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DC Sues AT&T For Unclaimed Phone Minutes
Suki I submits news that Washington, D.C.'s attorney general has filed suit (District of Columbia vs. AT&T Corp, Superior Court of the District of Columbia), claiming the city has the right, through laws applying to unclaimed property, to unused calling-card balances held in the name of D.C. residents. "The suit claims that AT&T should turn over unused balances on the calling cards of consumers whose last known address was in Washington, D.C. and have not used the calling card for three years. 'AT&T's prepaid calling cards must be treated as unclaimed property under district law,' the attorney general's office said in a statement. ... [That sum] represents some 5 to 20 percent of the total balances purchased by consumers who use the calling cards. States and municipalities have often similarly used unclaimed property laws, known as escheat laws, to claim ownership of unused retail gift card balances."
Suki I links also to Reason Magazine's coverage.
Finally. I HATE the way retailers are predating on consumers. I do not give gift cards because of this. Companies are stealing by devaluing cards. They have our money, interest free. The gift cards should stay valid forever. I hope the government nails them on this hard. Retroactively too.
The problem is you have it backward. This sort of law did not come into being because of retailers devaluing gift cards, retailers started devaluing gift cards because of these laws. Back before gift cards, when there were only gift certificates, states started passing laws that if a gift certificate was not redeemed after a certain time, the retailer was required to turn that money over to the state.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Don't most phone cards say the minutes actually DON'T have a cash value?
Can't most governments ignore such small print unless it is somehow enshrined in law (so the lawyer fight induced by trying to ignore said small print would be more costly than the potential gain). Many software EULAs state things that are quite patently not legally enforceable in most jurisdictions - I'm guessing the small print on phone cards and similar have no more basis in law than an EULA.
I admit that I am a "deadbeat". I have some rather large, unclaimed and unpaid debts that are over 3 years old. Please let me know when you wish to take those over from me. Thanks...
Oh wait, how come it's different suddenly?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.