The Philippine Star

House panel OKs ban on gift check expiration

- By JESS DIAZ

Consumers who have raised issues about the expiration of gift certificat­es will soon no longer have any reason to complain.

The House committee on trade and industry has approved a bill banning commercial establishm­ents from prescribin­g expiration dates on gift certificat­es, checks or cards.

House Bill 3091, authored by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, provides that all gift certificat­es, checks and cards shall have no expiry dates and should be honored by business establishm­ents until fully used up by the holder.

“A gift certificat­e is as good as cash and since cash, in any form of currency, does not expire, then a gift check should also not expire,” Castelo said.

He said his bill, if enacted, “will protect millions of consumers who buy store certificat­es as gifts for friends and relatives.”

It has been the practice of nearly all

establishm­ents to put expiry dates on their gift certificat­es, checks or cards ostensibly to prevent tampering over time, he said.

But thousands have complained, arguing that gift checks are just like cash – they have been paid for in full to the issuing establishm­ent so there is no reason for the establishm­ent not to honor them even after a long time has passed since their purchase, he added.

Castelo pointed out that such practice amounts to giving business entities “undeserved income,” or income without selling any goods or service.

“It is cheating the consumer. It makes no good business sense for suppliers of gift certificat­es, checks or cards to put expiry dates on what amounts to be cash per se. If the reason is the risk of tampering, then it is the responsibi­lity of the supplier to put security features on their gift certificat­es,” he stressed.

Under Bill 3091, the only times gift checks may no longer be redeemed are when they are lost due to no fault of the supplier or when they are mutilated or defaced to the point that their security features can no longer be authentica­ted.

The bill mandates the Department of Trade and Industry to issue the necessary rules and regulation­s, and prescribe sanctions for violators.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines