HARTFORD — Consumers soon may be able to redeem remaining money on certain gift cards with balances of less than $3.
Following a unanimous Senate vote last week, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s signature is all that’s required to make law a bill that would enable people to cash out the remaining funds rather than let them go to waste.
Proponents of the bill say that enabling people to redeem the remaining money provides a benefit to consumers who tend not to use the cards after most of their value has been spent. If Malloy signs the bill, there is the potential for consumers to redeem significant dollars that would’ve otherwise been lost.
Malloy spokesman, Devon Puglia, said Tuesday, “We’re closely reviewing every bill,” but would not comment specifically on Malloy’s intentions regarding the gift card legislation.
According to CEB Tower Group, a research and analytic company, close to $1 billion of gift card sales went unredeemed last year, an increase from about $750 million in 2014.
Opponents, including the Connecticut Restaurant Association, say the purpose of gift cards is for the money to be used on products and services, not exchanged for cash.
After accepting a gift card as payment, the bill mandates that a business then is required to give cash back if the balance remaining is less than $3 and the customer has proof of purchase or a gift receipt.
The House amended the bill in February to reduce the amount of redeemable funds from $10 to $3.
Others have voiced concern that the bill would open to the door to fraud by allowing people to obtain potentially hundreds of dollars in cash without protection to retailers.
However, lawmakers are expecting the Department of Consumer Protection would have less than five additional investigations regarding gift cards. The department investigated 41 cases last year.
Exceptions include cards that are solely used for telephone services, re-loadable cards, loyalty, award, or promotional cards, cards not issued to the general public, gift certificates printed only on paper, and cards that are redeemable only for admission to specific events.
Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, applauded the passage of the legislation.
“Consumers deserve to get what they paid for,” she said, calling it “a simple and fair solution.”
“When someone receives a $30 gift card, they expect that they will get $30 worth of value out of it,” Miller said. “This legislation comes down to basic fairness. If someone can’t afford to make a purchase that costs more than the amount remaining on their gift card, that money is truly lost.”
