Blumenthal to introduce bill ending gift card expiration dates, fees

During the Thanksgiving weekend, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he’d introduce a bill to ban gift cards with expiration dates and non-use fees.

“Gift cards should not be the gift that keeps on taking,” Blumenthal said in a statement last weekend. “This measure assures that consumers get their money's worth, no matter when they use the gift card.”

Blumenthal said the Gift Card Consumer Protection Act would replace current law, which allows gift cards to expire after five years, and end non-use fees, which currently kick in after one year. His bill would end deadlines and fees on all gift cards.

“This bill bars absolutely draconian deadlines and abusive fees and charges that unfairly confiscate consumer gift card cash,” Blumenthal said. “Gift card companies fatten their profits and shrink consumer wallets with exploitative expiration dates and petty, underhanded junk fees.”

In Blumenthal’s statement, he said the Gift Card Consumer Protection Act would also treat loyalty, promotion and reward cards the same as gift cards — meaning they wouldn’t expire — and would prevent companies that file for bankruptcy from selling gift cards and require them to accept and honor unredeemed gift cards.

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