North Carolina now debating on who owns the unused gift card.
Gift cards are becoming an issue with state treasurers. Pennsylvania and New York recently voted on no expiration dates for gift cards. Now North Carolina is looking into where the money belongs.
North Carolina, like many states, has millions of dollars sitting in the state’s bank account that nothing is being done with. It’s called unclaimed money or unclaimed property. In North Carolina’s account there is more than $500 million dollars, of which more than half has been sitting there for 20 years or more. But better yet, the state believes more than $100 million will sit there and never be claimed.
In doing research an interesting fact was stumbled upon . While most of the unclaimed money is deposits from water and electric companies and old pay checks that never made it to you, unused gift card money is a grey area.
Should stores keep the money if a gift card is never used? Does the recipient of the card have the option of using it? Who can claim it if it is unclaimed property, the company, the consumer or the person who may have found it?
If the person doesn’t use the card can the business keep the money? State Treasurer Richard Moore says, “right now they are”.
While other states have laws that govern how quickly businesses can let their gift cards expire, North Carolina has no law. With no regulations on setting an expiration date a business could set a 1 or 2 month expiration date. Once the card expires, businesses can keep the money.
Right now businesses are treating gift cards like it is their money. From an unclaimed property standpoint it would be difficult for the state to get involved because businesses don’t have any proof of ownership when they are purchased. The result is that the state doesn’t have a way to trace the gift card.
What needs to happen is one of two things, the state either needs to require that when a gift card is sold that there be a trail of ownership or that gift cards are not unclaimed money.
Because gift cards have become so popular, the state treasurer says it’s now time to do something about it.
So, if a company sells a gift card but they never give any merchandise away – should they be allowed to keep the money? Until the state can figure out a way to find out whom the money belongs to, businesses will continue to get to keep the money from unused gift cards.
Have you ever wondered if you have any money that could be classified as unclaimed property? Why not answer that question now? Cash Unclaimed Money Search has simplified the search. You enter your name, you find out if there is money waiting to be claimed and you also get information on how to make your claim.
