Found Debit Card

[egyptballer]

:sl:

A while back I found a gift debit card on the floor.A gift debitcard has no information on it so I can't return it.I called the number on the back of the card and it said it had around $8 on it remaining.I took it home and forgot about it.What do I do with it?I know if you find a lost item with value you must advertise it for a year and if no one takes it then you can keep it but I don't think it is possible to advertise it.Since it is $8 does it count as a valuable item?

1.)Can I use the money on the card to donate to Zakat?

2.)Can I use the money on the card to donate to any organization?

3.)Can I use the money on the card for me and donate cash equivalent to zakat?

4.)What are the other options?:exhausted

Any help with proof would be beneficial inshAllah.

[ardianto]

1.2.3 :You can't. That money is not yours.
4. Send that debit card to nearest police station. Let police looking for the debit card owner. That is their duty.

[ardianto]

:sl: Brother Egyptballer

If it is a gift debit card it means it can be used in a franchise store (Example :Walmart) so you cannot do any of those. For your last question you can go to the store and ask them to look up who bought it if they can tell or rip it up. There is no other way you can use it without spending it for yourself.

:w:

First. If the gift debit card owner gave it to brother Egyptballer, he can use that gift debit card. But if the gift debit card owner did not gave him, i.e fell from his/her wallet, brother Egyptballer must give back that gift credit card to the owner or send to the police. Make sure, how can that gift debit card placed on the floor.

Second. I know what is debit card. But, honestly, I don't know what is Gift debit card. I never heard about Gift debit card in my country. Maybe there is a confusion or misunderstanding in my posts. :D

['Abd-al Hakim]

:sl:

Yes brother,he said "he found it on the floor" so the owner did not intend him to have it and secondly a gift card is a card that you can buy for a price and spend the same amount in that store at a later time.

:w:

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[egyptballer]

1.2.3 :You can't. That money is not yours.
4. Send that debit card to nearest police station. Let police looking for the debit card owner. That is their duty.
__________________

I dont think that will work.How will they find the owner?There is no information on the gift debit card.Therefore no basis to look for the owner.As for my 1,2,3 choices I was wondering if i can do that if I believe I won't receive a (good deed)reward.

STILL NEED HELP!!

[egyptballer]

:bump1:


BUMPER.Please help!inshAllah

[Trumble]

If you took a card with that much on it to a police station in the UK they would just tell you to keep it, anything else would just be a waste of their time as the owner just wouldn't bother to take any steps to find it.

I can't give you 'Islamic' advice, but for what it's worth I suggest you spend the card on something suitable that you can then donate to a charity store.

[egyptballer]

If you took a card with that much on it to a police station in the UK they would just tell you to keep it, anything else would just be a waste of their time as the owner just wouldn't bother to take any steps to find it.

I agree with you a police station won't waste their effort on a 8$ gift card.But..I still don't know what to do with it.:exhausted

[chacha_jalebi]

this could be use,

its sahih bukhari, book about luqaata, lost things picked up

Narrated Ubai bin Ka'b:

I found a purse containing one hundred Diners. So I went to the Prophet (and informed him about it), he said, "Make public announcement about it for one year" I did so, but nobody turned up to claim it, so I again went to the Prophet who said, "Make public announcement for another year." I did, but none turned up to claim it. I went to him for the third time and he said, "Keep the container and the string which is used for its tying and count the money it contains and if its owner comes, give it to him; otherwise, utilize it."

The sub-narrator Salama said, "I met him (Suwaid, another sub-narrator) in Mecca and he said, 'I don't know whether Ubai made the announcement for three years or just one year.' "

[egyptballer]

Is it permissible to wait for about 3-4 months until school.Then I will return it the same place I found it even though there is soo low chance the person will retrieve it?There is also a chance another non-muslim will take it and use it.

Give proof inshAllah

[Muezzin]

Where did you find it? Just in the street?

Also, it has absolutely no information other than a phone number on it? No account number etc?

Is it Visa, Mastercard etc?

Or is it just a store card?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. A bit of Googling revealed that owners of gift debit cards (Visa, Mastercard) can deactivate them if they go missing.

[egyptballer]

Where did you find it? Just in the street?

Also, it has absolutely no information other than a phone number on it? No account number etc?

Is it Visa, Mastercard etc?

Or is it just a store card?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. A bit of Googling revealed that owners of gift debit cards (Visa, Mastercard) can deactivate them if they go missing.

1.)I found it on the street of a parking lot.

2.)There is an account number and I can check the balance online.There is a phone number of the company.

3.)Vanilla Visa

4.)What good will deactivating them do?The owner can't get his money back i am assuming.

JazakrAllah khair for the research you did.

[ragdollcat1982]

Maybe you could give it to a poor or homeless person?

[egyptballer]

Maybe you could give it to a poor or homeless person?

I would like to donate the money to the poor but I am still not sure it is permissible.

[ragdollcat1982]

I would like to donate the money to the poor but I am still not sure it is permissible.

When did you find it? I know that in most places here in the USA you can take it to the police and they will keep it for 30 days. If nobody claims it after 30 days it is yours.

[ayesha309]

Personally, I don't see why you can not keep the gift card and give an equivalent amount of money for donation to the poor, with the niyya that the owner of the gift card should be rewarded for the sadaqa. But thats my personal opinion, not an Islamic opinon. I doubt the police would deal with a lost gift card that only has $8 in it.

[Beardo]

When did you find it? I know that in most places here in the USA you can take it to the police and they will keep it for 30 days. If nobody claims it after 30 days it is yours.

Seriously? That's a law? I didn't even know that. I thought they don't even bother about it... They just take it and don't do anything bout it.

[Muhaba]

put up an ad in the newspaper (lost & found section or announcements section) that you found gift debit card. don't include amount of money on card or other information about cart. that way you can ask respondents about amount of money, name of card, area where they lost it, etc. and the one with correct answers will be the one whose card it is. Hopefully the true owner will read the ad & claim his/her card.

[Muezzin]

1.)I found it on the street of a parking lot.

You're right, it would be almost impossible to reunite it with its owner if you simply return it to the place you found it.

2.)There is an account number and I can check the balance online.There is a phone number of the company.

Perhaps the company could trace the original owner using the account number?

4.)What good will deactivating them do?The owner can't get his money back i am assuming.

I meant that the original owner may have already deactivated the card after noticing he or she had lost it.

Then again, there is only $8 left on it, so maybe they didn't bother.

If I lose my Card or my Card gets stolen how do I get a refund or a replacement Card?

If you believe that your Card has been lost or stolen you need to notify us IMMEDIATELY. You can do this by going to www.vanillavisa.com and clicking on the "Contact us" section. You will be asked to provide us with the Card number and other identifying details. We cannot provide a replacement Card if you do not have your Card number. If our records show that a balance still remains on the Card, we will cancel the Card and may refund such available balance amounts to you in the form of another gift Card. There is a $5.95 Re-Issuance Fee for replacing a Card.

Also:

If you have questions regarding the Card, or need to report a lost or stolen Card, you may contact us by email:

Click Here to contact Customer Service via email

Or you may call Customer Service for Gift Cards at: 1-800-571-1376

or write to:
Vanilla® Visa® Gift Card Customer Service
PO Box 826 Fortson, GA 31808

Vanillavisa.com

My apologies if you've already read all this.

[UmmSqueakster]

Although it's too late for it, I would never have picked it up to begin with. If the person who lost if went to look for it, how would they find it if you had it?

[egyptballer]

Oh sorry it isn't vanilla visa.I was mistaken for the gift debit card I bought for myself.It is just visa and the website is www.giftcardmall.com/visagift if you find the instructions for a lost card at the website please tell me.

[Muezzin]

It's in their FAQs:

Can the Visa Gift Card be replaced if lost or stolen?
Yes, if your card is lost or stolen, call Customer Service 24/7 toll-free at 866-397-9763 to cancel your Visa Gift Card as soon as you can. You will need to know your Visa Gift Card number, so be sure to record it in a safe place. You may also be required to provide additional information. After you cancel your Visa Gift Card, a replacement gift card with the remaining balance minus a $5.95 replacement fee will be mailed to you. [Back to top]

[Musaafirah]

What are the chances of the owner wanting the card back if they've gotta pay $5.95, while they only have $8 left?
Maybe it woulda been better to have just left it there.

[Muezzin]

What are the chances of the owner wanting the card back if they've gotta pay $5.95, while they only have $8 left?

They may have simply cancelled it, so it would be useless now anyway. By the same token, it's only $8.

[ardianto]

I dont think that will work.How will they find the owner?There is no information on the gift debit card.Therefore no basis to look for the owner.As for my 1,2,3 choices I was wondering if i can do that if I believe I won't receive a (good deed)reward.

STILL NEED HELP!!

I think I must honest.
If I found a gift debit card, I must find the owner but I have no information. That is my problem. But if I give that to police, that becomes police's problem, and I am freeee....... :D


Just kidding.
You must keep that debit in your place. Maybe tomorow someone will looking for that debit card, and you can give that back to the owner. Don't ever use that debit card, that is not yours.

[egyptballer]

What are the chances of the owner wanting the card back if they've gotta pay $5.95, while they only have $8 left?
Maybe it woulda been better to have just left it there.

Trust me I learned my lesson.ins:exhausted

[egyptballer]

It's in their FAQs:

I called them and they said no name was on the card.She then continued by saying she will disable the card and told me to discard it.

Is this right?:blind:

[ardianto]

I called them and they said no name was on the card.She then continued by saying she will disable the card and told me to discard it.

Is this right?:blind:

Still in confusion ?
Okay, back to the begining. You found a gift debit card on the floor, and you didn't knew whose card was that. You have reported to card publisher, and now that card has disabled.
So, why you must feel guilty ? that is not your fault. The problem is over.

[Muezzin]

I called them and they said no name was on the card.She then continued by saying she will disable the card and told me to discard it.

Is this right?:blind:

Yes.

Still, this thing turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, literally. :exhausted

[egyptballer]

Yes.

Still, this thing turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, literally.

:exhausted

I had no idea what I was doing when I picked it up.Let this be a lesson for you all.inshAllah

[Musaafirah]

Hold on.
Are gift debit cards like the gift cards you give people as presents?
Ahaha.
At least you learned your lesson.
Never pick gum off the streets. You don't know where it's been.
Bahaha.