Overcharged on a Black Friday purchase

This page doesn't seem to render properly any more, perhaps because the promotion is over. But these quotes seem relevant.

Shopping Event Terms and Conditions - Apple

"Customers who purchase an Eligible Product and a Promotion Product through a Qualifying Location during the Promotion Period shall receive a discount equal to the value of the Promotion Product (depending on their purchase, as set forth in the chart below) off the price of the Eligible Product at the time of purchase."

Eligible Product is the Mac. Promotion Product is the Gift Card.

"Customers will be charged for all items in their cart, including the Promotion Product."

I.e., you will be charged for the Gift Card. This charge is offset by the discount on the price of the Mac. (The Mac was not selling for any sort of Black Friday sales price, independent of the Gift Card. It was selling for list price. So that discount on the invoice only existed because it was part of the Gift Card offer. If you had removed the Gift Card from the cart – assuming that was possible – the discount on the Mac would have vanished with it.)

"The Promotion Product is redeemable for future purchase(s) only and is not a “gift.” This offer expires when the purchase transaction is complete."

• The Apple Gift Card will not be applied toward your purchase price.
• You will be charged the full price for your Mac.
• Your gift card will appear in your email.
• There is a big difference between posted and pending charges on your credit card. Pending charges may well be adjusted (increased, decreased, or removed).

sberman wrote:

The Apple Gift Card will not• be applied toward your purchase price.

That is correct.

• You will be charged the full price for your Mac.

That requires clarification. You get a discount on the price of the Mac, but it is tied to purchasing the Gift Card, at the full list price of the Gift Card, during the Promotion Period. The subtotal of the invoice is thus the full list price of the Mac. There is no "real" discount on the Mac other than getting an (effectively) "free" Gift Card.

OK, thanks.

wwmiller wrote:

Has anyone else purchasing an Apple product during their recent Black Friday promotion had this issue? I ordered a Mac thinking the gift card discount would be applied during the sale. The invoice shows a $200 discount but my credit card was charged the full price of $1399 vs $1199. And, on top of that, my credit card was charged $200 for the gift card which I didn’t order. I have bounced around Apple customer service like a hot potato - 4 agents - without resolution. Any advice other than disputing the additional charges with my credit card bank? Thank you

If you ordered a Mac with the "free gift card" promotion,

• There will be a line item for the gift card.
• You will be charged full price for the gift card.
• There will be a line item for the computer.
• You will be charged (list price - the value of the gift card) for the computer.
• If you return the computer, you will only get back this discounted price (list price - the value of the gift card).

The bottom line is that you will effectively pay full list price for the computer, and nothing for the gift card, and will have a gift card that you can use towards future purchases.

The reason they do things in this funny way is so that you cannot return the computer, get all of your money back, and still have a valuable gift card that you can use to get "free stuff." You only get "free stuff" if you purchase and keep the computer.