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Gift
Cards
Are
gift certificates and gift cards regulated by
Ohio
law?
Yes,
SB 33 which became effective June 15th,
2006, regulates gift cards sold by
merchants.
There are three provisions which may impact
your business:
-
Merchants
are prohibited from selling gift cards with
expiration dates less than two years after the
date the gift card is issued;
-
Within
the two years after a gift card is issued, a
merchant is prohibited from charging service
charges or fees relative to the gift card,
including dormancy fees, latency fees, or
administrative fees that have the effect of
reducing the total amount for which the card
holder can redeem the gift card.
-
A
gift card that is sold without an expiration
date is considered valid until redeemed or
replaced with a new gift card.
Are
there instances when the gift card regulations do
not apply?
Yes.
These rules do not apply in the following
cases:
-
To
gift cards distributed to a consumer pursuant
to an awards, loyalty or promotional program
without any money or anything of value being
given in exchange for the gift card;
-
To
a gift card sold by a nonprofit or charitable
organization for fundraising purposes;
-
To
a gift card that an employer gives to an
employee if use of the gift card is limited to
the employer’s business establishment;
-
To
a gift card that is usable with multiple,
unaffiliated sellers of goods or services,
such as a shopping mall gift certificate.
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