Update: JB Hi-Fi has now added a page to its website confirming that gift card payments will be accepted.
Here’s what you’ll need to do if you’d like to use gift cards:
- Complete your console payment through the link we sent you using a credit card, debit card or PayPal.
- Submit a request with your order details and JB Hi-Fi Gift Card(s) you would like to redeem.
- Our support team will redeem the full remaining balance of your JB Hi-Fi Gift Card(s) and process a refund back to the account you paid for your pre-order console with. We’ll email you once this process has been completed. This usually takes 3 – 7 business days.
Original story: JB Hi-Fi will offer customers an option to complete payment for their PS5 or Xbox Series X/S pre-orders with gift cards, according to several emails the retailer has reportedly sent to complaining customers.
However, it appears customers will still need to make the payment via credit card or PayPal first due to a limitation with the JB direct debit system being used, which can’t process gift card payments. Pre-order deposits were taken using JB’s normal website, which can accept gift cards.
Following numerous complaints on social media and the revelation this may be breaching Australian consumer law, several users on Whirlpool are reporting that JB is offering a workaround for customers who have complained.
User bens_jammin posted an email received, corroborated by other users, explaining how it can be done.
“As a gesture of good will, I can offer you a way to manually redeem your Gift Cards for this purchase,” a JB sales representative wrote.
“The process will require you to initially pay for your new console via Credit Card or PayPal, then provide us with your Gift Cards you are wanting to redeem for this purchase. We will then manually redeem these Gift Cards for you and refund the redeemed amount back to your Credit Card/PayPal.”
Other users are reporting JB has informed them customers will be told how gift cards can be redeemed shortly, likely using the same or a similar workaround.
JB yesterday sent payment links via SMS to customers who have secured a console at launch. It outlined that they will lose their spot in the queue if they do not make the full payment within five days, and reiterated a policy revealed earlier this week that its own gift cards are not accepted.
Stevivor has approached JB Hi-Fi for comment.
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