Gifts That Keep On Giving: British Columbia's "Interminable" Gift Card Legislation

In peak summer, the holiday season enjoyed months ago is likely just a distant memory, and any gift cards that you may have been fortunate enough to receive may still be floating around your wallet, ready to be redeemed. As consumers contemplate how to make room in their overcrowded wallets by using the money on their gift cards, and as the next holiday season comes into view, businesses issuing gift cards should be aware of the relevant rules and their continuing obligation to honour a customer's right to use most gift cards that have a remaining balance. In particular, as a result of legislation enacted in British Columbia and other provinces, gift cards, or "prepaid purchase cards" as the legislation refers to them, are not allowed to have an expiry date.