Lost in the hoopla of the Credit Card Reform Bill are new reform rules targeting Gift Cards as well. While the new rules for Credit Cards are scheduled to take effect February 1, 2010, the new Gift Card Rules are scheduled to take effect in August 2010.
New gift card regulations take direct aim at perceived abuses by gift card issuers, such as:
Fee Restrictions, which control the conditions under which monthly fee inactivity charges may be levied.
Longer Expiration Dates, providing consumers with much longer windows in which to use their gift cards before the card expires and the value is lost.
Transrparency. Terms and conditions will have to be more clearly spelled out, easier to understand, and easier to find.
Refunds. Certain rules make it easier for some states to force companies to return money for unused expired cards.
Stiff penalties await those gift card issuers who, in the future, fail to abide by the new rules.
It is important to note that these new gift card rules do NOT apply to phone cards, “Rewards” cards, and gift cards used at specific events and functions such as concerts, among other possible exceptions.
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