Public Act 0945 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2901 Enrolled LRB093 20997 RXD 47002 b

Public Act 093-0945

AN ACT concerning business transactions.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act is amended by changing Section 10.6 as follows:

(765 ILCS 1025/10.6)

Sec. 10.6. Gift certificates and gift cards.

(a) This Act applies to a gift certificate or gift card only if:

(i) the gift certificate or gift card contains or has language indicating there is an expiration date, or expiration period or language indicating that there is any type of post-sale charge or fee including but not limited to service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, cash-out fees, replacement card fees, and activation or reactivation charges; and

(ii) none of the exceptions in this Section apply.

(b) This Act does not apply to a gift certificate or gift card that contains or has language indicating that there is an expiration date or expiration period, or any type of post-sale charge or fee including but not limited to service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, cash-out fees, replacement card fees, and activation or reactivation charges if:

(i) the gift certificate or gift card was issued before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd 92nd General Assembly; and

(ii) it is the policy and practice of the issuer of the gift certificate or gift card to honor the gift certificate or gift card after its expiration date or the end of its expiration period and it is the policy and practice of the issuer of the gift certificate or gift card to eliminate all post-sale charges and fees, and the issuer posts written notice of the policy and practice at locations at which the issuer sells gift certificates or gift cards. The written notice shall be an original or a copy of a notice that the State Treasurer shall produce and provide to issuers free of charge.

(c) Nothing in this Section applies to a gift certificate or gift card if the value of the gift certificate or gift card was reported and remitted under this Act before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd 92nd General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 92-487, eff. 8-23-01.)

Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2QQ as follows:

(815 ILCS 505/2QQ new)

Sec. 2QQ. Gift certificates.

(a) "Gift certificate" means a record evidencing a promise, made for consideration, by the seller or issuer of the record that goods or services will be provided to the holder of the record for the value shown in the record and includes, but is not limited to, a record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic stripe or other means for the storage of information that is prefunded and for which the value is decremented upon each use, a gift card, an electronic gift card, stored-value card or certificate, a store card or a similar record or card. For purposes of this Act, the term "gift certificate" does not include any of the following:

(i) prepaid telecommunications and technology cards including, but not limited to, prepaid telephone calling cards, prepaid technical support cards, and prepaid Internet disks that are distributed to or purchased by a consumer;

(ii) prepaid telecommunications and technology cards including, but not limited to, prepaid telephone calling cards, prepaid technical support cards, and prepaid Internet disks that are provided to a consumer pursuant to any award, loyalty, or promotion program without any money or other thing of value being given in exchange for the card; or

(iii) any gift certificate usable with multiple sellers of goods or services.

(b) Any gift certificate subject to a fee must contain a statement clearly and conspicuously printed on the gift certificate stating whether there is a fee, the amount of the fee, how often the fee will occur, that the fee is triggered by inactivity of the gift certificate, and at what point the fee will be charged. The statement may appear on the front or back of the gift certificate in a location where it is visible to any purchaser prior to the purchase.

(c) Any gift certificate subject to an expiration date must contain a statement clearly and conspicuously printed on the gift certificate stating the expiration date. The statement may appear on the front or back of the gift certificate in a location where it is visible to any purchaser prior to the purchase.

(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to any gift certificate that contains a toll free phone number and a statement clearly and conspicuously printed on the gift certificate stating that holders can call the toll free number to find out the balance on the gift certificate, if applicable, and the expiration date. The toll free number and statement may appear on the front or back of the gift certificate in a location where it is visible to any purchaser prior to the purchase.

(e) This Section does not apply to any of the following gift certificates:

(i) Gift certificates that are distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money or thing of value being given in exchange for the gift certificate by the consumer.

(ii) Gift certificates that are sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes if the expiration date on those gift certificates is not more than 30 days after the date of sale.

(iii) Gift certificates that are issued for a food product.

Effective Date: 1/1/2005