Laramfan6 said:
What is the name of your state? california
If someone pays for a gift certificate, is it legal after a reasonable amount of time for it to expire? Or, if it was paid for, is it always usable?
Thanks in advance
My response:
California law has a few things to say about gift certificates, and it will help to know some of these whether you’re the seller, buyer or the recipient:
First, any gift certificate sold in California (provided it is sold after January 1, 1997) is not permitted to contain an expiration date. The certificate is good indefinitely. If it does show an expiration date, though, you should be able to redeem it either for cash or for another certificate. You don’t lose the value of it simply because you didn’t redeem it before the deadline.
There are some gift certificates, though, that are exceptions to this indefinite validity provision. They are listed below:
Gift certificates distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without your paying for them. (An example might be certificates given out by a hotel or hotel chain for a certain number of days and nights in Hawaii or Las Vegas.)
Gift certificates that are sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes, as long as the expiration date is more than 30 days after the date of the sale. (An example might be the books of certificates or coupons sold by PTAs, soccer teams, etc., to raise money.)
Gift certificates for a food product.
Even these gift certificates are not excepted from indefinite validity unless (1) they were issued on or after January 1, 1998, and (2) the expiration date appears on the front of the gift certificate in at least 10-point type.
There are a few things you should think about before you buy a gift certificate, though. For example, even though the expiration restrictions for gift certificates have been relaxed, it is possible to lose the value of the certificate if the establishment that issues it goes out of business or comes under new ownership. And remember that you may be stuck if you receive a gift certificate from a business that simply sells nothing you want.
California Civil Code Section 1749.5
1749.5. (a) On or after January 1, 1997, it is unlawful for any
person or entity to sell a gift certificate to a purchaser containing
an expiration date. Any gift certificate sold after that date shall
be redeemable in cash for its cash value, or subject to replacement
with a new gift certificate at no cost to the purchaser or holder.
(b) A gift certificate sold without an expiration date is valid
until redeemed or replaced.
(c) This section shall not apply to any of the following gift
certificates issued on or after January 1, 1998, provided the
expiration date appears in capital letters in at least 10-point font
on the front of the gift certificate:
(1) Gift certificates that are distributed by the issuer to a
consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program
without any money or other thing of value being given in exchange for
the gift certificate by the consumer.
(2) Gift certificates that are sold below face value at a volume
discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations
for fundraising purposes if the expiration date on those gift
certificates is not more than 30 days after the date of sale.
(3) Gift certificates that are issued for a food product.
IAAL
