Furious couple claims Target employee 'cut up' gift cards worth 100s of dollars

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - A Tampa couple claims a Target employee destroyed roughly $800 worth of gift cards they accidentally left at the store while shopping for Christmas gifts. Frankie Fernandez said he and his wife made a last-minute Target run on Christmas Eve. They left behind a clutch and wallet full of gift cards to various stores and restaurants. When he called Target, he said, an employee gave him good news – initially.

"They indeed said they did have (the wallet and clutch) and kind of knew what I was talking about," Fernandez told WFLA. "So, that gave me hope right there."

When they picked up the clutch and wallet, they found them empty.

Fernandez says a manager at the store told him they were "cut up" because Target's policy is to destroy lost items after 24 hours. A store log shows the cards were destroyed.

However, Fernandez said when he called corporate to complain, he was given a different story. He said he was told that policy requires items to be held in a safe for 30 days and then donated to charity, not destroyed.

"I didn't plan to recover money or gift cards, but I did want to shed some light on the situation and know that policies and procedures were broken by a very long-time employee there," Fernandez told WFLA.

After calls from WFLA, Fernandez said a Target manager called to say they have investigated and found six of the gift cards still in a shredding bin.

A corporate spokeswoman said the incident is under investigation, and they hope to find a resolution.