Update 4/21 8am PT: The $10 statement credit was reversed as well.
Good morning everyone, I have a warning to share about HSN. This morning, I received an email from American Express telling me that I received a $50 merchant credit (aka refund) from HSN. That was weird since I purchased a $50 HSN eGift Card from them a few days earlier and already received my $10 statement credit for completing their AMEX Offer ($10 off $30).
Here are my last 3 transactions from HSN on my American Express Old Blue Cash Credit Card:
I wanted to check my HSN gift card balance but there is no way to do that online, you must call. Instead of calling, I went to their live chat feature and asked if they could check my gift card balance. Here is the chat transcript:
00:00:26 GrantT : Hi Rachael, I need to check the balance of my HSN gift card
00:00:37 GrantT : GIFT CARD NUMBER: (REDACTED)
00:00:51 Rachael : I am sorry that you do not have the balance.
00:00:59 Rachael : Please allow me 1-2 minutes to investigate this matter.
00:02:05 Rachael : It shows that the gift certificate shipped.
00:02:53 Rachael : However, it seems that there is also a block. Please call us at our Verification Department by dialing 1-800-436-6767 during 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST so we may discuss this matter with you.
00:03:13 Rachael : Is there anything else I can help you with today?
00:03:55 GrantT : Thank you, I will call them now. Have a great day.
00:04:04 Rachael : It’s been my pleasure and have a great week! Thank you for using HSN Live Chat.
After calling the verification department (aka security department aka fraud department), I was told that my 4 gift card order attempts were blocked, my gift cards were cancelled, and my HSN account was cancelled. That seems intense. This is what happened.
- I purchased a $50 HSN eGC on 4/11, received the eGC on 4/14, and the $10 statement credit posted on 4/15.
- I placed 2 more orders on 4/15 using 2 different AMEX credit cards.
- A few days later, I received an email that both orders were cancelled.
- I called HSN to inquire and cleared up the security issue. I was told to place a new order the following day and the order should go through.
- I purchased another $50 HSN eGC on 4/17 and received the gift card on 4/18.
- I received the $50 merchant credit (aka refund) from HSN on 4/19.
- All my orders, activated gift cards, and even HSN account were closed on 4/19.
If that wasn’t bad enough, I already sold my $50 HSN eGC to The Plastic Merchant, so now I have to work with the TPM team to remove the item from my gift card order. All in all, if you plan on purchasing HSN gift cards or egift cards, be very careful and go slow. Some GC orders go smoother than others, so learn from my experience. If you feel like sharing my frustration, please retweet my Tweet to HSN and American Express.
Warning to anyone buying @HSN GCs using the @AmericanExpress Offer. They will cancel your GC order and refund purchase a few days later :( pic.twitter.com/TNlQK9nA9f
— Grant Thomas (@travelwithgrant) April 19, 2017
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Update 4/21 8am PT: The $10 statement credit was reversed as well.
That’s kind of nuts. 3 or 4 times $50 *IS* starting slow. $150-$200 is tiny for gift cards. Even a bunch of normal gifts can exceed that amount easily.
Yes, they must have some very advanced early warning fraud detection systems.
*sarcasm* No one ever wants to buy HSN gift cards, it must be some nefarious person who’s trying to rip us off tens of dollars. *end sarcasm*
Did/Will Amex pull back the $10 credits as well from your statement
Not yet, but I’m sure that $10 statement credit will disappear in a few days.
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At least they were kind enough to merely cancel my orders without notice. I had to check order status the day after. Only 3 cards.
Yup, gotta love HSN. Hopefully all your HSN gift cards are still valid.
I’ve been placing one pGC order a day and they all show that they’ve shipped. Also giving assistant is tracking at 5%
Have you ever ordered anything else from HSN before? I have only purchase eGCs from them, so that might be why my account got flagged.
Nope, I’ve only ordered pGC’s from them. Hopefully I stay under the radar…may wait to place new orders until I actually get the previous order’s GC in hand
Oh, maybe physical GCs that are shipped to you is the safer way to go. I always prefer eGCs, if possible.
Do you have a referral code for the plastic merchant?
There is no referral code. You just need to apply for an account and wait for your account to be approved.
Seems like a lot of hoops to jump through for a few bucks?
Yup, but I scale up with a bunch of AMEX cards.
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This also happened to me literally 3 days ago. I triggered the Amex offer and got the email from Amex saying congrats you used an offer. Then I got an email the next day saying my egiftcard order was cancelled!? I was so mad because I was planning on sending that to my mother for Mother’s Day! GRRrrr!!! I called, got redirected to the “Verification” rep and she said that something like a change in address/phone number triggered a verification alert because giftcards are prone to fraudulent use. I called BS on this whole thing b/c the other item I ordered got shipped but the giftcard got cancelled.
Forget about HSN. If you buy GCs or eGCs, prepare for a headache.