The huge changes coming to gift cards
In July, it was reported that Aussies were wasting a staggering $70 million a year on unused gift cards. It makes sense considering how many people receive them at birthdays and Christmas only to completely forget about them until they’ve expired.
Now, in an effort to curb this, the New South Wales government is introducing some drastic new changes – and it’s great news for shoppers.
Soon, retailers will be forced to honour gift cards for at least three years since the time of purchase. “I want to see people getting the value of what they paid for, that’s currently not happening and we’ll introduce reforms that give the little guy a fair go,” NSW Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean told reporters.
It’s a change consumer group Choice would like to see rolled out around the country. “For too long we have heard from consumers who have struggled with the gift card market, they’re left holding useless bits of plastic that might be days or weeks out of date,” Erin Turner, a spokeswoman for the group, said.
However, the expiry date extension has not been received so well by retailers, who believe it will “significantly disadvantage” both shoppers and small businesses.
“It is unreasonable to expect small retailers and family businesses to amend their administrative practices and incur extra liabilities on their books simply to respond to unnecessary regulation,” Russell Zimmerman, director of the Australian Retailers Association said.
What do you think about the changes? Is it about time? Or will the expiry date extension hurt retailers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Image credit: Kai Hendry/Flickr.