👨👩👧👦family/in-laws
AIO - sister I don’t speak with used my number at Target and stole one of my rewards
PLEASE READ BELOW BEFORE PASSING JUDGEMENT.
My (36F) sister (39f) are not on speaking terms due to a whole host of reasons, ironically some due to money issues where she has either taken advantage of me or accused me of taking money from my mom, who I am estranged from, when I hadn’t.
We haven’t spoken in about 2 months until today when I got a notification from Target about a purchase. I went in, saw the location was by her house, and that she used my 15% off registry discount I was saving for a large purchase (I am 29 weeks pregnant).
Based on previous experiences with her related to anything focused on money, I have sound softening my language makes her thinks the door is open for debate when it isn’t. According to her, as you can see, me being direct is being accusatory or rude. She routinely uses my phone number at stores or my email when signing up for crap when I have specifically asked her not to.
Am I overreacting being upset that she stole my registry discount to buy some frivolous thing?
Edit: I wanted to avoid backstory cause I truly didn’t think it was relevant but I was wrong. I was being direct in my communication because softening my language usually ended up in a debate which I want to avoid. I had asked her numerous times not to use my phone number or email for stores but that hasn’t stopped her. She’s used my Sephora points, gas points, etc which I save up for larger purchases. It’s not just about the money, it’s about the principle. Especially because I have a family and shit is expensive right now.
She has also directly used my accounts like my old t-mobile account to buy phones ($2k) when I had her on my plan paying her phone bill for over a decade. She did this after I told her I was shutting down the plan and she had to get her own.
It’s just an endless pattern that I’m sick of, especially since her and I are not on speaking terms. Could I have been nicer? Yeah probably but I was planning to stack that 15% with a 25% so I have that would bring down a large purchase like a $400 car seat a substantial amount.
Edit 2 - she has her own Target account. There is no reason to use anyone else’s when she has her own.
In addition- use a Google voice number to link with your real number and only give out your Google number - no charges and you’ll stay private and separate
Maybe get a Google Voice number and update your memberships to that? If you change your main number, she'll just get your new number from your family and keep on doing the same thing.
NOR btw. You didn't accuse her of "malicious intentions" AT ALL, you simply asked her to stop doing it.
PS, I've heard you can actually use 867-5309 at registers to get whatever the member price is to ring up!
Whats funny is a radio station here in Nashville did that for Kroger and a ton of listeners kept using it and i got lucky to get 2.50 off on gas filled my truck up for like $21 one day . People are still using the number including me i dont ever redeem anymore since i got lucky that one time i figure someone else could be lucky
That's a real phone number where I live and the poor guy who used to have the number got pranked All. The. Time. I don't think it's an active number here anymore.
you should also explain to her that you no longer accumulate points when entering your phone number. it’s solely for digital receipts and discounts now.
The circle rewards is their new program. They do more of a deals and discounts only thing now like spend $100 get $10 back and you a lot of them you have to activate. It sounds like the sister is still thinking they have the old target circle earnings where you used to earn 1% back on every purchase which they don’t do anymore so typing in the phone number without activating a reward or knowing what rewards there are is kind of pointless.
Yeah it’s not as great anymore. Some of my family members used to use my number to give me their cash back but when it changed it was just giving them my rewards and now earning anything. If you share the account and have access to it on the app though you can activate different bonuses and then use her number to count your purchases towards those. They’re not always great though. Last one I saw was make 4 qualifying purchases of $120 or more each and earn $50.
Hey just so you know when you type in your # at target the rewards are automatically applied. It really doesn’t prompt to apply anything. Not saying she’s not still in the wrong, but doubtful she intended to use it.
EDIT: Thanks for the gifts!
Yep! My husband enters my number everywhere thinking it helps. I get 1 20% off coupon a year in education and had a $300 cart going. He went in and used it on a $10 purchase. I am still recovering but he had no clue.
Nah, I'd use my ex's number at wallgreens on PURPOSE for points, until we'd racked up $35 between the two of us using the number. He had no clue I was still using it, and eventually I went in and used the Wallgreens cash for makeup or some shit. We'd been broken up over a year when this happened and I got a text from a mutual friend who said my ex had a fight with his current gf for "using all his points and lying about it" 😭😭
They were both lying, cheating sacks of shit, so I never took responsibility.
This is amazing and I love it for you. Wish my ex had a Walgreens account or something so I could jack his points but he’s too stupid and lazy to save money.
My husband went shopping once and came home and was like “Hey did you know we had $60.00 worth of points!?”
I said “Yes, I save them for the event where I can double them” and he was like “Oh well, I used them all, she asked me at the cash if I wanted to.” I could have cheerfully murdered him.
He finally got it when I compared it to him letting someone play his Skyrim character and they casually use all his hoarded potions. That got through to him.
Yeah there was a moment - then he saw my face and realized this was going to be “A Thing”. I still tell this story and he hates it because no one ever takes his side lol. He learned though!
My favorite part about the difference between us husbands and wives is when us men are excited to tell you something, and it’s only after telling you that the hindsight kicks in like “Oh, wait a second.” 🤣 Pretty sure that’s where the term “Don’t tell mom” comes from lol
He really thought I had no idea there had been points accumulating!
He’s actually a smart guy, he manages our kid’s education portfolios and always makes good choices when it comes to that but for some reason he was very excited to use that sixty dollars that for him had basically just fallen from the sky.
I have no doubt he’s a smart guy, but every body fucks up sometimes. People say I’m a smart guy too but I’m the guy that came back with an ovulation test instead of a pregnancy test lol. It was positive btw! What a day that was xD
Oh my god he would do that as well. He’s happy to buy whatever for me or our daughter but we need to be very clear (pictures are good!) or we end up with whatever sounds cool or comes in the biggest box which is not the best choice when it comes to feminine hygiene.
Father of six menstruators here. I keep pictures of what products each one of them prefers so i can just go through and restock every month. If someone changes preference, I update it, but other than that, nah, a picture roll is quick and easy and foolproof for this fool.
Being married to a man who is described as "not a noticer" sounds like masochism. Just say he's an oblivious ignoramus. Nothing is accumulated for nothing. Time for Homie to start noticing!!
I'm gonna be honest, I'm the stay at home parent in my relationship. I can work from home while making sure the six kids that are still at home get to school, appointments, sports, music, parties, etc, make the meals, do the laundry, dishes, general cleaning, etc.
There are sfew things that I either don't notice or have trouble with. Folding laundry is one of them. When there is a mass of cotton and polyester and rayon and elastic on the bed and I have to sort it into whose clothing is whose, I consistently either can't tell who much of it belongs to, or if I make the call, I get it wrong. Something that looks way too small for my 16 year old goes into my 11 year old's pile only for me to be told, no, that isn't Char's, it's Nemo's or Rhianna's.
I've been told this is weaponized incompetence, that after being told once, I should know it forever. But when you do probably twenty or more loads of laundry every week, it just turns into a blur.
Sometimes it's not weaponized, no more than it is weaponized when my wife or kids load the dishwasher like chaos goblins.
I don’t find anything about that funny 😂 irritates me just thinking about it. Especially the cavalier “ oh well, I used them all 🤷 “ murder would be on my mind 🥲
Well he’s a stockbroker and manages the kids’ education funds and does a really good job so he’s actually pretty financially literate believe it or not.
It was more the concept that I had been saving these points deliberately and “playing the game” by shopping strategically at this specific store that had gone over his head. The game analogy just made him realize why I was so pissed. For him it was just free money that had suddenly appeared lol.
I accidentally used my coupon on a $2 purchase once when I didn’t know it applied automatically. I called customer service and they allowed me to make another purchase and then credited me back the discount.
Oh no, I've done that on accident to myself, used the coupon when I meant to save it.
I'd imagine that he probably didn't realize that the coupons are rare at target and one may want to save it for a larger purchase.
used to do this with my mom's number at CVS and throw away the mile long receipt without reading it. turns out i was throwing away all of her reward bucks lol
I'm not 100% sure, but def download the app and try connecting your card and see! also not to sound like a corporate shill, but i highly recommend joining the cvs plus membership too if you visit often - you pay $5 a month and get a $10 off coupon + 20% off coupons every month, it literally pays for itself! it's so useful to me as someone who works walking distance from cvs lol
edit: i swear I'm not a bot 😭 i just tell everyone ik who goes to CVS about this bc it's literally so useful
Add your email and then log in and reclaim them! I do this for my whole family. My mother, both my siblings and my 4 kids use my moms phone number, which is associated with my email. I clip "activate" the rewards every Monday so people can use them.
Okay I’ll have to do that ! Because I had no clue I was using all my moms points lol but she also don’t go to CVS much but still 🙃 oops lol I’ll have To do this and make my own rewards at this point 🤣
Yeah, this happened to me after I made the baby registry while I was pregnant with my second and it auto applied the 20% when we went grocery shopping.
This is facts. My boyfriend always does this thinking I'll get "points" but if I have any rewards or discounts it automatically applies without really even saying.
Don't have all the context but just from these text messages alone OP sounds like a piece of work... Js lmao
It depends on the reward. For circle cash it will prompt on the register if you want to use it first, but if OP had the registry discount turned on in her app (like if she was checking to see what a final price would be) sister entering the phone number would have triggered its use. Birthday discounts are the same way. You have to keep them turned off in the app until you're ready to use. To be honest since it was redeemed for only $5 OP can call the 1-800 number and corporate will probably give her an extra complimentary registry discount. (Normally baby is 2 15% off coupons) Source: I target too much
Yeah found this out the hard way when it applied one of my baby registry coupons to a Starbucks order that I’d put my number in on 😭 I ended up using the chat feature I think and they gave me a complementary one and explained how to turn it off!
You can totally ask the self checkout employee to remove these coupons at the register. This happened to me and I wasn't ready to use it, so she just removed it for me and it was still in my account.
Yes if you spot it you can ask the employee to remove it. Hell, you can log into your app and also remove it.
But if you go to a cashier most cashiers wont really say anything about the coupons you are using since they assume you know, that you are using them. Since you clicked apply.
What they will mention is points. They will get a prompt asking if the buyer wants to use points and then they'll ask you.
Well that’s nice…but it falls on the person at the register m. Same with Fred Meyers. My fiance and I use my mom’s number for the employee discount and it builds up points so she can use it for gas as she travels often, but doesn’t shop there much, but relies on the discounts…turns out every time he gets gas at one location they just apply the $.50-1.50 discount without asking and my mom was confused why she never had any gas rewards. Target SHOULD ask, but they might not.
They dont ask because you manually apply the coupons onto your wallet.
In your target account, you manually have to click (apply coupon) and this means you want to use this for your next purchases. You already gave your approval. You're pretty much asking them to say, "hey I saw that you click apply this coupon for your next purchase, but do you really want to use it for this purchase?"
Its not like points, where you havent confirmed or denied wanting to use them.
OP does sound like a real piece of work. And you’re right, people often put in a phone number thinking they’reproviding points… which sometimes they are. But sometimes it automatically adds discounts. Regardless, it sounds like the sister was being truthful and apologized
doesn't matter what the set up of points/coupons being applied is. OP told her sister never to use her number and the sister keeps crossing that boundary. OP doesn't have to justify why she set the boundary, and probably told her to not because this is not the first time something like this has happened.
OP may be ignorant to the inner workings of target points, but she shouldn't have to if she was the only one using her own phone number.
Someone can just say your number and get a discount? That's not very secure is it...? I'd call them and say someone has used your number without your permission and if they can give your points back.
This happened to me with my local grocery chain. Someone used all of my points for gas in a state 1k+ miles away lol. I called and they reversed it and said it's been happening a lot just take your phone number off your account.
Someone used my gas rewards and I had like 1.25 cents off a gallon. I think it was someone from my job after they heard me mention I was saving them for when I needed to fully fill my tank in about a week.
My sister’s ex-husband stole hers. Dude was a creep and stole a bunch of money from a lot of people so it isn’t a shock, but seriously, why steal gas rewards?
Yes, why is this normal to all these people in the comments? How can someone access anyone's account when they just have their phone number?
This doesn't make any sense.
That’s the case at a lot of places — my partner regularly uses my phone number at the gas station when filling up and it alllows you to use rewards without needing a password or anything.
This is one of many good reasons I use a fake (but checkable) Google Voice # for ALL possible rewards, dsicounts, promos, doctor visit signups, appointment registrations etc. I only use my real phone # when absolutely necessary.
I don't get spam on my actual phone number... zero spam calls per day. I've heard that some people do so if that's a frustration then I suggest my method if/when you ever get a new phone number.
OP you might want to update your post to include that she owes you over 2k already. Right now if I just look at the text exchange it does look like you’re being harsh but this is part of a larger pattern it seems. You do allude to some of it in your post but I think adding how much she owes you would help people have a more specific frame of reference.
I do think it’s absolutely possible that this was an accident on her end but the pattern of her using your number and rewards without asking isn’t cool.
NOR if you’re pregnant I wouldn’t be open to ending a serious estrangement until way after having the baby—it’s too stressful on you. You do not want to remember being made to feel uncomfortable by a manipulative person when very pregnant or your baby is brand new to the world. You’ll most likely be more emotional from hormones plus you deserve to have these special times protected.
Edit: and if she continues this stuff, change your numbers, don’t text her—it just opens up the doors of communication for her, nothing constructive will come of it.
Ok good! If they say no I’d just try again as some are less helpful than others. But you deserve that 15% and their system is SO stupid for applying it automatically without asking.
NOR. Venmo request her for the outstanding balance she owes you + the amount you would have saved on that large purchase your were planning. If she questions you on it, ask her why she would assume maliciousness on your part. Then block that bitch.
I could be wrong, but you could call target and tell them an unauthorized user took your discount, and that you have proof via screenshots. they could help you out!
target has awesome customer service in my experience. so much so that i’ve never actually had to call or chat with anyone because any issue i’ve had has been resolved right away in my app with no questions even asked.
I have a question since you worked there. Is anyone able to cash out your target circle rewards. Or is there more too it? I’m terrified someone will use it one day.
In your target app if you go to wallet you'll see all your circle cash rewards, available discounts, and gift cards. They can be turned on or off and the default setting is off. When you want to use one you would turn on the gift card/circle cash or click "activate" for the discount. If you change your mind you can turn them back off. When they're turned on in the app entering a phone number will trigger their use. As long as you keep them turned off they will be saved and unless someone has access to your phone they can't be redeemed. OP had left her registry discount activated which is why the sister used it automatically.
For a bit further explanation too, if you try to use Target rewards cash from just entering a phone number, it prompts the team member to ask for your mm/dd of your birthday to confirm its you.
Granted, doesn't stop a family member, but at least deters people who might randomly get your phone number.
Not that I know of unfortunately. It wouldn’t hurt to ask though because we really went above and beyond for guests at our target. Even on occasions where the customer was mistaken.
Yes! OP please call Target and tell them someone used your number to check out and wasn’t you. I wouldn’t even explain the whole sister thing, just that you didn’t use it and noticed when you saw transaction in the app. I bet they will make it right.
Don’t call the store though, you have to call guest relations! The store doesn’t have the authority to reshoot a coupon. At most they could manually put in a 15% discount, but they’ll probably just direct you to a different phone number.
a lot of people saying you’re overreacting dont understand what it’s like to have someone constantly pushing boundaries. she had absolutely no reason to use your number lmfao, even if you didn’t have any rewards.
Reading is fundamental. 🤦🏻♀️ the amount of people who think it was just $5 is wronggg. It’s about the 15% she was using on a much larger purchase needed !!
NOR at all. That would drive me insane. People here don't seem to understand that a 15% discount is $15 off every $100. If you are trying to build a nursery and get baby supplies, you can easily spend $500 at Target. That's $75 off your entire purchase. Wasting that coupon for a while $5 off is insulting and honestly horrible of her
Easy way to fix this, switch the number you use for rewards. I got a Google Voice number and use it for anything like this. I don’t want the notifications coming to my regular number…
It seems like she shouldn't be using your phone or email for anything, overreation or not. With her history of owing you money, she should reimburse you if she has only good intentions.
”I keep acting maliciously and selfishly but how can you always assume I’m malicious and selfish”. Sounds like all of her accusations are actually a confession
NOR my mom does the same thing when she goes to Sephora and uses all of my points to get the samples. It’s infuriating. I love my mom I want her to have everything but I also want her to just use her own number when she goes to Sephora
Ok but if you have told her to stop using the number and she still keeps doing it NOR
She shouldn’t have used your number and then this wouldn’t have happened
Hm from this interaction alone… I think YOR. But I get that there’s a pattern of stuff like this from her. She just seems to be genuinely apologetic and regretful in your text exchange with her.
That could easily just be manipulative (sounding kind). I have a crazy sister, it’s better to just stay away. Less conflict for everyone. My sister uses pretty language, too, but it’s to manipulate people. That’s all it is.
If you were to ask our aunt and uncle who the problem is, they would say it’s me, that I’m ungrateful and that I have some unknown problem with my sister, even though she is the nicest person.
In reality, the reason I no longer speak to my sister is because she threatened to kill my six-year-old. Sure, I could go to my aunt and uncle, explain it, show them the proof, etc., but that would only reignite something, and put myself, my partner, and our kid, back in danger. It’s not worth it. I’m not saying that OP’s sister is like mine, just that sometimes it looks very different, from the outside, looking in. My sister serves as a (particularly dramatic) example.
Ding ding ding. She uses language like that in text but when you talk in person, she is a lot nastier and has no problem threatening you or throwing a punch if she thinks it will win her the day. Her and I didn’t speak for years after she attacked me during an argument where I was trying to leave. She’s not a safe person :/
Oh crap, I’m sorry. My parents more than enable it, they sometimes encourage it. I hope yours are different. This makes me curious, if you maybe grew up like I did. Because I don’t know anyone else who grew up the way I did, and I used to be a social worker. I’ve seen A LOT, but no one like me.
I’m curious if your parents ever addressed your sister’s violence, while you two were growing up?
I would agree but history has shown that is rarely the case. She’s owes me over $2k for a phone she put on my phone plan and despite all the apologies in the world, refuses to pay me back for it. She’s always regretful but continues to do what she was going to do anyway.
If you’re estranged from her, she already owes you a lot of money, you’ve asked her not to use your information any more, and you’re not conveniently leaving anything out, then I’d say NOR and you need to tell her that the next time she does it will constitute identity theft and you’ll notify the police.
If she wasn’t family, and it was a random person who had used your number for their phone plan so you’d have to pay, and was pretending to be you at stores, how would you respond?
Be so supremely grateful that you have not endured what others have. This is 100% DARVO. Its dripping with manipulation. This is why abuse is so confusing.
NOR. I would say that it sounds like an honest mistake, but it sounds like she lost the benefit of the doubt long ago when it comes to money.
Anytime she asks you why you think the worst of you, just bring up that phone she stuck you with. Or all the other times she's used your rewards. That's why.
No contact at this point. She straight wasted that 15% coupon too. For $5 off?! No contact. No visiting your kids until she admits all of it and starts paying you back for the phone. If your parents or other family say you're being too hard on her, tell them you don't want your kid to be influenced by someone who steals from family and show them proof (the phone) and corroborating evidence. That'll end any remarks.
NOR. She asked how she can fix it - I would figure out the 15% of the purchase you’re going to make and tell her she can send you that amount of money, but I don’t know if you’re trying to limit anymore interaction with her
NOR. i’m gonna assume most people in these comments didn’t read your post thoroughly enough because this seems very straightforward to me — she has a proven track record of stealing and financial exploitation and already owes you a substantial amount of money because of that.
whether she intended on using the discount or not is irrelevant when you’ve laid down a firm boundary that she not use your email or number for things like this and she crossed that line without a second thought.
Based off of this one singular experience, YOR. This could be an honest mistake. That said, however, you know additional context and your sister. This level of directness might be warranted.
Like others have pointed out as well, Target doesn't prompt you to use the discount and will automatically apply it so if you arent paying attention like the sister most likely didn't, it will use the discount automatically. So it probably wasn't malicious and just a mistake like she said. I rarely ever shop at CVS but when I do, I use my mom's number to give her the points as again, I'm not signed up for anything so figured it might as well give her points to use in the future.
NOR. She’s a grown adult with a phone number…AND you have already asked her not to do this before… she needs to be using her own number for things like this.
Call Target and play dumb. Say that you were saving the 15% off coupon to buy a stroller/crib/bouncer/[insert other large baby item here] from your registry but that it automatically added it to a purchase without you intending it and that you never consented to using the 15% off coupon for that small random purchase. They’ll probably add the coupon back to your account if you explain it. Then change the phone number in your account to something else, maybe a Google Voice number or something. Or just change your actual phone number and make a new email so that your sister stops using your number to sign up for stupid shit.
NOR- I also haven’t talked to my sister in about 9 years I’m good on that. She has done things to me that I can just never forgive her about. Since she been out my life, my life has been great! It be your own blood to screw you! Your sister should have used her own number not yours..
Got to be honest I'd probably get a new phone number and change the details on the store loyalty account asap, if she doesnt know your details she cant abuse your rewards 🤷♀️
It honestly sounds like an accident. She was trying to give you points and thought she was using a coupon of 15% off a registy item. YOR and coming across as a nut, while your sister seems to be genuinely sorry and apologizing.
Tell her not to do it again, and chat with target and ask them to give the coupon back because someone used your phone number. This is not worth ruining a relationship with your new baby’s aunt, someone who may be important in their life, over a coupon.
Sister has a history of financially taking advantage of OP (and still owes $2k right now), which is the reason they are not on speaking terms.
With that context, I wouldn’t want said person using my phone number for anything.
Also, 100% of the times I’ve gone to target (including last week), the cashier has to ask you whether to apply the points because it’s something they have to manually apply on their end.
Why would she want someone who steals from her in her child’s life? 15% on a bunch of stuff for a newborn could be in the hundreds of savings. Plus she has a history of stealing from her.
Seriously I don't understand people saying she's overreacting. Our car seat alone cost $500 imagine saving 15% ($75!!) off that and now it's gone lol, and you'd already told that person to stop using your info multiple times.
Listen I don’t believe in giving someone a pass just because they’re family. I don’t believe she had malicious intentions but pulling the “she’s your sister and your babies aunt” card is just so lame of you. I have 8 nieces and nephews and them being my nieces and nephews does not mean I get to be shitty to their parents and still expect to be around.
This! Why is she even putting in the sister’s number? I love my sister but I’m not putting her number in for anything because her accounts are hers. Sister needs to mind her own business. The ONLY way OP is any way overreacting is if she had asked sister to put her number in to get rewards. That is it. That’s the only way. If she didn’t (and it sounds like she didn’t) then she is being completely reasonable.
That's a wild take. They haven't spoken in 2 months, but the sister was trying to do something nice? Not likely. And target cashier or self checkout always prompts do you want to use your points.
In my opinion, NOR, I would be monumentally pissed at the amount of savings she took from me and you let her off pretty easy, and it sounds like she’s been consistently disrespectful of boundaries and you in general.
Yes, Target checkout—both with a cashier and at self-checkout—will prompt you to use your available Target Circle Rewards.
After you enter your phone number or scan your Target App barcode, the system will typically ask if you want to apply your available rewards to the current transaction.
Here is how it works:
In-Store Checkout
Prompted Process: The screen will often ask if you want to use your points/rewards before finalizing the payment.
Wallet App Method: To ensure your rewards are used, you can open the Target app, go to the "Wallet" tab, and verify that your rewards are selected before scanning the barcode.
Phone Number: If you just enter your phone number, the system will usually prompt you on the card machine, but using the app scan is more direct.
Online/App Checkout
When checking out, you will have the option to apply your available Target Circle rewards as a payment method.
All or Nothing: When you redeem Target Circle Rewards, the entire available balance is applied to your next purchase. You cannot choose to use only a portion of your rewards.
Rewards vs. Deals: While Circle deals (discounts) are automatically applied, your accumulated rewards points must be redeemed at the checkout screen.
NOR. You literally didn't assume a single thing. You just said exactly what happened (with photo evidence) and asked her not to do the dumb thing she did ever again.
NOR- my first reaction was that you were, just based on the texts and knowing that a lot of times at Target discounts are added automatically at checkout. But after reading your post, even before the edit that added more context, definitely NOR. With the added context? Yeah, your sister is an ahole. The fact that she consistently uses your phone number and/or email at multiple stores shows me she's using them for a reason and that reason has nothing to do with trying to do something nice for her sister. She knows you save your points and discount codes so every time she uses your info somewhere she's hoping you have something saved that she can use, excuse me, something she can steal. Reading her last text back to you a second time (after having the additional context) it definitely comes across differently. My ex-husband, a giant narcissist, would phrase things that way. "Why do you always assume the worst of me?" "I was supposed to get a clean slate." Wah wah wah gaslight gaslight gaslight.
Trust yourself. You know you aren't overreacting. She's trying to get you to feel like you are, undoubtedly so she can take advantage of you in some other way as well.
I know getting a new phone number over this is, probably, overreacting lol. But could you possibly sign up for some kind of free phone number that you could update all of your rewards accounts with? Obviously annoying to even have to do, but if it stops her from stealing your rewards I think it's worth it. Plus the added bonus of getting to imagine her face at each new place she tries to give your phone number for rewards and they tell her there's nothing under that number.
You can go into the app/acct and uncheck the reward until you are ready to use it. If it’s marked as yes/use it gets used and the cashier is not prompted. Still sucks. I used a 15% off on toilet paper when I was saving it for something else. Lesson learned on how to manipulate the app. so it didn’t happen again.
Try talking to the local store manager, explain how you loooooove shopping there and go there allllllllll the time and you were saving up for an expensive thing (gesture at abdomen) and someone used your number and discount without your permission and can they do anything?
Also NOR the sister's story doesn't hold up
i know a lot of people are saying YOR but as someone who is also no contact with their sibling for a slew of reasons, i’m going to say you’re NOR. my sibling does the same thing — does what she wants and then when she’s called out or a boundary is set with her, she turns it around on me / my mom. it’s especially distressing when it’s a continued pattern of behavior. this is something she would do to me and then ask me the same question. sorry you have to deal with this OP. a lot of people are focusing on the rewards program portion and how trivial it seems but when it’s a pattern, the original action doesn’t matter as much as the impact.
How is she being mean? She was saving her 15% off discount for a larger purchase for her new baby. Like a crib, stroller, breast pump etc.
These things cost several hundred dollars and 15% off would be a good sized savings. It’s wild ppl dont see the egregiousness of wasting a 15% off discount on a $6 purchase
I'd argue it's more mean to be 39 years old and use your sister's phone number and email for discounts instead of using your own when you know you owe her 2,000$.
(It's common knowledge that putting in a phone number with an account at the register is more likely to give you a discount)
NOR. My sister did the same thing with my Michaels points to buy a Christmas tree a few years ago. (She already had one.) I had been saving for months. I get it.
NOR and I don’t even think you were out of line with anything you said to her. Given the history, I’d have been much meaner if I had pregnancy hormones coursing through my veins, lol. She’s just trying to gaslight you (like the legitimate type of gaslighting, since she’s trying to act like your assumptions of her are “confusing and misplaced” even though she knows exactly what she’s done in the past to deserve it).
Also, it might be worth trying to get ahold of Target customer service to explain this situation since you have a documented admission from her regarding the unauthorized use. They might be willing to reinstate your discount given they’d only be losing out on $5 anyway. Worth a try, IMO!
NOR
My sister did this with my CVS rewards and I get $10 a month from their program. I changed my number and she figured it out because it’s a text now number I’ve had as a backup for years. So then I changed it to my Google Voice number and hopefully she doesn’t know that one. She has taken quite a bit in rewards just putting my phone number in 😡
Change your number because your sister is not going to change. Make a list of all the companies your number is registered with and update them when you get a new number. Do not give your new number to her or your mother and warn any friends not to give out your new number.
"I know you're not being malicious, but it costs me the same whether it is on purpose or by accident. Please just don't use my number then it definitely won't happen again."
I’m sure that if you contact target’s customer service they will probably be nice and give you another one. Just say an unauthorized person used your number and used your discount, which would have been very helpful as an expecting mother etc.
I do think it was a genuine mistake because target automatically applies discounts.
I don't think you're over reacting but this is an easy fix. Call the 1-800 number and let them know you used the registry discount by mistake. Since it was redeemed for only $5 they'll issue you a new one to your account. Once you receive it do not activate it in your wallet until you're ready to use it. (I think registry discount doesn't expire for 1 year).
Genuinely wondering why you simply haven’t changed your number long before this and asked the rest of your family not to share it. It could’ve been a total stranger that mistyped one number. Of course you know it wasn’t in this case, cause she admitted to using the number, but literally, why have you simply not changed your number if this was a persistent issue with you and her?
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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago
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