A bill allowing cash refunds on gift cards passed the General Assembly before the session closed. It now goes to the governor for action.
The legislation, House Bill 5564 would allow a cardholder to receive any remaining balance under $3 with proof of purchase.
State Rep. Patricia Billie Miller (D-Stamford), a bill sponsor, said the $3 amount is a middle ground among similar laws in 11 other states. Some states allow consumers to ask for cash back when a gift card has less than $1 remaining, while in California retailers must return a gift card’s remaining cash value to the customer when the balance is less than $10.
Miller said in a statement as the popularity of gift cards has risen, some retailers have begun to count unredeemed gift cards as revenue income, raising concerns about the rights of consumers. According to CEB Tower Group, a research and analytic company, close to a billion dollars of gift card sales went unredeemed in 2015, an increase from $750 million in 2014.
Connecticut previously enacted a gift card consumer protection bill in 2003, prohibiting retailers from attaching expiration dates or monthly fees to gift cards.
