A longer-lasting gift

Gift card expiry dates will be extended to at least three years if a law drafted by National MP Mellissa Lee is passed by Parliament. Lee’s private member’s bill has been drawn from the ballot and, if it became law, retailers like New World, Briscoes and Farmers would no longer be able to sell gift cards that expire in just two years. ‘‘My Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill would see the minimum expiry date of gift cards extended to three years, so that everyone has a fair chance to use their cards,’’ Lee said. Research suggested as much as a fifth of people who get gift cards do not end up spending all the money loaded onto them, she said. ‘‘The legislation would stop the sale of gift cards with expiry dates of less than three years after the initial sale date, giving the recipient a more reasonable period in which to redeem the card’s full value,’’ Lee said.Lee said shoppers could be losing as much as $10m a year on gift cards that were not fully redeemed before they expired.