Shoppers upset after Walmart refuses to give them $100 gift cards they bought for $10

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- How's this offer? A $100 gift card for just $10. When that deal popped up on Walmart's website, hundreds of cards were sold in minutes. Even though purchase confirmations were sent and money accepted, the card deal will not be honored.

"This is bait and switch, that's all I can say. They offered me one thing, I accepted and then they took it away," Walmart shopper B.J. Shell said.

Shell is not happy. Last week she heard Walmart was selling $100 gift cards for just $10 online. She bought 80 cards for $800. Those cards have a face value of $8,000.

"I was sending $2,000 to someone in need and I was giving, which I do every year, my husband and I, I was going to give them away to people less fortunate than I," Shell said.

But those holiday dreams are now on hold. Instead of sending the cards, Walmart sent Shell an email telling her the order is now canceled and her money is being returned.

Walmart tells us a mistake was made. The company will not honor the deal.

Michelle Fitzgerald bought five cards that would have given her $500 to spend on Thanksgiving dinner for her family.

"I am a single mom with 2 children so, you know, it's hard," Fitzgerald said.

Walmart says it will reimburse its customers, but Andrea Williams paid for five gift cards using her debit card and the money is not back in her account yet.

"I wanted a new blender, table, things like that a can purchase from them for a nice little deal, but I guess I am not going to get that now," Williams said.

David Tiede is the director of the Texas Consumer Complaint Center and says while customers may not like it, Walmart does NOT have to honor an error in pricing.

"This mistake is being made by a person putting together a button on a web site, these kinds of mistakes are more and more common," Tiede said.

Walmart plans to give customers a $10 gift card as a way of apologizing for the pricing error.