Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/21/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I won a $200 **************** gift card from the Dos Equis Beers of ****** Cinco Party Sweepstakes in May of 2016 & was contacted by the fulfillment company, ******************* at Million Dollar Media via e-mail & filled out the prize acceptance form & received the gift card a number of weeks later. The gift card has an expiration date of 01/2025 on it & the paperwork that came with it states there are no non-use fees & that the funds do not expire so I put the card away to use at a later date (ie emergency funds for an unexpected expense). In January of this year (2023) I found myself needing to use the gift card towards a large medical bill. I went online to verify the gift card balance before using it & when I put the card information in it indicated there was an issue with the card & provided an **** phone number to contact *************). I Spoke to ****** at **** on 1/30/23 who asked me if I had purchased the card. I explained I had won the card from a sweepstakes that was fulfilled from Million Dollar Media in **********, **. He indicated that his information showed the card was indeed purchased in ** & that because the gift card was purchased in ** it fell under a ** Abandonment Law & that the person who purchased the card (*********************) was contacted in June of ************************************************************************************ August of 2021 a replacement card was sent to ********************* & that in September of 2021 the card was used at Backyard Heros Fireworks. I was stunned to hear this as Million Dollar Media had not contacted me regarding replacing my gift card. ****** from **** suggested I contact the company I received the card from as there was nothing further he could do for me. As soon as I hung up with **** I contacted Million Dollar Media *************) on 1/30/23. As I explained to the woman who answered the phone (she did not provide her name) about the situation, she indicated I was not the first person they have been contacted by regarding **** gift card prizes & that this issue has happened before. When I gave her the name of the person **** said was provided the replacement card, *********************, she stated that he was one of her bosses & that he in fact does purchase all the gift cards for the promotions they handle. However, she alluded that they believe someone at **** is getting their hands on these so-called replacement cards & using them & not anyone at Million Dollar Media. She took down the sweepstakes information as well as my name, phone ******************** I was given by **** & said they would look up the original sweepstakes information in their system though I did let her know I had all the original e-mails & the letter that came from them with the gift card if needed. She indicated the person I needed to speak to was her boss ****** & that she was off-site at a meeting but she would have her contact me asap. After one week & no contact I called back on 2/6/23. I believe a different woman answered the call (no name provided) that ****** was unavailable & indicated it may be several weeks before ****** contacted me due to having to go back thru old records to find the information they needed. As in my first call, I stated I had all the original e-mails back & forth notifying me about winning & receiving my paperwork as well as their letter & would provide it to whoever needed it. She again stated it would be several weeks before I should expect to be contacted & ended the call. I called again on Monday, 3/6/23 & spoke to a gentleman named ***** who stated ****** was in a meeting but took down all the information again including that I have original records if needed & said he would speak to her after her meeting about the matter & have her contact me shortly. To date, I still have not been contacted by anyone at Million Dollar media by phone or e-mail. I had no way of knowing there was an issue with my gift card until trying to use it due to the expiration date being valid & seeing as how I have lived in ******** my entire life I shouldn't be expected to know anything about ** abandonment laws. If the gift card needed to be used within a certain period of time due to a ** law, regardless of the expiration date on the gift card, Million Dollar Media should have notified me of that which they did not. If **** did in fact contact Million Dollar Media & reissue a card to ********************* as they have indicated, he should have in turn contacted me with the replacement as it was my card not his. I am requesting a $200 replacement gift card which is what they should have done in 2021. I am more than willing to provide any information needed to get this matter settled.