New rules to guarantee gift cards are valid for five years come into effect Monday Comments If you`re the recipient of a gift card, you should look at the expiration date as soon as you receive it so you know how long you have to use it. From today, businesses across Ireland will have to check the terms and conditions of the gift cards they sell to make sure they comply with the new laws. After December 2, 2019, the Consumer Protection (Gift Certificates) Act 2019 establishes new rules for gift cards. If you purchased the voucher on or after December 2, 2019, the gift card must have an expiry date of at least five years from the date you purchased it. Whether you purchased a Father`s Day ride experience from your dad on a special Experiences Day website, or gave your mom spa vouchers directly from her favorite local spa, the coupon company must list all important terms and conditions when purchasing. The expiration date does not need to be printed on the actual gift card. However, the Company will need to let you know if there is an expiration date for the gift card on a durable medium, such as paper or email. The paper or email should include the following: You should check the fine print for the expiration date before purchasing a voucher, the requirement to reserve or reserve on a specific date, expiration dates or times, exactly what the voucher entitles you to and information on how the voucher can be used. In 2015, then-Commerce Secretary Richard Bruton published a Consumer Rights Bill that included a number of provisions to regulate vouchers, but never became law. And an attempt by the Social Democrats to present another bill to the DÁIL last year failed.

The lack of regulation in the gift certificate market has confused consumers, the minister said, many of whom are losing out due to unknown expiration dates. Due to the popularity of gift cards as Christmas gifts, merchants should be aware of the following important provisions, especially during the New Year season: Businesses can also no longer cancel vouchers if they have an incorrect name or spelling, or charge an additional fee to correct the name. This problem has often occurred with flight vouchers when the name on the voucher does not exactly match the name on the recipient`s passport. « Consumers should not be able to use gift certificates given to them by family members or friends because gift card issuers impose unreasonably short expiry times. Many gift cards have only been one or two years old, and in some cases only six months old. Since Monday, anyone who receives a gift card has peace of mind that it is valid for at least five years, » she said. With the extension of expiry times to five years, consumers will no longer be required to issue vouchers for a single transaction, as is sometimes the case. If a person has a $100 voucher but wants to buy something for $50, the store or seller can either ask them to spend it or lose the remaining balance. The law applies to gift certificates, which are defined as « vouchers, vouchers or other documents or instruments, including in electronic form, intended to be exchanged for goods or services in lieu of money in return for payment in whole or in part for goods or services or otherwise. » If you have an Experience Day Voucher, you must ensure that you are clear whether you need to book and take the experience with you before the expiry date printed on your voucher or if you only need to book it before the expiry date.

But before you do that, it`s worth calling or visiting the store to see if the coupon can still be used. Sometimes the directors of a troubled company decide to redeem gift cards and gift cards. You might have a hard time renewing it for free unless the buyer can prove that the terms of the expiration date were unclear at the time of purchase. Irish law introduced additional protection for gift cards sold from 2 December 2019 under the Consumer Protection (Gift Certificates) Act 2019 (pdf). See « New legislation on gift certificates » below. Not all gift certificates are covered by this legislation. Below are some of the most important included and excluded. However, on the advice of the Attorney General`s Office and the Parliamentary Council, legal issues have arisen which, in the Minister`s view, require further consideration. Vouchers issued as part of a loyalty or promotional program, as a refund for goods you have returned to a merchant, or vouchers and gift cards sold before December 2, 2019 must also not comply with these rules. The new law will also prohibit contractual clauses that limit the number of vouchers that can be used in a transaction and prohibit the cancellation of gift certificates or the charging of fees by airlines if the name of a gift card recipient differs from the name on a passport.

The Consumer Protection Act (gift certificates) prescribes a minimum expiry date of five years for vouchers and prohibits contract clauses that require them to be spent in a single transaction. It is estimated that Irish consumers lose millions of unredeemed or expired vouchers each year. These measures, which come into effect from Monday, protect consumers and contribute to the fact that the value of the voucher you buy for your loved ones at Christmas ends up in their pocket and not in someone else`s home. « If the gift certificate contract is silent on this, it is considered to expire for 5 years. But gift cards and coupons are like cash. So if you lose one, you might be out of luck. Any gift certificates issued from today onwards must comply with the new legislation, but gift certificates issued before today are exempt. Gift cards are like cash, so if you lose them, the company doesn`t have to replace them. If a voucher was issued to you specifically and is not transferable to someone else, you may be able to get a replacement.