NCL Gift Cards Beware

[mscdivina2016]

9 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

The company that sells the cards in not based out of Florida.  It is in Iowa.

Does not matter.

If the sell to me as a Florida resident, they must abide by my States law.

  If a company in Iowa wanted to sell and ship me a Delta 8 product, they could. But if I lived in Texas, they could not because Texas has a law that does not allow it.

 Many businesses rely on people not registering or not wanting to go thru the effort.

 

[cruzlover64]

My experience is similar to @Montanagirlalways- used a $250 NCL gift card as a deposit for a 2020 cruise that was cancelled by NCL.  Was told refund would be back to same form of payment - finally able to cruise again - look up the gift card and it says zero balance.  I call and they tell me that the cards are not "reloadable" so when the refund tried to go through it voided the card and deemed it expired.  They said they would fix that and then tell me they can send me a new card valued at $180 - wait, what?  My card was for $250.  She tries to tell me dormancy fees, I said - how can you charge dormancy fees on a card that had NO MONEY on it as per her, the refund, didn't go through, how could I use a card when COVID made it impossible, and I live in a state where they cannot charge fees.  Spoke with a manager who tells me, oh thanks for bringing this issue to their attention he's getting the computer to reverse these fees - then tells me good news he got it up to $232, that's nice but I want my other $18....I try reaching out to NCL that tells me I need to deal with the gift card people - I tell them that the gift card people say the issue started with NCL trying to refund a card that can't take refunds - lots of back forth and I end up getting a card in the mail for $232 - I'm still wanting to fight them and thinking I may send this matter to my state's attorney general as I'm wondering how many other people they are defrauding....

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, cruzlover64 said:

My experience is similar to @Montanagirlalways- used a $250 NCL gift card as a deposit for a 2020 cruise that was cancelled by NCL.  Was told refund would be back to same form of payment - finally able to cruise again - look up the gift card and it says zero balance.  I call and they tell me that the cards are not "reloadable" so when the refund tried to go through it voided the card and deemed it expired.  They said they would fix that and then tell me they can send me a new card valued at $180 - wait, what?  My card was for $250.  She tries to tell me dormancy fees, I said - how can you charge dormancy fees on a card that had NO MONEY on it as per her, the refund, didn't go through, how could I use a card when COVID made it impossible, and I live in a state where they cannot charge fees.  Spoke with a manager who tells me, oh thanks for bringing this issue to their attention he's getting the computer to reverse these fees - then tells me good news he got it up to $232, that's nice but I want my other $18....I try reaching out to NCL that tells me I need to deal with the gift card people - I tell them that the gift card people say the issue started with NCL trying to refund a card that can't take refunds - lots of back forth and I end up getting a card in the mail for $232 - I'm still wanting to fight them and thinking I may send this matter to my state's attorney general as I'm wondering how many other people they are defrauding....

It's NCL. They likely defraud everyone. Yet we still cruise.

[PTC DAWG]

People, give cash.  Gift cards mainly benefit one entity, the seller of said card.  

 

Unless I get added extra value at a place I am fairly sure will be in business and I frequent, I would never consider a gift card.  We have a local restaurant in the area that gives $500 in credit on a card for $400 spent around the Holidays every year.  It never expires either.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[cruzlover64]

4 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

People, give cash.  Gift cards mainly benefit one entity, the seller of said card.  

 

Unless I get added extra value at a place I am fairly sure will be in business and I frequent, I would never consider a gift card.  We have a local restaurant in the area that gives $500 in credit on a card for $400 spent around the Holidays every year.  It never expires either.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to my kids I'm difficult to shop but knowing I love cruising they thought this was the way to go.  Worked perfectly until COVID forced the cancellation and now - here we are.  I should also point out that according to the website - NCL has done away with Gift Cards...

 

 

[mscdivina2016]

On 1/16/2023 at 10:12 PM, cruzlover64 said:

My experience is similar to @Montanagirlalways- used a $250 NCL gift card as a deposit for a 2020 cruise that was cancelled by NCL.  Was told refund would be back to same form of payment - finally able to cruise again - look up the gift card and it says zero balance.  I call and they tell me that the cards are not "reloadable" so when the refund tried to go through it voided the card and deemed it expired.  They said they would fix that and then tell me they can send me a new card valued at $180 - wait, what?  My card was for $250.  She tries to tell me dormancy fees, I said - how can you charge dormancy fees on a card that had NO MONEY on it as per her, the refund, didn't go through, how could I use a card when COVID made it impossible, and I live in a state where they cannot charge fees.  Spoke with a manager who tells me, oh thanks for bringing this issue to their attention he's getting the computer to reverse these fees - then tells me good news he got it up to $232, that's nice but I want my other $18....I try reaching out to NCL that tells me I need to deal with the gift card people - I tell them that the gift card people say the issue started with NCL trying to refund a card that can't take refunds - lots of back forth and I end up getting a card in the mail for $232 - I'm still wanting to fight them and thinking I may send this matter to my state's attorney general as I'm wondering how many other people they are defrauding....

Same with us in Florida. I did contact AG but nothing.

It seems even though I live in Florida, the card was bought in Florida it is in fact a Discover card from Delaware I think.

They are allowed to charge fees.

[cruzlover64]

3 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Same with us in Florida. I did contact AG but nothing.

It seems even though I live in Florida, the card was bought in Florida it is in fact a Discover card from Delaware I think.

They are allowed to charge fees.

But how can they charge fees when there was no way to use the card???

 

[mscdivina2016]

7 hours ago, cruzlover64 said:

But how can they charge fees when there was no way to use the card???

 

The technicality of that is it's a discover card and you could have used it anywhere discover is accepted.

Wish we knew that.

[DaCruiseBug]

On 11/4/2021 at 9:12 PM, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

The company that sells the cards in not based out of Florida.  It is in Iowa.

 

 

It doesn't matter where the company is based out of. Florida law clearly states..

"A gift certificate purchased or credit memo issued in this state may not have an expiration date, expiration period, or any type of postsale charge or fee imposed on the gift certificate or credit memo, including, but not limited to, service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, or cash-out fees."

[spanishguy1970]

rule of thumb when it comes to gift cards, first ask if they have expiration dates or fees attached to them, and if you get them today use them tomorrow or as soon as possible.

 

Bank gift cards like NCL gift cards were, start accruing fees after the first year of no use, they deduct small denominations until the card has little to zero funds.

[Montanagirlalways]

I was finally able to apply the funds of my gift card to a cruise this past December. It took at least a year to accomplish it. I seemed to get good results by writing to the VP of guest services. Good luck to anyone still having problems. It was really a frustrating experience. 

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

On 11/3/2021 at 10:26 AM, MoCruiseFan said:

The point is that the OP was WARNING about Fees that were fully disclosed on the NCL page and that anyone who does due diligence prior to purchasing would already know.

https://www.ncl.com/giftcard/terms

Right, because most of us have nothing better to do than read the fine print on gift cards about a practice that is illegal in a number of states. Many of us appreciate the warning to avoid poor products like this, because we have busy lives. 

[hallux]

2 hours ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

Right, because most of us have nothing better to do than read the fine print on gift cards about a practice that is illegal in a number of states. Many of us appreciate the warning to avoid poor products like this, because we have busy lives. 

Understanding the terms of a promotion (a gift card is a promotional item) is part of being an informed consumer.  Should the giver of the gift have done the research?  maybe...

[mscdivina2016]

On 1/18/2023 at 6:47 PM, DaCruiseBug said:

 

 

It doesn't matter where the company is based out of. Florida law clearly states..

"A gift certificate purchased or credit memo issued in this state may not have an expiration date, expiration period, or any type of postsale charge or fee imposed on the gift certificate or credit memo, including, but not limited to, service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, or cash-out fees."

You are 100% correct but I filed a complaint with our FL AG and found out that there was a catch.

The card is not purchased in FL or issued in FL despite the appearance that we were buying from NCL out of Miami .

 At that time you were redirected to discover cards website. We had no way of knowing they were not in FL.

 

We all got suckered.i did not know we could use it anywhere discover was accepted.

[cruzlover64]

On 1/20/2023 at 6:58 PM, Montanagirlalways said:

I was finally able to apply the funds of my gift card to a cruise this past December. It took at least a year to accomplish it. I seemed to get good results by writing to the VP of guest services. Good luck to anyone still having problems. It was really a frustrating experience. 

so you have an address, email or phone number for this person?

 

[Montanagirlalways]

If you google vp of guest services you will find the name Katty Byrd. I believe that is who I wrote to once I went through the complaint process first. I don't have the email but I'm sure you can find it.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, cruzlover64 said:

so you have an address, email or phone number for this person?

 

kbyrd@ncl.com

 

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/norwegian-cruise-line-ncl/

[MoCruiseFan]

On 11/2/2021 at 12:31 PM, AJ1996 said:

Just got off the NCL Breakaway - NYC to Bermuda ,   Crew and ship were great… Weather not so much,   But my Dw was given a NCL gift card just prior to Covid for one of the 2 cruises that ended up canceled.  She goes to use the gift card with an expiration of 2026. To only find out the card value had diminished because the card was not used within the first year and the Bank “Discovery” had imposed 3 dollar a month service charge for the card not being used.   Despite no NCL cruises for 18 months and the 2 cruises we booked during that time being canceled , The bank still penalized her for not using the NCL gift card within the year my daughter purchased it.  My recommendation to anyone thinking about getting a  NCL gift card. Is don’t , give cash or another card that has no hidden fees instead

 

The bank is DISCOVER not DISCOVERY.

[cruzlover64]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

kbyrd@ncl.com

 

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/norwegian-cruise-line-ncl/

Thank you - I sent an email to all their addresses...