RBS Citizen's Bank, N.A. Gift card rip-off Internet

RBS Citizen's N.A. sells gift cards to popular locations like Safeway and other grocery store chains. They are VISA and Master card giftcards in $25, $50, $100 denominations.  However, if you happen to misplace them and keep them too long, when you call them to check the balance, mysteriously it is $0 balance.  Then they tell you some story about a $2 fee charged monthly that depletes the card. However, if the card is only recently expired, they have no explanation except that the card has a zero balance.  There is no remediation, no place to send the cards or complain, they just rudely tell you your card is expired or zero balance and send you on your way.  You also pay $4.95 extra just to buy these cards at the Gift Card Mall.

I had two cards, a $25 and a $100 card, unused, and now they have told me that the balance is zero. And there is no course of action possible. The toll free phone number gets you to a rude operator, and the website just returns, 'invalid field entered' no matter how many times you fill in the spaces correctly. 

I would urge everyone to NOT buy these kind of gift cards, as the RBS Bank is enjoying the pure profit that they make by cancelling cards and not addressing consumer complaints.  I will never buy such a card again, knowing the bad service and poor reputation of this bank, and the shoddy follow-up or lack of customer service that is offered, if there is a problem.