Maryland working on legislation to collect 100% of the balance of a gift card after only 1 year.


/not the submitter

that is theft.

I still have a virgin megastore gift card for like 25 bucks from like 8 years ago. Still good, supposedly.

After the law took effect in the spring, Lemoine wrote to more than 40 major retailers with stores in Maine, including Best Buy, Home Depot and Williams Sonoma, demanding that they figure out how much they owe and send the state the money.

oh i would've loved to have been in the room when those letters were opened. i'm sure they laughed and laughed.

But after two years the cards are regarded as dormant in Maine, and a new law aimed at out-of-state companies says the state is entitled to 60 percent of the value.

What happens if I finally get around to using my card 3 years later? Do I only have 40% of the value to spend?

certified bonehead: What happens if I finally get around to using my card 3 years later? Do I only have 40% of the value to spend?

Even less if you factor in inflation.

Shouldn't be long before they start looking at the available credit on your credit cards as a revenue source.

Well, the state government will apparently succeed in making retail jobs even crappier.

/store sells 25 gift cards a day
//your state has 20 stores
///500 a day, all with unique account numbers and amounts
////how do you figure out how much the company "owes" the government?

Dupa: Shouldn't be long before they start looking at the available credit on your credit cards as a revenue source.

It's not? Uh-oh...

Fark It: Well, the state government will apparently succeed in making retail jobs even crappier.

/store sells 25 gift cards a day
//your state has 20 stores
///500 a day, all with unique account numbers and amounts
////how do you figure out how much the company "owes" the government?

If you're a chain store and aren't recording every sale in a central database, you're Doing It Wrong.

Way to twist the article to your liking, early commenters & submitter.

Maine officials say the issue is consumer rights and some of the billions of dollars in unused gift-card value whose ownership cannot be determined should revert to the public instead of retailers.


see, in the real world, that's called 'theft' and it's a crime. Unless you're a socialist government, then it's called 'for the good of the people'.

Again, Democrats don't think that private citizens actually own anything. They are just borrowing them from Big Brother.

Two years ago, Pennsylvania hit me with a tax on "excess withholding" because I got "too big a refund" from the IRS. WTF?

I used to never think about the Cayman Islands but now I'm starting to consider a new retirement strategy.

LIBERALS!!!!

Both "cannot expire" and "go dormant". Lovely. I'm assuming Maine will have a rapid and efficient system for returning that money to retailers once those cards are actually used 5 years later?

I just went to Macy's a few weeks ago and used a Marshall Field card from 3 or 4 years ago that I just realized had $70 on it.

We could just treat it reasonably: Money from gift card sales goes into an escrow account out of which gift card redemptions are paid. Earnings on the escrow account are taxed as income separately from the corporation's general taxes (and thus can't be used to off-set other losses).
If we want to set a time after which those escrow funds can be rolled into regular funds, then the corporation pays that same tax on the roll-over and goes its own way.

Two scenarios.

Card expires and all the money goes to the corporations and the people get screwed.

or

Card expires, most of the money goes to the State (unless it is a business whose HQ is in Maine, since this is aimed at out-of-state businesses that isn't a big leap) for use towards fixing infrastructure, or other programs that might need a float. People still get screwed, but this gives the State another income they can dip into without taxing actual citizens.

/in Corporate America, products own you!

FTA:

"The remaining 60 percent is true windfall, and the Maine Legislature has taken the position that the windfall has been taken out of the consuming public and should be returned to the consuming public," he said.

Except Maine already has plans to spend it on government pork instead of giving it back to the consumer.

Dumb person forgets he has x amount worth of money on a gift card. Dumbass loses money.

Dumbass loses a hundred dollar bill. Dumbass is out a hundred bucks.

Not rocket surgery here, liberals.

"That's my basic rule: whatever the problem, the government's a bigger one." - Mark Steyn

What a nice little Fark-Libertarian circle jerk we have here.

In a perfect world, people would use all the money on their gift cards, but in real life, people are retarded and forget they have free money in their wallets and purses. And that's assuming they don't just lose the cards or throw them away.

So the state is facing a budget shortfall and can do one of three things:
A) Raise taxes.
B) Cut services, which normally means "luxuries" supplemental health care for poor handicapped people, mental health services in jails and prisons or art/music programs for schools.
C) Take money that people have forgotten for more than two years instead of letting it go to Best Buy or Target.

You could argue for a longer time period - say five years - but in the end, I don't really have a problem with the state taking money that people have more or less forgotten about to pay for roads, schools and other services without raising taxes.

If this is so much of a problem for you, just give people cash. Despite the straw mans people are going to throw up here, this is absolutely nothing like the government taking money out of your bank account. This is like the government walking by and picking up money you left in your yard in front of your house next to your trash cans.

Nemo's Brother: Dumb person forgets he has x amount worth of money on a gift card. Dumbass loses money.

Dumbass loses a hundred dollar bill. Dumbass is out a hundred bucks.

Not rocket surgery here, liberals.

Is dumbass one of your aliases?

cyclonic agrees with this law but has not real basis for it so he resorts to petty name calling?

/Down with evil corporations!
//Down with your civil liberties. The government knows what is best for you!

CowboyNinjaD: You could argue for a longer time period - say five years - but in the end, I don't really have a problem with the state taking money that people have more or less forgotten about to pay for roads, schools and other services without raising taxes..


Gee, ya know - you have all this money in a savings account that you haven't used in a YEAR! I think we should take this money and use it to build a new road.

Oh, and I won't tell you about it. 'cause....you obviously don't need the money, right?

Nemo's Brother: /Down with evil corporations!
//Down with your civil liberties. The government knows what is best for you!

How does this violate your civil liberties?

Here's an idea: If you care about someone enough to buy them a gift, put some thought into it instead of copping out and buying them a gift card. And if you really can't think of anything to buy them, give them cash. It's just like a gift card, except you can spend it anywhere, and "evil corporations" don't get to keep it if you don't spend it in two years.

Weaver95: Gee, ya know - you have all this money in a savings account that you haven't used in a YEAR! I think we should take this money and use it to build a new road.

Wow, way to leave out the paragraph directly below the one you quoted.

CowboyNinjaD: If this is so much of a problem for you, just give people cash. Despite the straw mans people are going to throw up here, this is absolutely nothing like the government taking money out of your bank account. This is like the government walking by and picking up money you left in your yard in front of your house next to your trash cans.

But thanks anyway.

Nemo's Brother: cyclonic agrees with this law but has not real basis for it so he resorts to petty name calling?

/Down with evil corporations!
//Down with your civil liberties. The government knows what is best for you!

Not rocket surgery here, liberals.

This.

What was your intention other than to insert this horseshiat?

\Don't give 2 shiats about the law.
\\Live in California, gift cards never expire.

CowboyNinjaD: What a nice little Fark-Libertarian circle jerk we have here.

In a perfect world, people would use all the money on their gift cards, but in real life, people are retarded and forget they have free money in their wallets and purses. And that's assuming they don't just lose the cards or throw them away.

So the state is facing a budget shortfall and can do one of three things:
A) Raise taxes.
B) Cut services, which normally means "luxuries" supplemental health care for poor handicapped people, mental health services in jails and prisons or art/music programs for schools.
C) Take money that people have forgotten for more than two years instead of letting it go to Best Buy or Target.

You could argue for a longer time period - say five years - but in the end, I don't really have a problem with the state taking money that people have more or less forgotten about to pay for roads, schools and other services without raising taxes.

If this is so much of a problem for you, just give people cash. Despite the straw mans people are going to throw up here, this is absolutely nothing like the government taking money out of your bank account. This is like the government walking by and picking up money you left in your yard in front of your house next to your trash cans.

I will go with option B, thanks.

Murkanen: Card expires and all the money goes to the corporations and the people get screwed.

And then the market for gift cards dries up altogether and people just start giving money to each other and calling it a farking day. I don't see the gift card market really getting a good deal out of this since it seems to be more trouble than it's worth. Give money and call it a day, and you have even less reason to go into an overly expensive B&M store.

Stores already do this with gift cards these days. They charge fees and erase the value of the card if you don't use it. Read the small print.

seriously, who lets money last on a gift card that long?

I'm sorry, but if you're going try to legislate your childish and stupid view of the world on me, I'm going to call you out on it.

Afternoon_Delight: CowboyNinjaD: Here's an idea: If you care about someone enough to buy them a gift, put some thought into it instead of copping out and buying them a gift card. And if you really can't think of anything to buy them, give them cash.


Here's an even better idea: Mind your own business and leave the rest of us (and our property) alone.

Find an island you can buy. Purchase it from some evil governmental authority and then live on it by yourself where you will be free of all taxes and others who might despoil your rugged individualism.

Cyclonic Cooking Action: Find an island you can buy. Purchase it from some evil governmental authority and then live on it by yourself where you will be free of all taxes and others who might despoil your rugged individualism.

The problem is that everytime someone does that, a bunch of people get together and try to take it away from them.

Merry Christmas AD, your whole next year is all ready...

but this gives the State another income they can dip into without taxing actual citizens.

Taking money from citizens isn't a tax, huh? They are not taking it from corporations - they are taking it from people who could have used the cards to exchange for goods or services... you know, BUY stuff.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a farking duck.

sentient_being
Except Maine already has plans to spend it on government pork

F*ck you, f*ck you long and hard! Damnit, it's been months since I fell for that.

CowboyNinjaD: What a nice little Fark-Libertarian circle jerk we have here.

The "greater good" argument has its time and place, but I think more pressing is for us to examine who the rightful owner of this money is.

Just because it is lost money doesn't mean that the government has a rightful claim to it. This money should be kept in a place where it can be used; as a commenter said before, why should we have to choose between the corporation or the government? Set up an account where the unused cash is kept until some event horizon.

Make it known to the purchasers that, should the card not be used within that time frame, it would be funneled to some other thing. Perhaps distributed among charities, or donated to the local school district. That way the corporations aren't getting an unfair share, the government isn't collecting beyond what it should rightfully be getting, and the greater good is served.

mtman900: CowboyNinjaD: What a nice little Fark-Libertarian circle jerk we have here.

The "greater good" argument has its time and place, but I think more pressing is for us to examine who the rightful owner of this money is.

Just because it is lost money doesn't mean that the government has a rightful claim to it. This money should be kept in a place where it can be used; as a commenter said before, why should we have to choose between the corporation or the government? Set up an account where the unused cash is kept until some event horizon.

Make it known to the purchasers that, should the card not be used within that time frame, it would be funneled to some other thing. Perhaps distributed among charities, or donated to the local school district. That way the corporations aren't getting an unfair share, the government isn't collecting beyond what it should rightfully be getting, and the greater good is served.

Perhaps the companies can select the charities they choose. For instance, Barnes and Noble can say all unused cards go to literacy programs, Best Buy gives computer to poor schools, etc.

It'd be good if you had a $25 gift card and spend only $23 on a DVD, you could donate the $2 to a worthy cause.

CowboyNinjaD: In a perfect world, people would use all the money on their gift cards, but in real life, people are retarded and forget they have free money in their wallets and purses. And that's assuming they don't just lose the cards or throw them away.

So the state is facing a budget shortfall and can do one of three things:
A) Raise taxes.
B) Cut services, which normally means "luxuries" supplemental health care for poor handicapped people, mental health services in jails and prisons or art/music programs for schools.
C) Take money that people have forgotten for more than two years instead of letting it go to Best Buy or Target.

You could argue for a longer time period - say five years - but in the end, I don't really have a problem with the state taking money that people have more or less forgotten about to pay for roads, schools and other services without raising taxes.

If this is so much of a problem for you, just give people cash. Despite the straw mans people are going to throw up here, this is absolutely nothing like the government taking money out of your bank account. This is like the government walking by and picking up money you left in your yard in front of your house next to your trash cans.

Hey, y'know what? Fark you. It's my damn gift card*, and if I want to let it sit in my sock drawer and do nothing, the government should have absolutely no say whatsoever in it. If I'm too stupid to spend the money in my own pocket, the government shouldn't have any say in it whatsoever.

* Yes, I know it technically it's an account with the retailer. but nobody cares.

mtman900: That way the corporations aren't getting an unfair share, the government isn't collecting beyond what it should rightfully be getting, and the greater good is served.

It's not! an unfair! share! (!) Someone gave those corporations money. The corporations took that money and gave the consumer exactly what they asked for. Transaction over. What the consumer does with it next ought to be their own business. Why is the government even involved?

Ed Willy: Perhaps the companies can select the charities they choose. For instance, Barnes and Noble can say all unused cards go to literacy programs, Best Buy gives computer to poor schools, etc.

It'd be good if you had a $25 gift card and spend only $23 on a DVD, you could donate the $2 to a worthy cause.

Precisely my impression. Force the companies to provide the service, but let them decide the cause that is served.

wxgeek: mtman900: That way the corporations aren't getting an unfair share, the government isn't collecting beyond what it should rightfully be getting, and the greater good is served.

It's not! an unfair! share! (!) Someone gave those corporations money. The corporations took that money and gave the consumer exactly what they asked for. Transaction over. What the consumer does with it next ought to be their own business. Why is the government even involved?

Incorrect. The consumer gave money expecting to recieve either goods or services in the future. Being that the good or service was not given/performed, the unspoken contract should be considered null and void.

Both the consumer and the company would be aware of this event, so it's not going to be as if anyone is misappropriating the money or stealing it. Otherwise, it is unfairly going directly into the business's coffers.

---------------------
Weaver95 2007-12-23 01:18:04 PM
Maine officials say the issue is consumer rights and some of the billions of dollars in unused gift-card value whose ownership cannot be determined should revert to the public instead of retailers.


see, in the real world, that's called 'theft' and it's a crime. Unless you're a socialist government, then it's called 'for the good of the people'.
-----------------

It could also be considered theft if the retailer expires the card before it is used.

If they applied this to expired cards, I can see it. It would force retailers to honor cards with balances in perpetuity.

Barnes and Noble gift cards do not expire, and there are no fees deducted from unused balances.

(Not applicable to those weird B&N cards I see sometimes that are also Credit Card branded.)

fark this law. 25 dollar gift card is my money, to spend when I want to.

KelvinTheClown: Barnes and Noble gift cards do not expire, and there are no fees deducted from unused balances.

(Not applicable to those weird B&N cards I see sometimes that are also Credit Card branded.)

fark this law. 25 dollar gift card is my money, to spend when I want to.

Kelvin,

Thanks for the TotalFark a while back. I couldn't find a way to say thanks. :)

Murkanen: Two scenarios.

Card expires and all the money goes to the corporations and the people get screwed.

or

Card expires, most of the money goes to the State (unless it is a business whose HQ is in Maine, since this is aimed at out-of-state businesses that isn't a big leap) for use towards fixing infrastructure, or other programs that might need a float. People still get screwed, but this gives the State another income they can dip into without taxing actual citizens.

/in Corporate America, products own you!

Yeah the answer is to fix the retailers and not lose the card after only a year, not for the state to steal money from anyone. Both sides are wrong, the card shouldnt expire since it was bought with real money and the state shouldnt get it, if they are having budget problems make them fix their budget. This just gives the state a reason to count this as a windfall.

CowboyNinjaD: . This is like the government walking by and picking up money you left in your yard in front of your house next to your trash cans.


If the government can find a gift card I've lost, it's free to use it. This is more like forgetting you had a $20 stashed in your wallet, then finding it but when you try to spend it someone tells you the cash is expired because it was idle for too long.

This illustrates how the left wants to have eventual control over you by making you completely dependent upon them.

CowboyNinjaD:
So the state is facing a budget shortfall and can do one of three things:
A) Raise taxes.
B) Cut services, which normally means "luxuries" supplemental health care for poor handicapped people, mental health services in jails and prisons or art/music programs for schools.
C) Take money that people have forgotten for more than two years instead of letting it go to Best Buy or Target.


B FTW