23California Civil Code Section 1749.5(f). Be aware of the retailer's financial status. Their pro rata share of the CDTFA's collection and administrative costs, deducted from the CDTFA's quarterly transmittals to the local jurisdiction. 16California Civil Code Section 1749.5(a)(2). Daily deals like Groupons allow you to use the original amount you paid into them after. Think of Netflix, Dollar Shave Club, Blue Apron, and what feels like hundreds of monthly "boxes" delivering everything from clothing, to vinyl records, to wine. Some merchants may redeem the gift certificate for cash or a combination of merchandise and cash, while some may issue a new certificate for any balance remaining after the original certificate is redeemed. The price of the cell phone component of the bundled charge is not disclosed to the prepaid MTS consumer. Gift card funds must be good for at least five years under federal law, and some states laws give you more time. Further, you should charge your customer any applicable local charges at the rate listed for the City of Sacramento. However the California law does not apply to multiple retailer gift cards such as mall gift cards or bank gift cards including Visa and MasterCard gift cards. Therefore, because your customer provided a mobile phone number that is associated with a California location, the online sale is subject to the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges (if applicable). As a result, you'll find such fees and restrictions apply to most of these cards. Second, if the sale is a "known address transaction" it occurs in California and is subject to the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges (if applicable). This legal guide answers common questions about gift certificates and gift cards sold after January 1, 2004, with respect to California law. You sell a SIM card loaded with prepaid airtime for a single price. No, unless: Expiration of the underlying funds (as opposed to the expiration of the card itself) is the later of (1) 5 years after the certificate was initially issued or the date on which funds were last loaded to a store gift card or general use prepaid card or (2) the expiration date for the . Should You Give Someone a Gift for Saint Patricks Day? A gift certificate or gift card sold by a seller that seeks bankruptcy protection may have no value. For which no charges are billed by a service supplier to a service user. NATOMAS(CBS13) Most Gift cards can't expire in California. Prepaid cards do not expire. sinastria di coppia karmica calcolo; quincy homeless shelter; plastic bags for cleaning oven racks; claudia procula death; farm jobs in vermont with housing Single-store cards: The traditional single-business gift card for merchandise or services has the best consumer protection. The first law to regulate gift cards was the Illinois Unclaimed Property Act. Consider purchasing a gift certificate or gift card from a retailer for use with it and its affiliates. For families, Boost knocks $5 off the cost of lines for its 3GB plan. The 911 and 988 surcharges do not apply to a telephone company's own access lines when the telephone company is not subject to charges for access lines that are billed by a service supplier. The same customer in Example 1 who lives in San Francisco, purchases a prepaid wireless e-card from your website and downloads the minutes to their phone. The 911 and 988 surcharges apply to the transaction. For instance, the card issuer cannot charge a dormancy or inactivity fee on a gift card unless there has been no activity for one year and the card clearly states its policy toward that fee. For the same reasons asserted in the Legislative Counsel opinion referenced in endnote 16, in our opinion, whether the value of the gift certificate is redeemed in cash or by check would be dependant upon the policy of the seller. The service supplier shall remit the combined surcharges collected to CDTFA in separate amounts for each surcharge. Several exceptions apply. Access lines when imposition of the surcharge would be in violation of the Constitution of the United States, the United States Code, or the laws of the State of California. Congress took action on a bi-partisan basis (almost hard to believe) to stop merchants from selling gift cards that quickly expired, viewable only in fine print. In the case of a gift card usable with multiple, unaffiliated sellers, ask about expiration dates and any applicable fees. California Civil Code 1749.45-1749.6 . Q.6. 25 GB - $60/month per line. Lively - Best Prepaid Plans With Medical Alert Features. Mint Mobile - Best Prepaid Unlimited Plans. Shannon says she was able to use her VIP card after it expired. 112 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 205.20. Therefore, your online sale to the Arizona customer is not subject to the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, or local charges, even though his mobile phone number is associated with a California location. When buying one, you can pay the entire amount up front, or you can arrange to make payments with a three, five, or 10 year plan. For complete terms and conditions, see the U.S. Bank Visa Gift Card Cardholder Agreement. Any gift certificate sold after January 1, 1997, is redeemable in cash for its cash value, or subject to replacement with a new gift certificate at no cost to the purchaser or holder. For that reason, dealing with such paperwork can be quite a challenge for conventional text editing software: a single wrong action may mess up the format and take additional time to bring it back to normal. For example, expiration dates are not allowed for restaurant gift cards issued after January 1997. Expiration dates may apply for gift cards distributed free as part of a premium or promotion or sold at below face value through a volume discount to employers, non-profits or charitable organizations using them for fundraising purposes. For an overview and comparison of federal and California gift card law, please see Tables A and B, attached. No cash access. Both Californian and federal law prohibit the sale of gift cards and certificates in a deceptive manner, so the company or person selling the card can't conceal fees, conditions or restrictions. The undersigned certify that, as of June 18, 2021, the internet website of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is designed, developed and maintained to be in compliance with California Government Code Sections 7405 and 11135, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, Level AA success criteria, published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. devices). It is a "prepaid contract" when any part of the contract occurs in the future. Our goal is to provide a good web experience for all visitors. Public File for KMAX-TV / Good Day Sacramento. Buyers should beware when purchasing "unaffiliated, multiple seller" cards that not all questions about the terms of these cards have been answered and ask carefully about their terms before purchase. The cell phone and 10 minutes of prepaid airtime are sold for a single price of $59.99, and the customer is required to purchase the minutes with the cell phone as part of a package deal (bundled transaction). Access lines for which no charges are billed by a service supplier to a service user. In our opinion, any seller that accepts the card should be able to redeem the unspent portion. 4 9One argument has been made that sellers in a single mall are actually "affiliated" under the law because they have each agreed to honor the cards. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. (503) 427-2746. Your customer provides you his Arizona address and a mobile number that is associated with a California location. Look in the "County Government" and business listings of the telephone book's white pages. An amended return(s) stating the specific reason(s) for the overpayment. However, you must contact the local jurisdiction to request a refund of the local charges if you are filing a refund claim for local charges because you: For local jurisdiction information, see our Contact Information for Cities and Counties with Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Charges webpage. can prepaid services expire in california. Federally regulated financial institutions can only set expiry dates on certain cards and only under certain conditions. The cell phone and prepaid airtime minutes are sold for a single price of $119.99 (bundled transaction); however, you provide your customer with an invoice that states that the actual selling price of the cell phone is $99.99. Petro-Canada Mobile | Top-up plan | $25/120 daysBest prepaid plan for bonus perks. You sell a SIM card (starter kit) without any prepaid minutes or airtime. Enforcing and auditing the collection and remittance of local charges on prepaid MTS by service suppliers (see. Moreover, they would have no effect if a seller of a card usable with unaffiliated, multiple sellers successfully take the position that these prohibitions do not apply to the card because it does not contain an expiration date, and therefore is exempt from the definition of gift certificate under section 1749.45(a). We brought the issue to consumer attorney Ian Barlow. The 911 and 988 surcharges still apply still applies to the transaction and sales tax applies to the entire charge. The app can only activate a T-Mobile prepaid line. They are prepaid debit cards onto which a government agency loads funds directly and you can use them just like traditional debit cards. Those people communicated as they wanted without the concern of being locked into a multi-year contract. As a result, these types of gift cards may not be your best bet. Access lines used in wide-area telephone service by common carriers in the conduct of their business. In some cases, when your prepaid card expires, you might have to pay a fee so that you do not lose your money. However, the terms exclude a gift card that can be used with multiple unaffiliated sellers of goods or services (for example, a card that can be used at all or some of the stores at a particular mall)6 provided the expiration date, if any, is printed on the card.7 Also, the rules described in this Legal Guide do not apply to prepaid calling cards issued solely to provide an access number and authorization code for prepaid calling services.8. The invoice, receipt, or other similar document must show the amount of the 911 surcharge ($0.80), the amount of the 988 sSurcharge ($0.08), and the amount of the local charges ($6.88) at the time of the retail sale of prepaid MTS. You should weigh the benefits of these cards against the cost. It's not like a credit card is a bunch of bananas that will eventually go bad, so why can't you keep using the card forever? To get a replacement, contact us at the number on the back of your Gift Card. Yes, prepaid cards can expire. The card itself can have an expiry date. Shannon bought what is called a Joey's VIP Play Pass which allowed ten visits for $60. We have compiled a list of helpful resources for service suppliers. If you purchased prepaid MTS from a retail seller and were charged the incorrect 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and/or local charge rate, you may file a Claim For Refund or Credit with CDTFA. Below is a more detailed breakdown of the average cost of prepaid funerals depending on how you want to be remembered: The total selling price of the SIM card with prepaid airtime is subject to local charges because the price of the airtime is not minimal and cannot be identified since you didnt keep books and records indicating the standalone price of the airtime. That said, expect a prepaid burial plan to cost $2,000-$10,000. However, the holder of the certificate or card may have a claim against the bankruptcy estate.