TENNESSEE
Definition of Gift Card/Gift Certificate:
Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-127
A gift certificate does not include a prepaid calling card used to make telephone calls or a prepaid card usable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or at automated teller machines, or both.
Expiration Date Provision:
Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-127
Prohibits gift certificates from containing an expiration date less than two years after issuance. If sold without an expiration date, a gift certificate is valid until redeemed or replaced with a new card.
Fee Provision:
Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-127
Prohibits charging a fee to issue a gift certificate. Prohibits service charges or fees less than two years after issuance.
Escheat Provision:
Tenn. Code Ann. §66-29-135
A gift certificate issued in the ordinary course of an issuer’s business is presumed abandoned if it remains unclaimed by the owner upon the earlier of: (1) The expiration date of the certificate; or (2) Two years from the date the certificate was issued. The amount presumed abandoned is the price paid by the purchaser for the gift certificate. If a gift certificate issued after Dec. 31, 1996, is redeemable for merchandise only, then the amount presumed abandoned is 60 percent of the price paid by the purchaser for the certificate. A gift certificate issued after Dec. 31, 1998, shall not be abandoned property and shall not be subject to this part if the issuer of the certificate does not impose a dormancy charge and when the gift certificate: (1) Conspicuously states that the gift certificate does not expire; (2) Bears no expiration date; or (3) States that a date of expiration printed on the gift certificate is not applicable in Tennessee. Property described above, without regard to any activity or inactivity within the past five years, shall also be presumed abandoned if the owner thereof is known to the holder to have died and left no one to take such property by will and no one to take such property by intestate succession.
SOURCE: National Conference of State Legislatures
PLEASE NOTE: Please note the summaries should be used for general informational purposes and not as a legal reference. DropZone Marketing is unable to answer questions or provide guidance to business owners regarding gift cards and gift certificate laws and practices. If you have questions regarding issuing or redeeming a gift card or gift certificate or a retailer’s practices, please contact the Office of the Attorney General in your state.
