2019 -- H 5810

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LC001183

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

     RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES - GIFT

CERTIFICATES

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Corvese, Ucci, Kennedy, and Azzinaro

     Date Introduced: March 06, 2019

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 6-13-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-13 entitled "Unfair Sales

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Practices" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     6-13-12. Sales of gift certificates.

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     (a) "Gift certificate" means a record evidencing a promise, made for monetary

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consideration, by the seller or issuer for the record that goods or services will be provided to the

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owner of the record to the value shown in the record and includes, but is not limited to: (1) A

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record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic strip, or other means of storage of

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information that is pre-funded and for which the value is decremented upon each use; (2) A gift

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card, an electronic gift card, stored-value card or certificate; (3) A store card; (4) Prepaid long-

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distance telephone service that is activated by a prepaid card that requires dialing an access

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number or an access code for each call in addition to dialing the phone number to which the user

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of the prepaid card seeks to connect; or (5) A similar record or card. Any person, firm, or

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corporation that sells gift certificates for any product or merchandise sold by the person, firm, or

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corporation, shall be required to record the sales and keep an accurate and complete record of

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each gift certificate sold. The record shall include the date of sale; the full value of the certificate;

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the identification number assigned by the retailer to the certificate; and the state in which the sale

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of the certificate took place. The retailer shall further be required to give to the purchaser of gift

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certificates exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) a written and numbered receipt evidencing the sale of

 

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the certificate. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation of any kind to charge any

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surcharge or additional monthly or annual service or maintenance fees on gift certificates or to

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limit the time for the redemption of a gift certificate or to place an expiration date upon the gift

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certificate. No gift certificate or any agreement with respect to such gift certificate may contain

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language suggesting that an expiration date may apply to the gift certificate. Any person, firm, or

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corporation that shall violate the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more

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than two hundred dollars ($200). Due to the unlimited redemption period, the division of taxation

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shall not escheat the funds paid for those unredeemed gift certificates. Any unused portion of a

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redeemed gift certificate shall be afforded to the consumer by reissuing the gift certificate for the

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unused amount or providing cash where the balance due the consumer is less than one dollar

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($1.00). This section shall not apply to the following:

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     (b)(1) Gift certificates that are distributed to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty,

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or promotional program without any money or other thing of value being given in exchange for

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the gift certificate by the consumer. Any restrictions or limitations that such gift certificates may

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be subject to must be disclosed to the consumer, in writing, at the time the gift certificates are

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distributed to the consumer.

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     (c)(2) Prepaid wireless telephone service or prepaid wireless telephone card. "Prepaid

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wireless telephone service" means wireless telephone service that is activated in advance by

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payment for a finite dollar amount of service or for a finite set of minutes that terminate either

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upon use by a customer and delivery by the wireless provider of an agreed-upon amount of

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service corresponding to the total dollar amount paid in advance or within a certain period of time

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following the initial purchase or activation, unless additional payments are made.

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     (d)(3) Gift cards or prepaid or store value cards that are issued by state-chartered

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financial institutions and credit unions or that are issued by third-party issuers usable at multiple,

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unaffiliated merchants or service providers; provided that said financial institutions, credit unions,

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or third-party issuers comply with the guidelines on disclosure and marketing as published by the

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office of the comptroller of the currency.

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     (b) A gift certificate as defined in subsection (a) of this section, constitutes value held in

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trust by the issuer of the gift certificate on behalf of the beneficiary of the gift certificate. The

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value represented by a gift certificate belongs to the beneficiary, or to the legal representative of

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the beneficiary to the extent provided by law, and not to the issuer. As such, issuers are required

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to deposit and hold funds in an escrow account until the gift certificate is redeemed or for a period

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of three (3) years, whichever occurs first.

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     (c) The terms of a gift certificate may not make its redemption or other use invalid in the

 

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event of a bankruptcy.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

     RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES - GIFT

CERTIFICATES

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     This act would require issuers of gift certificates to deposit and hold funds used to

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purchase the gift certificate in escrow for three (3) years, or until the gift certificate is redeemed

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and would restrict certain redemption terms in the event of bankruptcy.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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