Chapter
251
2008 -- H 7398 SUBSTITUTE B
Enacted 07/04/08
A N A C T
RELATING TO
COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES
Introduced By: Representatives Ucci, Kennedy, Fellela, Petrarca, and D Caprio
Date Introduced: February
12, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 6-13-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-13 entitled "Unfair
Sales
Practices"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
6-13-12.
Sales of gift certificates. -- "Gift certificate" means a
record evidencing a
promise,
made for monetary consideration, by the seller or issuer for the record that
goods or
services
will be provided to the owner of the record to the value shown in the record
and includes,
but is
not limited to, a record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic strip or
other means
of
storage of information that is pre-funded and for which the value is
decremented upon each
use, a
gift card, an electronic gift card, stored-value card or certificate, a store
card, prepaid long
distance
telephone service that is activated by a prepaid card that requires dialing an
access
number
or an access code for each call in addition to dialing the phone number to
which the user
of the
prepaid card seeks to connect, or a similar record or card. Any person, firm,
or corporation
that
sells gift certificates for any product or merchandise sold by the person,
firm, or corporation,
shall be
required to record the sales and keep an accurate and complete record of each
gift
certificate
sold. The record shall include the date of sale, the full value of the
certificate, the
identification
number assigned by the retailer to the certificate, and the state in which the
sale of
the certificate
took place. The retailer shall further be required to give to the purchaser of
gift
certificates
exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) a written and numbered receipt evidencing the
sale of
the
certificate. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation of any
kind to charge any
surcharge
or additional monthly or annual
service or maintenance fees on gift certificates or to
limit
the time for the redemption of a gift certificate or to place an expiration
date upon the gift
certificate.
No gift certificate or any agreement with respect to such gift certificate may
contain
language
suggesting that an expiration date may apply to the gift certificate. Any
person, firm, or
corporation
that shall violate the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine
of not more
than two
hundred dollars ($200). Due to the unlimited redemption period, the division of
taxation
shall
not escheat the funds paid for those unredeemed gift certificates. Any unused
portion of a
redeemed
gift certificate shall be afforded to the consumer by reissuing the gift
certificate for the
unused
amount or providing cash where the balance due the consumer is less than one
dollar
($1.00).
This section shall not apply to the following:
(a) Gift certificates that are distributed to a consumer pursuant to an awards,
loyalty or
promotional
program without any money or other thing of value being given in exchange for
the
gift
certificate by the consumer. Any restrictions or limitations which such gift
certificates may be
subject
to must be disclosed to the consumer, in writing, at the time the gift
certificates are
distributed
to the consumer.
(b) Prepaid wireless telephone service or prepaid wireless telephone card.
"Prepaid
wireless
telephone service" means wireless telephone service that is activated in
advance by
payment
for a finite dollar amount of service or for a finite set of minutes that
terminate either
upon use
by a customer and delivery by the wireless provider of an agreed-upon amount of
service
corresponding to the total dollar amount paid in advance or within a certain
period of time
following
the initial purchase or activation, unless additional payments are made.
(c)
Gift cards or prepaid or store value cards that are issued by state-chartered
financial
institutions
and credit unions or that are issued by third-party issuers usable at multiple,
unaffiliated
merchants or service providers, provided that said financial institutions,
credit unions
or third-party
issuers comply with the guidelines on disclosure and marketing as published by
the
office
of the comptroller of the currency.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01259/SUB B
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