House panel OKs ban on gift check expiration

MANILA, Philippines - 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.