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Consumer agency issues gift card guidelines

3:28 PM Wed, Oct 28, 2009 | Permalink
By News staff

By Paul Grimaldi
Journal staff writer

Gift cards will be the most popular item snapped up by New Englanders this holiday season, according to survey results released Wednesday, unfortunately, not enough people know how to use them wisely.

Consulting firm Deloitte LLP said 66 percent of survey respondents from the region said they will buy gift cards in these last months of 2009, with the average New Englander planning to buy six gift cards or gift certificates.

But that inclination could create financial problems for some, according to a separate study by the Consumer Federation of America. The federation's study found many people still don't understand the restrictions placed on gift cards by such companies as American Express, Visa or Mastercard.

Just 33 percent of those surveyed knew there was a charge to purchase these cards and only 54 percent knew that some gift cards charge a monthly fee. Cash and bank gift cards usually cost $4 to $7 to purchase and have monthly fees as high as $4.95 as early as six months after purchase.

Both reports were released as new federal rules on gift cards are set to go into effect in 2010. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 prohibits gift cards from expiring before 5 years from the date of purchase, or when money was last loaded onto a card, and prohibits fees for the first 12 months.

Still, the study prompted the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators to created a new brochure on gift cards they'll give out at retailers such as CVS and Walgreens. American Express will also give out copies.