A Target customer issued a PSA after she said the store scammed her into purchasing two ring cameras with the promise of gift cards.
In a viral video that has racked up over 1 million views and over 35,000 likes, user Dr Dunn (@dr.dunn) explained how she got duped by an advertisement on the store’s website.
“Guys, major scam alert I just want to have everyone aware of,” she began the clip. “If this protects one person by sharing the story, it’s so worth it to me.”
The woman then explained that she stumbled on what she thought was a great deal while perusing Target’s website one day. According to a screenshot she provided in the clip, the store advertised a “Ring Spotlight Cam Plus (Battery)” on sale for $169.99. To sweeten the deal, a $130 Target gift card was also offered with a purchase of the camera.
The TikToker thought the deal was a steal, especially with the holidays nearing.
“So I bought two, one for myself and one for my parent for Christmas,” she said. “I thought ‘this is so great.”
She that she even told her friends about the deal, which she reported had been advertising on the site for five days.
However, it appears the offer was too good to be true.
Her Ring cameras came in the mail, but she never received the gift cards, she said. That’s when she decided to contact the company for an update, but only got the run around. After first contacting the company at night, she was told to call back because a manager wasn’t available. So that is precisely what she did the following morning.
“At 8am, I was going to be the first one to call,” she said.
She gave the customer service representative all of the information about her purchase and again asked for an update about the gift cards.
“Here’s my reference number, I just need my gift cards added to my account when you get a chance,” she said.
The rep said he would honor her request, but then put her on hold. However, when he returned, he transferred her to his supervisor.
@doc.dunn #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen #ringcamera #target #scamalert #targetscam please be aware! Target has a fake ads on their site!! They wont remove it! @target scams their customers #baitandswitch ♬ original sound – Dr Dunn
That’s when she received the news that the store would not give her the gift cards.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dr Dunn via TikTok direct message and Target by email for more information.
“Just so you know, this is an error listing and we cannot honor it,” she was told by the supervisor.
“Isn’t that like bait and switch?” she asked. “Isn’t that a scam?”
Nevertheless, the manager made it clear that she would not be receiving the gift cards. The TikToker was also told she would have to return the items “in person” to get her money back.
“We spent hours putting this Ring camera together,” she said. “You want me to rip it down and they will accept it back?
To make matters worse, the store’s worker said the items would not be accepted for return if they were damaged in any way.
The TikToker wasn’t buying that excuse.
“Please avoid this ad, sorry to break it to you,” she concluded the video.
In the comments section, other users agreed that the store was wrong.
“It might have been an error but once they took your complaint and didn’t fix the error, they are now committing fraud,” user @oh_my_gato commented.
“Still on the website,” another commenter pointed out. “But it states you must also purchase the doorbell with it.”
Others added the store has also not honored the same gift card offer with other items.
“Yep, that happened to me with Samsung watch!” another user said. “I returned it.”
