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

[tw67]

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.

 

They gathered from everyone who was caught up in this documentation. Carnival has said to me that they realize that no one did this intentionally. They have emails and receipts showing they were bought legally, and that is how they can tell that we are not the ones trying to scam them. Carnival didn't just take our word for it, they demanded proof.

[grumplin]

They gathered from everyone who was caught up in this documentation. Carnival has said to me that they realize that no one did this intentionally. They have emails and receipts showing they were bought legally, and that is how they can tell that we are not the ones trying to scam them. Carnival didn't just take our word for it, they demanded proof.

 

Your absolutely correct. I had to show receipts and purchase and GC numbers. I just spoke to the rep again and processed my payment. I told her we were really thinking of canceling and taking RC. She is sending me the contact info for her boss to appeal the ban on my profile booking and paying without going through accounting. She said the gift card ban is permanent.

[tw67]

Your absolutely correct. I had to show receipts and purchase and GC numbers. I just spoke to the rep again and processed my payment. I told her we were really thinking of canceling and taking RC. She is sending me the contact info for her boss to appeal the ban on my profile booking and paying without going through accounting. She said the gift card ban is permanent.

 

Grumplin, I don't know how to private message you, but those of us stuck in this limbo world should reach out to each other and compare notes, and who to speak with.

[grumplin]

Grumplin, I don't know how to private message you, but those of us stuck in this limbo world should reach out to each other and compare notes, and who to speak with.

 

I unfortunately do not know how to either :( Maybe someone will give us some pointers.

 

I tried adding you as a friend . Doesnt shop an option to PM. have you tried to pay off or make a payment on your cruise?

[tw67]

I unfortunately do not know how to either :( Maybe someone will give us some pointers.

I attempted to send you a friend request on here, but I have no idea what that means, or how you accept it.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

[firemanbobswife]

You will need to email each other as the PM option doesn't work on here. That's why I keep my email address in my signature.

[tw67]

You will need to email each other as the PM option doesn't work on here. That's why I keep my email address in my signature.

 

Fireman Bob's Wife, you are so smart! I have seen it so many times, and it still never registered to do that! Thank you!

[firemanbobswife]

Fireman Bob's Wife, you are so smart! I have seen it so many times, and it still never registered to do that! Thank you!

 

No problem. Always happy to help [emoji39]

[bnorris10]

Your absolutely correct. I had to show receipts and purchase and GC numbers. I just spoke to the rep again and processed my payment. I told her we were really thinking of canceling and taking RC. She is sending me the contact info for her boss to appeal the ban on my profile booking and paying without going through accounting. She said the gift card ban is permanent.

 

So does that mean you can't even use a gift card on the boat?

[grumplin]

So does that mean you can't even use a gift card on the boat?

 

I cant use a gift card ever.

 

I did as the accounting rep advised and appealed to the higher ups about the restrictions on me as a client. I dont care I can never use a gift card again. I care I cant book a cruise without having to go through a special department to book and pay forever. If the restriction is not lifted I will be cancelling and taking a cruise out of the same port on RC. Being branded a fraudster in their system will stop us from being clients of Carnival.

[tree.critter]

I am normally very much a Carnival cheerleader. In this instance where cruisers were caught in this gift card debacle and Carnival punishing cruisers a second time for attempting to save a few dollars is simply not right. If I was affected and treated as a criminal this would be the string that would snap and this Platinum/working on Diamond cruiser to tell them to shove it. They would absolutely lose me as a cruiser.

[dsykes2]

for those affected, my email is a a r o n s 1 5 8 4 at g m a i l obviously you know how to fix that and email :) I am glad to share any notes or what we can do about this, I am feeling very unappreciated by Carnival on this.

[grumplin]

for those affected, my email is a a r o n s 1 5 8 4 at g m a i l obviously you know how to fix that and email :) I am glad to share any notes or what we can do about this, I am feeling very unappreciated by Carnival on this.

 

We will get a group email going.

[mrschrod]

So I just had a similar situation occur. I bought a gift card from Card Cash. For about 30 days it worked fine, but I got an e-mail yesterday from Carnival that I owed some money for my cruise. Having read these forums I immediately knew what was going on and was able to get a claim in from Card Cash for a refund and call my Carnival rep, explain the situation, and get it figured out and paid for within the day.

 

My PVP did not say anything about never using gift cards again, or that I would have to call directly to someone to book in the future. I did send in all relevant information about where I bought the gift card though. Hope this helps anyone that has to go through the same process.

[dsykes2]

So I just had a similar situation occur. I bought a gift card from Card Cash. For about 30 days it worked fine, but I got an e-mail yesterday from Carnival that I owed some money for my cruise. Having read these forums I immediately knew what was going on and was able to get a claim in from Card Cash for a refund and call my Carnival rep, explain the situation, and get it figured out and paid for within the day.

 

My PVP did not say anything about never using gift cards again, or that I would have to call directly to someone to book in the future. I did send in all relevant information about where I bought the gift card though. Hope this helps anyone that has to go through the same process.

 

 

It takes several days for your account to get flagged, I was making payments just fine, and then suddenly was restricted from making them (after the gift card issues, I was using my AMEX)

[mjonis]

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 agree. Stupid decision of Carnival to make a lifetime ban on this, IMO. If it were me, it would be the last time I'd cruise with Carnival (as well as last time buying discounted gift cards for cruises).

 

Although not sure if other cruise lines also have a lifetime ban as well.

[April42749]

Just wondering....if you have a partner book, would that work? Or is the ban if your name appears anywhere on the booking?

 

This whole thing sounds like "North Korean Style" justice and is a total turn-off to me..

[mrschrod]

It takes several days for your account to get flagged, I was making payments just fine, and then suddenly was restricted from making them (after the gift card issues, I was using my AMEX)

 

That may be the case, but I wasn't able to make a payment right when I found out. I had to call my PVP who had to call accounting to get it figured out. After I sent my confirmation e-mails to accounting I was able to get it done

[travelplus]

What I would do is write a well-crafted letter to the CEO of Carnival Corporation and one to the Accounting Department with the facts as well as that you did not intend to fraud Carnival. In your letter ask them to reconsider their decision not to take gift cards from you and that all payments need to go through accounting.

 

One way around this is to ask in the letter if you book your next x amount of cruises directly though accounting could they revisit the issue and rescind this decision? The letter should go via certified mail.

 

Also a company wants your money and had you know then gift cards were fraudulent you would have never used them in the first place. Make that very clear that you are as ethical as possible and did not realize that there would be an issue with the cards.

 

in the letter ask them what are reputable sources that Carinval would accept the Gift Cards from. Offer to help them to find the person who frauded you. Attach credit card statements and any supporting evidence. Perhaps you may need a lawyer to concot a letter to their legal team if the first steps don' work.

 

Remember there are other companies you can deal with but it does not sound like you are baned from cruising with the entire Carnival brand just that you need to pay via their accounting department. Does this ban apply to Cuanrd,Princess and Holladnd America or just Carnival?

 

I hope this gets straightened out.

[grumplin]

What I would do is write a well-crafted letter to the CEO of Carnival Corporation and one to the Accounting Department with the facts as well as that you did not intend to fraud Carnival. In your letter ask them to reconsider their decision not to take gift cards from you and that all payments need to go through accounting.

 

One way around this is to ask in the letter if you book your next x amount of cruises directly though accounting could they revisit the issue and rescind this decision? The letter should go via certified mail.

 

Also a company wants your money and had you know then gift cards were fraudulent you would have never used them in the first place. Make that very clear that you are as ethical as possible and did not realize that there would be an issue with the cards.

 

in the letter ask them what are reputable sources that Carinval would accept the Gift Cards from. Offer to help them to find the person who frauded you. Attach credit card statements and any supporting evidence. Perhaps you may need a lawyer to concot a letter to their legal team if the first steps don' work.

 

Remember there are other companies you can deal with but it does not sound like you are baned from cruising with the entire Carnival brand just that you need to pay via their accounting department. Does this ban apply to Cuanrd,Princess and Holladnd America or just Carnival?

 

I hope this gets straightened out.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to offer up a very well thought out suggestion. It is all of the Carnival owned companies to my knowledge.

 

I have sent several emails to the gentleman I have to deal with in the accounting department as well as left several voice mail. I have not heard one single word. We are now at two weeks trying to get a reponse tomorrow. Im not going to go any further with this actually. If we dont hear back after several email and several voice mails to the manager that Im told is the only one I can talk to by Friday we are done. I sent proof I bought these legally and where when this first came to my attention. Im not going to beg a company to reconsider anything by this point. I will not book or make payments through an accounting department like I am a criminal. I dont need this headache over a vacation.

 

Ive loved all our cruises and they have all been Carnval so far. I can book on RC the same day , same port and the suite is actually less. I wish they would fix the problem for me but I cant control what this manager does at this point. This has been very frustrating . I want to be treated like a valued client , Not ignored and get the problem fixed. However that is not happening.

 

The last woman I spoke to when i wanted to leave voicemail scolded me that it was a holiday weekend on 9/1 when I asked to leave voice mail since I was not getting a response to my email from the manager. Frankly she couldnt have been any more unpleasant. She refused to let me talk to another manager. I was very pleasant and polite. The only reason we let it go this long is I thought possibly all reps were possibly being routed to work with all the calls with the hurricanes.

Edited September 12, 2017 by grumplin

[grumplin]

I appreciate you taking the time to offer up a very well thought out suggestion. It is all of the Carnival owned companies to my knowledge.

 

I have sent several emails to the gentleman I have to deal with in the accounting department as well as left several voice mail. I have not heard one single word. We are now at two weeks trying to get a reponse tomorrow. Im not going to go any further with this actually. If we dont hear back after several email and several voice mails to the manager that Im told is the only one I can talk to by Friday we are done. I sent proof I bought these legally and where when this first came to my attention. Im not going to beg a company to reconsider anything by this point. I will not book or make payments through an accounting department like I am a criminal. I dont need this headache over a vacation.

 

Ive loved all our cruises and they have all been Carnval so far. I can book on RC the same day , same port and the suite is actually less. I wish they would fix the problem for me but I cant control what this manager does at this point. This has been very frustrating . I want to be treated like a valued client , Not ignored and get the problem fixed. However that is not happening.

 

The last woman I spoke to when i wanted to leave voicemail scolded me that it was a holiday weekend on 9/1 when I asked to leave voice mail since I was not getting a response to my email from the manager. Frankly she couldnt have been any more unpleasant. She refused to let me talk to another manager. I was very pleasant and polite. The only reason we let it go this long is I thought possibly all reps were possibly being routed to work with all the calls with the hurricanes.

 

Well we extended it until two days ago trying to solve this. This started in August. We finally gave up 2 days ago, cancelled and rebooked with RC. I have never experienced anything so ridiculous in my life. I provided proof we bought legally. I did everything asked. Sure cant do much when Im told I only can talk to one manager and said manager refused to call back, email back for almost a month. Finally on contact I still have a block. Not worth the hassle and frustration when there are other lines.

[Shaded Lady]

Grumplin I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this, and that as a result of their actions, it's blocking you from cruising in future on a line you enjoy! But I completely understand and would have taken the same steps as you, with the same end result.

 

Thanks for your warnings- your thread was the first I'd heard about the fraud related to the Carnival gift cards. I'll now be appropriately cautious about buying them from one of the recommended sources in future. I'm sure your pain has saved a lot of other vacations from being ruined.

 

Enjoy your cruise on RCCL... best wishes.

[Icesk8rReedy]

Well we extended it until two days ago trying to solve this. This started in August. We finally gave up 2 days ago, cancelled and rebooked with RC. I have never experienced anything so ridiculous in my life. I provided proof we bought legally. I did everything asked. Sure cant do much when Im told I only can talk to one manager and said manager refused to call back, email back for almost a month. Finally on contact I still have a block. Not worth the hassle and frustration when there are other lines.

 

OMG! WOW! I would be doing the exact same thing as you. There comes a point when it's just ridiculous and that exceeded it. I am not loyal to RCCL or CCL or any other cruise line but if I was going through all that, I would definitely strike CCL off my list. Enjoy your RCCL cruise and have a wonderful vacation!

[mjonis]

Well we extended it until two days ago trying to solve this. This started in August. We finally gave up 2 days ago, cancelled and rebooked with RC. I have never experienced anything so ridiculous in my life. I provided proof we bought legally. I did everything asked. Sure cant do much when Im told I only can talk to one manager and said manager refused to call back, email back for almost a month. Finally on contact I still have a block. Not worth the hassle and frustration when there are other lines.

 

I feel for you. Carnival has handled this totally inappropriately, IMO. Or should i say, "mishandled" it. I don't blame you either. I'd never cruise again on Carnival if they did that to me. That manager should be fired too, for failing to respond at all.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your RCL cruise!

[winddawn]

Well we extended it until two days ago trying to solve this. This started in August. We finally gave up 2 days ago, cancelled and rebooked with RC. I have never experienced anything so ridiculous in my life. I provided proof we bought legally. I did everything asked. Sure cant do much when Im told I only can talk to one manager and said manager refused to call back, email back for almost a month. Finally on contact I still have a block. Not worth the hassle and frustration when there are other lines.

 

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. It does seem like Carnival "missed the boat" on this one. Thank you for sharing your story with us so we can benefit from your experience. I hope you have a great cruise on RC.