!

Thank you. I think Carnival is making a mistake branding those of us that are victims of this scam with these broad sweeps. Im sure I am not the only one out of the thousands of us in this mess that will take their yearly cruise dollars elsewhere on principal after this.

I know it's too late now, but perhaps if you had a PVP, they could have handled all this for you. If you decide to give Carnival a try again, I suggest using a good one. Then they can deal with the payment part. Times like these (when things go wrong) is where they are such an asset.

Thank you. I think Carnival is making a mistake branding those of us that are victims of this scam with these broad sweeps. Im sure I am not the only one out of the thousands of us in this mess that will take their yearly cruise dollars elsewhere on principal after this.

I can understand your frustration, but I'm not sure how they can distinguish you from the people who were really trying to scam them?! I get that it really sucks for you, I'm sure of that. But I can't see how they know you from the others, if that makes sense. I really hope you can get it straightened out though. It sounds like the other poster, with the same problem, got theirs taken care of. Maybe they should stop the 3rd party gift card sales all together. I wonder if other cruise lines have had this issue too? I only bought some through AARP for our cruise last year.

I know it's too late now, but perhaps if you had a PVP, they could have handled all this for you. If you decide to give Carnival a try again, I suggest using a good one. Then they can deal with the payment part. Times like these (when things go wrong) is where they are such an asset.

I am wondering if she had a travel agent, how would it work? When you have a TA you can't put your payment it, only they can do it.

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I know it's too late now, but perhaps if you had a PVP, they could have handled all this for you. If you decide to give Carnival a try again, I suggest using a good one. Then they can deal with the payment part. Times like these (when things go wrong) is where they are such an asset.

I am not allowed to do that. I have to book with the accounting dept and arrange payment with them. Their PVP can NOT take a payment from me ever again. Approval for booking and payment is in Accounting dept only for all of caught up in the fraud fiasco permanently. Ironically they work 9 to 5 M-F . I couldnt even call them about this until today because of work and no break between my crisis clients from 7 to 5 the last two days. Today I took the day off. So booking through them is not likely as I have long non stop work days during their hours. It really doesnt matter though. Their is a lot of competition for vacation dollars. I do plan to write a letter to carnivals big shots though. Yes the price of losing our yearly cost of our grand suites wont hurt them a bit. However a huge number of us were caught up in this and are getting this poor treatment.

I am wondering if she had a travel agent, how would it work? When you have a TA you can't put your payment it, only they can do it.

 

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Yeah, you have to make payments to them but most of the time they run it through Carnival directly as in your CC charge shows Carnival, not the TA. If Carnival tells the TA the same thing, then I guess there's not much they could do.

I wonder if a PVP, since they actually work at Carnival, could do more. Like my PVP. He's been there since 1992 and knows a lot of the higher ups personally and whenever I run into an issue, he gets it taken care of. I don't need to call anyone else because he takes it up the chain of command himself.

I am not allowed to do that. I have to book with the accounting dept and arrange payment with them. Their PVP can NOT take a payment from me ever again. Approval for booking and payment is in Accounting dept only for all of caught up in the fraud fiasco permanently. Ironically they work 9 to 5 M-F . I couldnt even call them about this until today because of work and no break between my crisis clients from 7 to 5 the last two days. Today I took the day off. So booking through them is not likely as I have long non stop work days during their hours. It really doesnt matter though. Their is a lot of competition for vacation dollars. I do plan to write a letter to carnivals big shots though. Yes the price of losing our yearly cost of our grand suites wont hurt them a bit. However a huge number of us were caught up in this and are getting this poor treatment.

But you didn't use a PVP when booking did you? A PVP is not a Customer Service Rep. CSRs are the ones that answer the phone when you call the 800 number and many of them are useless. A PVP is in a totally different league and you have to know their extension to get a hold of one.

But you didn't use a PVP when booking did you? A PVP is not a Customer Service Rep. CSRs are the ones that answer the phone when you call the 800 number and many of them are useless. A PVP is in a totally different league and you have to know their extension to get a hold of one.

No I did not. I booked online as I always have. However it is a mute point as I am no longer allowed to book a cruise with anyone but the rep in the accounting dept because of the gift card stuff. It may help someone else in the future reading this. However a PVP wont help me.

No I did not. I booked online as I always have. However it is a mute point as I am no longer allowed to book a cruise with anyone but the rep in the accounting dept because of the gift card stuff. It may help someone else in the future reading this. However a PVP wont help me.

Like I said, if you decide to cruise Carnival again, get a PVP like mine. They will (and would have in this particular case as well) handle everything for you with one call and save you a ton of time and frustration. Instead of you having to talk to multiple people repeating your story over and over again, waiting for supervisors, etc you only will need to call them and they will take over from there. They will even handle the accounting end of it in the future too. This is why a good PVP is so important. For me, it's all about the convenience and service. Use a good one to book your next cruise and you'll never do it any other way again.

Like I said, if you decide to cruise Carnival again, get a PVP like mine. They will (and would have in this particular case as well) handle everything for you with one call and save you a ton of time and frustration. Instead of you having to talk to multiple people repeating your story over and over again, waiting for supervisors, etc you only will need to call them and they will take over from there. They will even handle the accounting end of it in the future too. This is why a good PVP is so important. For me, it's all about the convenience and service. Use a good one to book your next cruise and you'll never do it any other way again.

Im going to ask her if a PVP could book any future cruise or not specifically and let you know. She made it rather clear I was not allowed to go through anyone but the accounting dept but I will ask. I also did not repeat my story over and over. I had a designated accounting rep from the get go. The only other one I spoke to was an agent online when the CC payment was rejected and gave me the red message. It most likely not going to matter for us. Im pretty sure we are cancelling and booking a RC that leaved the same day and is also 5 days. I have a hard time throwing cash at a company treating me like a criminal when I had proof I bought them legally from a BBB accredited company. It has made me quite sad.

I do think you PVP advice would be very helpful to anyone reading though so I am sorry if I came off wrong.

I just spoke with her. There is a total restriction on my profile at this point and I can not use a PVP. She gave me her bosses info to speak to him directly.

I just spoke with her. There is a total restriction on my profile at this point and I can not use a PVP. She gave me her bosses info to speak to him directly.

That doesn't sound right. I could see for this cruise, but not future cruises. I don't want to clog up this thread, but feel free to email me and maybe we can talk more about it. I'm curious.