Have you ever wondered why the balance on your shopping mall gift card has decreased since it was purchased? Well, it may be because “mall cards” are allowed to charge fees in BC. Mall cards can be a great option for your friends or family members who are hard to buy for but note that there may be some additional fees.
We oversee a piece of law called the Prepaid Purchase Cards Regulation in BC which speaks mainly to fees and expiry dates, as well as what kind of cards are exempt. Let’s get started and learn why mall gift cards sometimes decrease in value overtime.
What are mall cards?
Typically, mall cards are for a shopping mall and can be used at multiple unaffiliated sellers within the mall. Mall cards are allowed to charge fees in BC but the issuers must inform the purchasers about the extra fees. Here are some rules:
- At the time of purchase, mall cards may charge up to $1.50 service fee
- If a post-purchase fee applies, information about the fee must be included on the card itself
- Post-purchase fees may begin 15 months after purchase
- At the request of the consumer, post-purchase fees may be delayed for an additional three months
What kind of post-purchase fees are they allowed to charge?
If there is still a balance on the card after 15 months from the time of purchase, a post-purchase fee of up to $2.50 per month may be deducted from the balance. However, as I mentioned above, a consumer may request a three-month extension before the fees are charged.
Example: Susan was gifted a $50 mall card a while ago and she forgot about the card and kept it in her kitchen drawer for 20 months. Now that she re-discovered her mall card, she wants to use it. She finds out that the card now has a balance of $37.50 ($2.50 x 5 months deducted from $50).
How do I find out what fees and expiry dates apply?
By law, mall card issuers must make purchasers aware that extra fees apply, so that you can make informed decisions about the purchase. Often, the additional terms and restrictions are stated in the Card Agreement Purchase (supplied with every gift card).
Why are mall cards allowed to charge fees?
There are extra costs involved with processing cards that can be used at multiple unaffiliated sellers, for example several stores in a mall.
Was I overcharged?
If you ever feel that you are charged fees that are not permitted, the first step is to contact the shopping mall where your card comes from. If you choose to do so, make sure that your request is in writing and keep any paperwork associated with it. If you still feel that the situation has not been resolved, you can contact us.
So, there’s a lot to know about the gift card law in BC – if you would like more information, take a look at other blog posts related to gift cards.
ADDITIONAL READING:
The gift of gift cards
Good news for consumers: new laws in effect for prepaid cards (related to prepaid credit cards)
What’s the deal with deals of the day?
Gift cards – check out these tips!
Wholesale Sports in BC and Alta is now closed. I have a gift card still. By law do they have to transfer the outstanding balances of their gift cards to a third party for redemption?
Hi Carsten, thank you for posting your question. We have written a blog post about this issue, so please have a look here. If you have any other questions that are not addressed in the post, please let us know!
Omg why is it so difficult to get a balance on my PC loblaw 10 dollar gift card tried every stupid app. Same as my 10 dollar save on foods gift card balance the numbers I dont get what one to do I scan the code bar dumb apps say can’t find the gift cards I’m looking at
Hi Marcia, if you’re having issues with the app or checking the balance online, you may be interested in asking the clerk next time you’re at the grocery store. They are usually able to tell you on the spot. I hope this is helpful!
If you spend less than the face value of a gift card, does the issuing company always keep a record of the diminished balance, or can a gift card ever just disappear once partially used?
Hi Stephen, thanks for reaching out to us here. I think I would need some more information from you in order to make a definitive statement, but I’ll provide you with as much info as I can on this topic. Some gift cards have fees (like mall cards) and some cards expire. So, depending on how long you had one of those cards for, the card could either be reduced down to $0 due to the fees, or could expire. If those two options don’t apply (mall card with fees, or an expiry date), then the only other thing I can imagine is that the card was sold as a promotion or at a discounted price. If that’s the case, the card can have conditions on it (for instance, the card can only be applied for one purchase). That being said, the business that sold you the gift card should have made that clear at the time of purchase. If any of this is unclear, please give our inquiry centre a call at 1.888.564.9963. Thanks!
Is there any government body that can be petitioned to change the rules on Monthly Maintenance Fees on Credit Card Gift Cards? What exactly do they do for those fees? I found a Gift Card for 50.00 that I had missed and checked and it is now worth 0 dollars. I find this ridiculous. The person that gifted me the card and paid a fee. There was no activity on the card so what exactly did the bank due for that fee? I just found about this and would like to see if this something than can be lobbied against to be changed. Thanks
Hi Dana, thanks for your question. I know gift card law can get a little tricky. It sounds like you’re talking about a prepaid card issued by a financial institution (so VISA, Mastercard, American Express). These types of prepaid cards fall outside of our legal authority, but they are overseen by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). Here’s a page with more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/payment/prepaid-cards.html. According to that page, the money on these kind of cards cannot expire, but the card itself can. If your card expires, but it still has money on it, you can contact the prepaid card issuer to request a replacement card. Here is another page with bit more info from them: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/rights-responsibilities/rights-prepaid-products.html If you have any questions about these kinds of cards and what is allowed, I would reach out to the FCAC directly, as this is their area of authority. Here is a link to their contact info: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/corporate/contact-us.html. I hope this helps clear things up and best of luck!
Hello Shoko,
I bought 3 gift cards from UNIQLO store in Richmond, BC just this past Friday, December 14th. Didn’t need three cards though, I need only one for $60 however, I had to because this store clerk told they have gift card policy. Each gift card can be used for a maximum of 5 transactions and after 5th transaction any remaining balance (any amount!) will be zeroed, in other words it will be kept by the store. It doesn’t sound right to me at all. Maybe this is normal practice but I haven’t come across of such thing before. Thank you.
Hi Tatiana, thank you for sharing your experience with us. This does sound a little strange as gift cards for a certain dollar value are not supposed to expire or diminish in value (except for shopping mall gift cards that can be used at multiple stores). Would you mind submitting us a complaint? You can do this by phone or through our online intake form. Here’s the information on how to contact us. Thank you, Tatiana!
Hi Shoko,
I purchased a Netflix gift card from Canada Safeway, Vancouver. I asked the cashier to load $60 onto the gift card. I was surprised $4.20 PST was added. When I questioned the cashier why, she couldn’t give me an answer. Wouldn’t I be paying the taxes when I subscribe to Netflix? Besides, I thought with gift cards you only pay for the amount you buy.
Hi Susan, it’s our understanding that with a gift card that is for a specific product or service (such as a haircut), you would have to pay taxes when purchasing the gift card. Whereas if the gift card has a dollar value, then a consumer would pay the taxes when redeeming the gift card. This is actually outside of what we regulate but here is more info on what we found (quoted):
Gift Certificates and Gift Cards
Gift certificates and gift cards are vouchers that can be exchanged for a specific value of goods and are treated the same way as cash.
Do not charge PST on the value of gift certificates or gift cards you sell to your customers.
When customers redeem gift certificates or gift cards, the value of the certificate or card should be applied to the total amount of the invoice – including taxes and any environmental levies.
Need more info?
Toll free in Canada: 1 877 388-4440
E-mail: CTBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca
Susan, you may want to contact the above phone number or the email address with your concern. I hope this information helps!
Thank you
I have a gift card issued by a spa for a specific service that was issued before 2014 when the rules changed.There is a $2.00 service fee per month being deducted from the balance. Is this legal? Alex
Hi Alex, thanks for reaching out to us here. What rules are you referring to? So you’re aware, gift cards sold for a specific good or service ARE allowed to expire, but they are NOT allowed to charge fees (unless the card is a “mall card”, which are gift cards for a shopping mall which can be used at multiple unaffiliated sellers within the mall – which is what this blog post is about). If you are being charged fees, you may want to point the business owner to the legislation here: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/292_2008. I hope this helps and best of luck!
Hi. I have a gift card from christmas for Liquor depot. They would not honour the card or even look at it stating they no longer accept gift cards at any locations as they had some fraud problems. Is this legal ehat recourse do I have?
Hi David, thank you for asking a question here! Certain gift cards in BC are not allowed to expire. Having said that, there are some exceptions to the rule so take a look at this blog post, especially the infographic and make sure that your card doesn’t fall under other categories where they are allowed to expire. If you still determine that they are not allowed to expire after looking at the infographic, please submit an official complaint through our website here. We would be happy to review further details. Thank you!
I purchased an advertising giftcard through Leolist.com to a total of 22 euros (a lot for me because I live in poverty). Several months later I return to an account with zero credit, and I am informed that if I do not advertise for 6 months my balance is “forfeited”, and removed. Seems unlawful.
Hi Rosalind, thanks for reaching out to us here. So you’re aware, the laws our organization oversees with respect to gift cards applies to consumers located in British Columbia, Canada. Are you located in British Columbia?
Hi,
Recreation of North Vancouver sold discounted children swim/skate passes as an alternative for candy for Halloween.
Those passes have an expiration date until December 31.
Normally as for Groupon discounted passes, you get an expiration date for the promotional price, after the date you have store credit for the amount of the passes.
As usual with the candy for Halloween, there are some passes left because it is not possible to accurately estimate how many trick or treaters will come by.
Recreation of North Vancouver is not accepting the passes back nor are they transferring the amount of the value of the left passes to your account after the expiry date.
Is that really fair? Am I forced to go out now and look for any takers of those passes?
BTY, there was a 5% Goods and Service Tax to the passes.
Hi Brie, thank you for your question! It’s our understanding that things like passes and gift cards for specific merchandise or service can have expiry dates. This blog post has an infographic that may help understand this better. As for taxes, businesses are still obliged to collect them when people are purchasing gift cards for a specific good or service. We have more on this topic in this blog post.
I have a gift card to a spa worth over $250.00 and they state are closing doors due to the covid shut down and not re-opening. They are not offering a refund and state there policy is advised no refunds – can they do this?
Hi Sandra, good question. If a business closes, it can be difficult to get money for gift cards back. However, if the business has filed for bankruptcy, you can request to be listed as a creditor.
Question – I made a return of merchandise at a Canadian Tire in BC last year and just found the return card. Balance should have been $136 but they say it expires after 365 days and my card balance is now $0. Is this legal? I thought it didn’t expire?
Hi Andrea, thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, cards loaded with in-store credits from returns are not considered gift cards. Return/exchange policies are something stores can set on their own and not regulated by the gift card law in BC. Having said that, you may want to talk to the store or the store manager and see if you would be able to negotiate something. You may even want to call the corporate customer service line and see if you would be able to talk to someone. I hope you will be able to sort this out!
I purchased a gift card from a popular coffee shop, Cafe Artigiano, which doesn’t seem to fit the description of a mall gift card. They deducted a $2.50 monthly service fee after 12 months on the unused balance. Is this allowed in BC in alignment with gift card regulations?
Hi Rachel, it certainly does not sound like your gift card would fall under the mall gift card category. We would like to get more information – would you be able to submit a formal complaint on our website? Here is the link. Thank you!
I bought a vanilla prepaid visa.i took it home I tried to buy setting online,”insufficient funds ‘.i also tried to call and go online “invalid card. I finally get a hold of somebody to talk and they say 83cents. And I never bought anything. What do I do,?
Hi there, thanks for your question. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada oversees and regulates prepaid credit cards. You can learn more about your rights in regard to prepaid credit cards on their website here: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/rights-responsibilities/rights-prepaid-products.html. You can also contact them to submit your question here: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/corporate/contact-us.html . Hope this helps!
Hi there,
If my online/electronic gift card has a total of less than $1 on it (say, $0.01) can the business choose to close or delete it?
Please let me know.
Thank you
Hi there, thanks for your question. It depends on whether or not your gift card is allowed to have fees or expire. If it’s not allowed to expire or have fees, then the balance should remain until it is spent. For more information on how we can help with giftcards, check out our webpage : https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/consumer-help/consumer-information-gift-cards/ .
I loaded money on Tim’s card at Tim Horton’s mobile app for $50 and used it at a kiosk at a Tim Horton’s store for goods worth $18.75. The transaction failed but the money was deducted. Now, Surprise – Nobody at Tim Hortons knows how to check that!!! I checked with the store, and they said to go to customer care. I called Customer Care, and they asked me to call Tim’s Card helpline. I called Tim’s Card helpline, and they say go to a store, email them, or call customer care as they have limited access and cannot check. I lost my money and nobody knows what to do. The new USA owners of Tim Hortons are greedy crooks so don’t buy any financial products from them.