What has expiry date (like gift certificates used to) but shouldn't have?
Asked by
flo (
13313
)
February 19th, 2015
Re. the gift certificates it was made illegal, because it is just like cash which does not expire. Is there anything else that should not expire because it is unfair to the customers?
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17 Answers
I don’t think rape cases should have an “expiration date” (statute of limitations).
2 for 1 Sundaes at Culvers.
Gift cards. Some charge a couple of dollars a month and will eat up the balance if not used promptly.
(Can you source that gift certificates can’t expire?)
In package coupons. If the product has not expired, neither should the coupon be.
@ibstubro In Canada, gift certificates and many gift cards cannot be subject to expiry, per the Canadian Consumer Protection Act.
@dappled_leaves That’s a great CP policy, but I’m intrigued about what gift cards can be subject to expiry.
@Brian1946 I only looked at it quickly, but if the card is for something really specialized, I think that’s a loophole. A gift card for the whole store – no expiry. A gift card for specific products in that store – expiry. Sort of like being able to hold a sale. But don’t quote me before checking the specifics. ;)
Ah.
The US has no such protections, to my knowledge.
I’ve had rebate cards eat themselves before I remembered to use them.
“Inactivity fees” are a classic, but legal, scam.
@Brian1946 Good point, but other crimes as well should not have.
Where do you find the text:
*“Some states, for example, do not allow gift cards to expired, while others place
limits… Six retailers that offered reloadable gift cards last year discontinued those
offerings, .... It’s just the latest piece of bad news for NRDC, the private equity firm
that…. From now on, American Express says its monthly fee is a thing of the past.”*
It is supposed to be at:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/gift-cards, according to the Google search result.
Rain checks for sale items out of stock.
I agree that they should expire eventually, but a store here (that, incidentally is chronically out of sale items) only allows a week or two. That means if you only buy groceries there once a month, you’re out of luck or make a special trip for their mistake.
@ibstubro You’re agreeing with the sellers of cards with expiry dates?
No, @flo. Not at all.
I have had rebate cards from stores ‘eat’ themselves a few dollars at a time before I remembered to use them. Say I had a card valued at $15 and they charged $3 a week ‘inactivity’ fee. A month and a have later the balance was $0. That’s wrong, it pisses me off, and it seems to be perfectly legal in the US.
Menard’s is a classic scam. You have to mail in all the ‘original rebate forms’ (collected in store) within a short time, and each rebate requires a separate envelope/postage. They send the rebate as a postcard that anyone can present, and it’s only good for a month or so. The chances of the some-time customer actually getting the rebate and spending it are slim. It’s a scam.
I can see a card bought or rebated expiring after a year or so, just so the issuing company can balance the books, but that date should at least be on the card.
@ibstubro I agree it is a scam when it comes to the fees. But so is the expiry date. Sometimes the expiry date arrives before the fees have a chance to it up.
By the way, they can manage to balance the books after expiry date is made illegal, so thereshould be no problem.
Normaly US is the one with the no nonsense attitude, I’m surprised.
Some store which is gone now, had the rain checks wit no expiry date.
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