An Ontario woman says she was “shocked” when her $250 Visa prepaid gift card expired, despite the province’s ban on gift card expiration dates.
“I was shocked and told the cashier I didn’t know gift cards could expire and she said she didn’t know that either,” said Carola Della Mattia of Brampton, Ont.
The Ontario government banned expiring gift cards 15 years ago after many complaints from the public, but what some people don’t realize is that certain gift cards can still expire and render them useless.
During the pandemic, when the economy effectively shut down, many gift cards went unused as many stores and restaurants were closed.
Della Mattia said her husband gave her a $250 Visa prepaid gift card for Christmas 2019.
“We kind of put it aside because we were going to take the family out to dinner and then COVID hit and I put it in a drawer and completely forgot about it,” Della Mattia said.
Della Mattia found the gift card last October and went to a store to use it, and was shocked to be told it had expired.
“I think people need to know that these cards can expire and you have to use them right away, so don’t leave them in a drawer and save them for a rainy day because they do expire,” Della Mattia said.
Della Mattia found out that after one year, a $3 service fee is charged every month and the card has an expiration date of August 8, 2022.
Under the Ontario Gift Card Act, gift cards can be redeemed for spas, massages, manicures, salons or for charitable purposes. Prepaid credit cards, loyalty cards or cards used to collect rewards are not covered by the gift card policy.
Prepaid credit cards may also have activation fees and maintenance or liability fees that are deducted each month.
When CTV News Toronto contacted Visa prepaid gift cards, the Blackhawk network that processes the cards said in a statement, “We want every shopper to have a great gift card experience. We are disappointed to see that this is not the case in this case.
“Consumers choose the Visa prepaid card as a perfect gift because it allows the recipient the best choice for how they would prefer to spend their gift; for example, it can be accepted online and in-store where Visa is accepted. It is a preferred gift over cash as it allows the recipient to easily shop and spend online as consumers move to more convenient, cashless and contactless payment methods. In the event that the card is lost or stolen, we do not charge any fees for replacement cards.’
“For the benefit of consumers, there are strict regulatory requirements in Canada related to the disclosure of such fees. These regulations allow maintenance fees to be charged, provided they are not incurred until a period of 12 months has elapsed since the activation of the card and that they have been disclosed in accordance with the regulations. These charges are prominently displayed on the back of the packaging and can be seen by the user before purchasing the card.’
“These regulations also require any expiry date to be shown on the product, but the cardholder’s right to these funds cannot expire. This means that while the plastic card itself has an expiration date, the funds themselves do not. If a cardholder has a balance remaining on their card after the expiry date, the cardholder can call the number on the back of the card to obtain a replacement card with the then remaining balance free of charge.’
After CTV News Toronto contacted Blackhawk Network about Della Mattia’s situation, the company sent her a $250 gift card, which she plans to use immediately.
“Well I’m excited I never expected this to happen, I thought once the card leaked it was great news,” Della Mattia said.
If you have gift cards, you may want to use them so you don’t lose them.
A study by the US Retail Gift Card Association found that about two to four percent of gift cards are never claimed, which is a net gain worth billions for retailers.
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