Giving Money Away

Sounds a bit ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet, that’s essentially what many Bermudian consumers will do in 2008 when they fail to fully redeem the gift cards and gift certificates they received this Christmas. Retailers in the United States expect to make about $8 billion in this fashion this year alone.

Gifts cards are a quick and easy solution to holiday gift-giving dilemmas. They have more cachet than just handing somebody cash, and ensure that the recipient gets exactly what he or she wants. A recent study by NDP Group Inc. found that 53 percent of consumers find gift cards socially acceptable, up from 23 percent just three years ago.

So why do they go unused? Consumer Reports surveyed gift card recipients and found that 27 percent of them have not used one or more of the cards they received last year. The majority said they didn’t have time, while others said they couldn’t find anything they wanted to buy, forgot about the card, missed the expiration date, or lost the card.

In fact, the situation has gotten so out of hand that the state of Maine is attempting to claim 60 percent of the combined value of the unused cards under state property law, citing that it is an issue of consumer rights, and that the money should revert to the public instead of retailers.

The Bermuda government has no plans to claim a share of the sizable windfall resulting from unused gift cards, but it is time that Bermuda’s consumers stop lining retailers’ pockets with free money.

So, if you received a gift card during this holiday season, take the following steps to ensure that you don’t throw good money out the window:

Spend the gift card quickly, especially if it has an expiration date.

Spend the gift card to the last penny. If the gift card balance gets so low that there’s nothing you can buy, ask the merchant to do a split-tender transaction. This involves using the remaining card balance for part of the transaction and another form of payment for the rest. Unfortunately, many Internet and mail-order companies do not allow split-tender transactions, and it may be difficult with some bank-issued cards.

Register your gift card with the issuer if it’s for an overseas retailer. Some issuers will replace a lost or stolen gift card if it’s registered.

Finally, if you know that you’re unlikely to use the card, give it to someone who will, as a goodwill gesture, rather than it just going to waste.

Because when it comes to gift cards, it’s time to look this gift horse in the mouth.