Description

I am a Spectrum customer that was contacted about my current discount ending and informed about a promotion between Spectrum and Target, where if you pay $460 in Target gift cards or with a Target credit card to Spectrum then you would have 10 months covered and be locked in at a 50% discount for the next 3 years. I was called from (1-239-456-1433) about this promotion on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. I called back to inquire and confirm that it was actually Spectrum contacting me about this deal. I was given a promo code (SPC-7886) and a number to call back (1-888-328-3559) along with a $2 charge to my Spectrum account for the call. Wednesday, September 18, 2024. I went to my local Target, purchased the $460 in gift cards, and called the number I was given when I got back home. I was told that everything went through fine, and I was also going to receive a Visa gift card in the mail as bonus for fulfilling the promotion within 24 hours. Thursday, September 19, 2024. I was contacted to be informed that issue had occurred with my payment from Spectrum; due to the high volume of people using the promotion, the Target systems crashed and a number of people didn't have their payments go through. I was put in contact with Kevin Thomas ( Employee ID: KT 917C) and told to use the number (1-866-775-4848). I was instructed to go make the purchase again from a different store that wasn't Target and I could secure my deal, be reimbursed for the first purchase (of $460) and be given an extra grift card as condolence. I went to my local Harris Teeter, purchased the Target gift cards, and called Mr. Thomas back from the parking lot. After giving him the information and being on hold for almost 10 minutes, I started my car and headed home to prepare for work. A couple minutes later, Mr. Thomas came back and said the payment only partly processed because I left the parking lot. He instructed me to make the purchase again, remain in the parking lot as it processed and I would be reimbursed double as it was not a big deal. I turned around, bought the Target gift cards, called Mr. Thomas back, and waited in the parking lot until the processing was done. I was asked what my original promo code was, which was given to me 2 days prior and I was told I didn't need anymore, and I told Mr. Thomas that I don't have it on my person. He informed me that if I left the parking lot then I'd have to redo the process; so to remedy the situation he gave me a one time code (SPC-0900),and that finalized the promotion. Mr. Thomas then said that Target was having an issue releasing the reimbursement due to the amount ($1120 due to the double payment and inconvenience bonus) and could only release a check with the amount of $2500 if I could clear the difference in Target gift cards. Mr. Thomas told me and I received a text from Spectrum saying that Spectrum would front $380, and I only needed to clear $1000 for the check of $2500 to be released to me. I drove to another location and purchased the Target gift cards in the way I was instructed (3 gift cards at 350-350-300), called Mr. Thomas, and waited in the parking lot for things to be processed. Mr. Thomas then asked what was the promo code used for this promotion, so I gave him the SPC-0900 code as that was the last one used. He said that flagged the payment and I needed to use the original code. So I was instructed to repeat the process of buying $1000 in Target gift cards and calling back with the original promo code. I did those things and waited while Mr. Thomas processed the payment. He told me that it went through and I could expect my check in the next day, with him calling to give updates on it. He also told me not to worry about the $1000 extra due to the wrong promo code as Spectrum would just dispute that charge with my bank. Later that day, my bank contacted me inquiring about these purchases as it tripped the flags for suspicious behavior and they wanted to verify my card/identity had not been stolen. I verified that I made those purchases and the bank cleared that it was me. Friday, September 20, 2024. I was about to head out to start my day and hadn't heard anything, so I called Mr. Thomas around 3 pm. Mr. Thomas informed me that my bank would accept the dispute and Spectrum policy said that Target would have to pay me back that $1000. Target was not willing to write a check for $3500 and instead would only do a check of $5500, but I had to clear the difference for Target to release the check. I inquired if I could just get the original check, but I was told no and that if I didn't clear this $2000 in Target gift cards then I would not be reimbursed at all. Given the new check number PR1214M69A1017T. I went to a store and did the same purchase of $1000 in Target gift cards in the 3 card method as instructed, then waited in the parking lot on the phone with Mr. Thomas while the payment was processed. I had to go to another location to get the last $1000 in gift cards, but at the cashier, both my debit and credit cards were declined. My bank had closed my accounts due to suspicious activity and I called them to reopen so I could make this final purchase, but they told me that I would have to go to a physical branch and verify myself with photo ID. I was told this after 4:30 pm on Friday. I called the bank multiple times over to get my accounts opened again, but I was unable to make gift card purchases with my cards without flagging my account again. The only way to make the payment would be to get $1000 in cash and have it processed before Mr. Thomas left for the day, which there was no way to do that with banks already closed. I told Mr. Thomas and he deferred my payment to Monday, but warned me that Target may flag my payment today since I didn't pay in full. Monday, September 23, 2024. I called Mr. Thomas as soon as he came in the office in the afternoon to make sure I had everything I needed before leaving the house, which he said was the purchase of $1000 in Target gift cards and the original promo code (SPC-7886). I went to Target, bought the 3 Target gifts 350-350-300 as instructed, and I paid in cash to avoid getting flagged by the bank for using my cards. I waited in the parking lot as Mr. Thomas processed the payment, but he came back to state that Target did flag the last payment on Friday. So now, a new check was written and I need to clear another $1000. I went to the bank to withdraw $1000 in cash, and went back to Target to repeat the specific purchase of Target gift cards as requested again, then I waited in the parking lot as Mr. Thomas processed the payment. He said it went through and that he would contact with updates, but everything was clear now. Tuesday, September 24, 2024. I received a charge on my Spectrum account for the next billing period. I called Mr. Thomas because I thought because of the promotion, I would not have to pay for the next 10 months. Mr. Thomas told me that it was just a pipeline email and assured me that I didn't need to pay that amount. He informed we that he was still working things out with Target HQ, and would contact me later that day or more likely tomorrow. Thursday, September 26, 2024. I received an alert from my bank as charges were appearing on my debit card. I did not recognize them and this didn't happen before all the back and forth with Spectrum and Target, so I thought it was an unfortunate coincidence. I tried calling Mr. Thomas as I was worried about the charge on my Spectrum account and wanted to inquire if there was a way to confirm in writing that I got the deal and didn't need to pay this amount. Mr. Thomas was in a meeting with Target as his assistant informed me and was currently working on my case, which is why the promotional deal has been applied to my account yet. I was told Mr. Thomas will contact me as soon as he could. Friday, September 27, 2024. I was contacted by Spectrum and put into contact with Mr. Thomas again. He asked me to verify the last payment I made and why I made it, which I did, and informed me that there were no issues with my payment. However, due to the sum of money that would be released to me, Target wants me to insure them with another $2000 in Target gift cards. I refused and didn't want to give Target any more money as they've already taken so much from me, plus I was being told about this at 4 pm on a Friday after making clear the issues it causes with my bank last week. Mr. Thomas told me that it's difficult as the Better Business Bureau is involved because another case filed where that customer paid like $126,000 trying to get his money back from Target for the 3 businesses said customer is in charge off. Mr. Thomas told me the only way for Target to reimburse me would be to pay up another $2000 in Target gift cards or pursue legal action (specifically on the accounts of fraudulence, possible identity theft, and holding money hostage.) I inquired if I could just go back to my regular payments with Spectrum, but he told me that due to all the money involved in this debacle, my Spectrum account would be interrupted and I cannot carry out business with them until this matter is resolved. After searching the internet and finding a similar experience on Reddit of all places and In inquiring about the status of my internet service is how I learned that I was being scammed, with a similar one going around months earlier but for people with Spectrum cable yet the promotional discount (10 months paid and 50% off for 3 years) was the same