Shame on them!!!

[pearlstone]

Need a refund on your Don Pablo gift card?

By: Beau Zimmer

Brandon, Florida— A popular Mexican restaurant chain is locking its doors for good, and now customers may be stuck not knowing how to redeem gift cards purchased or received over the holidays.

All five Bay Area Don Pablo’s restaurants abruptly closed down the day after Christmas. Customers say the company had been promoting gift card sales up until the very night they went out of business, even offering future discounts for cards purchased.

Customers like George and Kay Eddy of Sun City Center, wonder why corporate bosses didn’t stop selling the cards sooner, if they knew they might be forced to close down.

“If we don’t get our money back, they made a lot of money,” says Kay Eddy, who bought a $25 gift card and knows she’s not alone.

A spokesperson for Don Pablo’s says the company is in bankruptcy and did not know until the “final hours” that they would be forced to close down Florida locations. Only two other Don Pablo’s locations remain open in the state, both in the Orlando area.

Don Pablo’s pledges to issue refunds for the value all gift cards mailed back to the company.

Call the Don Pablo’s corporate information line at 800-372-2567. Once connected follow the prompts pressing 1, then pressing 4 to be connected to a customer service representative.

Refunds are expected to take approximately three weeks.

www.tampabays10.com/news


It was so wrong for this company to sell giftcards the night before closing, they knew what they were doing. :(

Don't we have a Don Pablo's on Southside Blvd? I'm sure that franchise is owned separately but
it wouldn't hurt to call the info line and ask before buying a giftcard there.

[jbm32206]

:tantrum" This isn't the only company that's screwed its customers, I read this the other day on CBS47:
When Josh Carlson bought his wife a 100-gallon fish tank for Christmas, he decided to get her a gift card to go along with it. What he did not realize was that buying the gift card would leave him with a useless piece of plastic.

"Makes you kind of want to run in there and take something off the shelf when they open the door, then run out and say I've got a receipt for it," Carlson said.

Carlson is not alone. He said Aqua Zoo was selling gift cards right up to Christmas but now, anyone with those cards had to wait in line to get their cash.

We did some digging and read into the bankruptcy laws. According to the Better Business Bureau, your chances of getting reimbursed after a company declares bankruptcy are slim. The BBB said that reimbursement is done on a priority basis, with administrative costs taking the first seat, then the company's creditors.

We tried getting answers from Aqua Zoo but could not get any of our inquires returned. On the front door of one of the three local branch stores said the store was closed due to bankruptcy. There is also evidence that Animal Care and Control is investigating to see if the animals remaining inside are being taken care of. A notice left on the Beach Boulevard store's door, asking the owner to contact the A.C.C. immediately to discuss the treatment of the animals inside.

Written in pen on the inside of the door was a note stating that someone is coming by daily to feed and take care of the remaining animals inside.

We also found the trustee of the bankruptcy account. This local attorney is in charge of contacting all of the company's creditors and handling the company's claims. Our calls to him have not been returned.
http://www.cbs47.com/content/topstories/story.aspx?content_id=2a9c3fac-ec97-46ec-974c-40f1f3a1d18f