Call Kurtis: Burned By Restaurant Gift Cards

"I'm not going to get a check. I'm just being blown off" says Carolyn Duran in her evaluation of her situation.

It began three months ago when she tried to redeem two gift cards at The Broiler in downtown Sacramento.

She says she bought them at Sacdine.com almost a year ago.

When she gave them to the waiter The Broiler that night, he returned to her table a short while later.

"And he said the owner said that we cannot accept them that too many were printed... I'm thinking well, that's not my problem… That's between sacdine.com and the broiler."

Carolyn began her email campaign with Mike Anthony at Sacdine.com.

He got back to her immediately, at first.

She says he apologized and told her that "Sacdine is a sponsor of the Kenny-G concert next Friday and... would like to personally treat you and a guest."

She politely declined and agreed to wait for a refund check.

But she says the check never came.

She sent six more emails until Mike replied; they'd tried calling her but her number was busy.

His last reply was on Jan. 24th; Carolyn reads what he wrote: "and he said that 'this is ridiculous. I apologize. I'll make sure that you have it this week.'"

But she heard nothing.

She continues reading emails: "Then February 3rd, 'Michael, it's been over a week since our last email conversation. I still don't have a check. Thank you. Carolyn.'"

That was her final email to Sacdine.com.

"I just want my money.  That's easy. It shouldn't take this long to get a check for $25."

We got in touch with Mike Anthony at Sacdine.com.

He told us he had sent Carolyn a refund check and visa gift card for $50.

Then last week he said "Sacdine has no record of Ms. Duran's purchase with our company and Ms. Duran has not been able to provide us with record of purchase."

Carolyn couldn't provide us with proof of purchase either; Anthony's point being that sacdine.com gives away 75% of their cards as charitable donations.

He goes on to say however that they  "...recognize that Ms. Duran had a Sacdine gift card in her possession... and that they issued her a ... refund... and added a $50 American Express gift card so she could go to a restaurant of her choice."

She got that American Express gift card for Target, and refund check, in the mail the next day.

Now she's happy.

"And I also wonder if I'm the only person in this situation."

Larry Lords, owner of The Broiler, told us today that Sacdine.com mistakenly renewed their contract and overprinted the gift cards by 500.

He recommends that anyone with any of these Sacdine.com gift cards in their possession call the restaurant before trying to redeem them.

Here are the two full text responses from Michael Anthony at Sacdine.com:

"This situation is not representative of our organization and how SacDine does business. We pride ourselves on customer service and our work within the local community. After seven years in business we have only had four complaints that have escalated to my desk; all were expediently and satisfactorily handled.  Ms. Duran's situation is unfortunate, and something I am personally committed to satisfactorily resolving. SacDine has no record of Ms. Duran's purchase with our company and Ms. Duran has not been able to provide us with record of purchase. Because SacDine.com gives 75 percent of our gift cards as donations to charitable and community organizations, customers may receive a SacDine gift card that they did not purchase directly from our company.  We recognize that Ms. Duran had a SacDine gift card in her possession; we issued her a $28 refund (the purchase price of the card plus shipping) and added a $50 American Express gift card so she could go to a restaurant of her choice.  This is a unique and unfortunate situation that was exasperated by my being out of the office for several weeks due to a death in the family. This personal issue distracted me from the usual care and service I provide to all of our customers. I have personally apologized to Ms. Duran for her experience and not getting the prompt attention she deserved."

"At the time of renewal there was miscommunication between SacDine.com and The Broiler. The restaurant was compensated monetarily several months ago and was instructed to send all gift card holders to SacDine.com directly. SacDine only has records of individuals that purchased directly from us.  SacDine.com is committed to customer service to our restaurant, wineries, and users. At the end of the day, we want our clients and users happy."

Michael Anthony
Dir. Sales & Marketing