I saw on CNN's Headline News last week, that the popular Gift cards for stores are not always redeemed in time. It seems reasonable enough, being cards are lost, misplaced, or forgotten before they expired. BestBuy (the consumer electronics store) reported that in 2005, the amount of unredeemed BestBuy gift cards totaled $42 million dollars! I wonder how much the other giants (Sears, Lowes, HD, etc.) gained in unredeemed gift cards.
If you're going to give a gift card, just give cash or a cheque instead.
I'm pretty sure that here in Massachusetts, when unredeemed gift cards "expire" with funds left in them that the issuers are obligated to turn tose funds over to the Commonwealth's Treasurer. FWIW.
Jeff
Not very much, most states have unclaimed asset laws that require that the money from unused gift certificates, uncashed checks etc be turned over to the state after a certain period of time.
Some of the sleazy big box stores may get around that by having a "maintenance fee". They take your money and benefit from the interest but charge a huge fee if the card isn't used and then keep on applying the fee until they run the balance to zero.
Last I knew in CT it was illegal for gift certificates / gift cards to expire or have monthly charges, being considered as cash equivalents.
Pete C.
True, at least for store cards. I looked at a prepaid Visa card and it has a service charge after some period of time, (I think it was a year?) but it also cost $4.95 to get one. That's a hefty percentage for a $25 gift.
Stores and VSIA go a long way to push those cards for very good reason. They make money and don't have to honor a lot of them but already have the money. You can't say it's their fault for the consumer not taking advantage of it They are at fault though when they conceal that they expire in such small fine print that the normal person would never know. That and I also saw where people are copying the information off the cards, that are located out in the store front area and then when some generous pernos purchases the card for a relative or friend and activates it the person that copied the information checks to see if it has been activated or to get a balance on the card and purchases against it leaving the true gift precipitant left with less than they had on the gift card or even nothing. Buyer beware and demand a card that has not been out on public display.
A way around that scam exists. Only use cards that have a concealed PIN number. I received a card fro BassPro Shops. When I called their 800 number to find out what it was worth, I had to peel off the tape and provide the PIN to customer service before they would tell me the value.
Charlie
Why the hell should the STATE get the money? I'd much rather the store kept it.
Willshak wrote in news:12paqva9sphu808 @news.supernews.com:
Gift cards are BS.
Forces you gift to be gotten at one place.
Equivalent of you going in to a store and playing for something without taking is. They still have merchandise to sell and cash for cash flow.
You lose card, they still have cash often ending in 100% profit.
Case of toilet paper. Now who's not gonna need that.
The few gift cards we've given in the last year were Visa gift cards, which only force your gift to be gotten at some place.
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