Steam Gift Card Codes Illegible and Already Redeemed — Support Was Zero Help

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OrganizedChaos 6 Aug @ 7:59am

My son received two separate Steam gift cards, both legit and unscratched. When we finally scratched them a few days ago, we discovered the codes were partially illegible. The middle sections are missing or defective, like a printing error. The issue isn’t from scratching too hard. The damage is clearly under the protective layer, so it looks like a manufacturing problem.

I contacted Steam Support with photos, and they replied that the codes had already been redeemed. What? How is that even possible when:

The codes were unreadable

They were scratched off the day I contacted them

They were gifts that had never been used

Steam told me to talk to the seller and closed the ticket. No refund. No replacement. No help. Wouldn't even tell me when the cards where redeemed. I have no idea who the seller was and I definitely don’t remember which friend gave him the cards. I'm not going to start tracking down a kid’s friends parents to ask where they bought them.

I'm attaching photos of the cards

Has anyone else had this happen? Can Steam gift card codes be stolen or redeemed without being visible? Why won't Steam take responsibility for a clear defect?

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Showing 1-15 of 24 comments

AmsterdamHeavy 6 Aug @ 8:02am

Ive never had that happen. But I did once scratch a card too hard and wiped part of a code, even being experienced in doing such things.

You didnt buy the card from Valve. The place to contact is where the card was purchased.

eram 6 Aug @ 8:02am

Never head of that before

pckirk 6 Aug @ 8:05am

because it is a seller / buyer problem, those cards were purchased from steam for retail sell. Do you have the activation receipts for the gifted cards? and yes, it is possible for those cards to already have been redeemed with out the scratch off protective covering. Only the retail seller can help you with gift card purchases from them.

OrganizedChaos 6 Aug @ 8:13am

Originally posted by AmsterdamHeavy:
Ive never had that happen. But I did once scratch a card too hard and wiped part of a code, even being experienced in doing such things.

You didn't buy the card from Valve. The place to contact is where the card was purchased.

I thought that might have been the case at first, but there is actually a thin plastic sticker over the printed code, with the scratch-off layer on top of that. Honestly, it seems like a solid design for gift cards, except the code did not print properly underneath the plastic. So it is definitely not user error or scratched off by mistake.

I have no idea who gave the cards to my kid, and I am not going to start calling everyone to ask if they were the ones who gave them to him back in March. What really does not make sense is how the cards could have been redeemed before they were ever scratched.

eram 6 Aug @ 8:17am

Well in that case it ends here because the forum can't help and you didn't buy them from valve.

Good luck

OrganizedChaos 6 Aug @ 8:21am

Originally posted by pckirk:
because it is a seller / buyer problem, those cards were purchased from steam for retail sell. Do you have the activation receipts for the gifted cards? and yes, it is possible for those cards to already have been redeemed with out the scratch off protective covering. Only the retail seller can help you with gift card purchases from them.

I totally get where you’re coming from, but in this case the cards were gifts, and I really have no way of knowing who bought them. I doubt the parents who gave them would still have the receipts from months ago, and I don’t feel comfortable reaching out to ask.

The bigger issue is that the codes were unreadable under the plastic and scratch layer, which makes it feel more like a printing defect than anything the retailer did.

Also, I’m genuinely confused, how can a card be redeemed without the code ever being revealed? If the scratch-off layer was still intact, how could anyone have used it?

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 6 Aug @ 8:23am

You contact FastCard but you would need the purchase receipt.

Chika Ogiue 6 Aug @ 8:30am

Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
What really does not make sense is how the cards could have been redeemed before they were ever scratched.

I can think of a few possibilities, such as manufacturing defect which caused duplicate codes to be generated, or forged cards using old codes. But if you're not going to track down where they were purchased, nothing can be done about it.

Last edited by Chika Ogiue; 6 Aug @ 8:33am

OrganizedChaos 6 Aug @ 9:02am

Originally posted by Chika Ogiue:
Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
What really does not make sense is how the cards could have been redeemed before they were ever scratched.

I can think of a few possibilities, such as manufacturing defect which caused duplicate codes to be generated, or forged cards using old codes. But if you're not going to track down where they were purchased, nothing can be done about it.

Those are good points, and I agree that a manufacturing defect or something like code duplication could be the issue here. But that's exactly why I think Steam should be more involved in resolving it. If there's even a chance the problem happened before the card was ever sold or scratched, it feels unfair to put the responsibility entirely on the customer, especially when the damage is clearly a manufacturing/printing issue.

I get that tracking down the original purchase might help, but since these were gifts from months ago, that just isn’t realistic. And to make matters more confusing, the back of the cards lists Steam as the point of contact for support. So of course, that’s who I reached out to first.

Also, I don’t think the retailer should be responsible for manufacturing defects when they have no way of knowing there’s a problem with the card. That seems like something Steam should handle. Either way, I know the funds are a lost cause at this point, but Steam seriously needs to step up their quality control. This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening.

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 6 Aug @ 9:03am

Steam doesn't manufacture them, FastCard does.

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Chika Ogiue 6 Aug @ 10:22am

Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
Also, I don’t think the retailer should be responsible for manufacturing defects when they have no way of knowing there’s a problem with the card. That seems like something Steam should handle. Either way, I know the funds are a lost cause at this point, but Steam seriously needs to step up their quality control. This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening.

You say retailers shouldn't be responsible because they have no way of knowing there's a problem, well it's the same for Valve. They don't make the cards. They contract them out to different companies depending on region. You should be contacting the company that made the cards. But they're likely to want proof of purchase.

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ꉔꏂ꒐꒒ꇙ 6 Aug @ 2:16pm

Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
I get that tracking down the original purchase might help, but since these were gifts from months ago, that just isn’t realistic.

Why did you wait "months" before scratching them? and what's wrong with tracking (who is giving your kid gifts?) the person or whoever gave your kid those cards.

Even if they might not have the receipt, they can tell you where they bought it from, maybe. Codes could have been on other cards or etc. If you would have scratched the cards when you got them, this probably would have been avoided.

#12

RPG Gamer Man 6 Aug @ 2:51pm

Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
Originally posted by pckirk:
because it is a seller / buyer problem, those cards were purchased from steam for retail sell. Do you have the activation receipts for the gifted cards? and yes, it is possible for those cards to already have been redeemed with out the scratch off protective covering. Only the retail seller can help you with gift card purchases from them.

I totally get where you’re coming from, but in this case the cards were gifts, and I really have no way of knowing who bought them. I doubt the parents who gave them would still have the receipts from months ago, and I don’t feel comfortable reaching out to ask.

The bigger issue is that the codes were unreadable under the plastic and scratch layer, which makes it feel more like a printing defect than anything the retailer did.

Also, I’m genuinely confused, how can a card be redeemed without the code ever being revealed? If the scratch-off layer was still intact, how could anyone have used it?

That sounds like a "you" problem. If my parents bought me a gift card that did not work, i would tell them about it. Sometimes you have to get out of your "comfort" zone to get things though. This a good lesson to learn about that. Sometimes in like, you cannot be comfortable doing everything. If you cannot learn it now, you will learn it in a bad situation in the future.

In fact my brother had a gift card issue with a store, and he told us right away about it. Learn to get out of your comfort zone and ask your parents.

This sounds like a lazy excuse your telling yourself to avoid talking to your parents, which you probably have done in the past to ask money, or you did not get them as a gift and this is some lame excuse you made up to avoid the subject where you got them from.

Last edited by RPG Gamer Man; 6 Aug @ 2:53pm

#13

KrakenGreywolf 6 Aug @ 4:15pm

I buy a lot of gift cards and have only ever had a similar issue once-not with a Steam card-an ancient Xbox gift card ages ago (for Xbox 360) where a card was faded, but I thought legible enough-but unable to be redeemed-no matter what I tried. Support eventually redeemed it for me, thankfully, once I sent a picture of the code.

It did teach me not to hold on to gift cards for a long period of time, though (especially not if they’re gifted). Cash them in immediately, especially for gaming cards-simply because you don’t have to buy anything ASAP-the funds are added to your account-and as long as you keep a consistent record of the funds in your account(s)-you’re good.

Last edited by KrakenGreywolf; 6 Aug @ 4:17pm

#14

Chronocide 6 Aug @ 5:12pm

Originally posted by OrganizedChaos:
Has anyone else had this happen? Can Steam gift card codes be stolen or redeemed without being visible? Why won't Steam take responsibility for a clear defect?

It's very common, gift cards are risky. Had a similar issue with an amazon card. Apparently, there's an issue where people will vandalize the amazon cards in the local store so you can't redeem them. here:
https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/hsi/news/hsi-insider/tackling-gift-card-fraud

I was able to get amazon to get me a refunded card balance, but I also had the receipt for the transaction and bought it very recently and nobody else had spent it yet.

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Date Posted: 6 Aug @ 7:59am

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