For those of you that buy or sell gift cards, you are probably familiar with the name Gift Card Rescue. From the date the owner was on Shark Tank, to more generally, buying and selling gift cards in bulk. There were many less-than-positive accounts and warnings from those doing business with GCR, but others had mainly good experiences doing business with the company.
Until now.
On July 12th, a letter was sent out by GCR advising sellers that funding for payments was temporarily frozen, but the author said he was “reassured . . that you will receive payment.” There were no communications from GCR thereafter. Sellers who sent in hundreds and thousands of dollars of gift cards bit their nails hoping for good news, but fearing the worst.
That happened today.
In a letter to gift card bulk suppliers today, Kwame Kuadey, CEO & Founder of GiftCardRescue.com said:
You are receiving this letter because you or your company sold gift cards to
GiftCardRescue.com recently and are awaiting payments on those gift cards.
Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that GiftCardRescue.com has closed down
effective July 15, 2016. Our company was forced to shut down last week when a
lender to the company (with whom we have been trying to negotiate a temporary
forbearance) went to court and got a judgment against our company. With that
judgment, they placed a hold on our business bank account, depleting all the funds
in our account. Without access to our operating account, we had no choice but to
shutdown.. . .As soon as it became clear we could no longer operate, we stopped accepting new
gift cards and have since returned all unprocessed gift cards to the respective
suppliers. . .I am sure you are wondering what will happen to the debt owed to you by
GiftCardRescue.com. While I have pursued all efforts to find a way to pay the
amounts owed to you, or to have another company in the secondary gift card
industry assume and pay the obligations owed to you as part of a transaction, at this
point my efforts have not been successful. If this circumstance changes, you will
receive further communications to ensure you are properly advised. . .I would like to thank you for trusting us with your business and regret that we were not able to send you payment for the cards
you sold to us.
I am in the process of locating the legal papers and order referred to in the above order. In the meantime, if you are awaiting payment from Gift Card Rescue, you may well be out of luck – you should nevertheless act promptly. First, check for balances on any cards you may have sent in. And, second, try contacting the company itself, and if needed, the appropriate agency or an attorney.
Please provide any further information you have in the comments.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
I can’t say this is a surprise. They always lied about sending payment and so many people have had issues with them. I feel terrible for those who lost their money.
Yikes. I was supposed to get a check in late May for $445…and have been getting the run-around since. I believe there was discussion about a class action lawsuit somewhere. I’m going to look into that.
Sorry. First, check to see if the card still has $ on it.
Unfortunately I didn’t write down the gift card numbers. Never thought I would need them. Lesson learned.
It may or may not be helpful, but if you bought the cards on Ebay, I’d try contacting the seller.
Let me know what comes of this. I’m out $740 from sales from March and April, thankfully I stopped selling to them after the first 2 bad interactions.
I don’t have a dog in the fight: They owe me $40 for a bad card they sold me that I will get back through a dispute with my CC company. I’m going to search for the judgment that the creditor obtained. Those who are owed thousands look into becoming a creditor on any bankruptcy petitions these q-bags obtain, or breaking the corporate veil and suing the CEO personally.
What can you do about gas cards with balances though?
I’ve seen many debates over this. First, I’d check with GCR itself. If they still have the card, demand its return. If not I’d go to the original seller (SVM, PP, etc) and see if they will freeze the balance – but the problem is that the GC may already be in third party’s hands.
The key is to try to get to your money as quickly as possible without doing anything illegal and without ruining your relationship with Ebay, SVM, etc….