New Gift Voucher Legislation
The Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019 (the Act) came into force on 2 December 2019. The Act introduces new legal requirements for gift vouchers.
Minimum 5 year expiry date
The key change under the Act is that all gift vouchers must now have a minimum expiry date of 5 years from the date of purchase.
The expiry date (if any) must be provided to consumers either on the gift voucher itself or on some other durable medium. Likewise, the start date of the gift voucher contract and the period during which it is redeemable must also be provided. If the gift voucher is not subject to an expiry date, this should also be expressly stated.
Other mandatory requirements
The Act also introduces other mandatory requirements for gift vouchers including that:
- consumers cannot be required to use the full value of the gift voucher in one transaction;
- consumers must be allowed to use more than one gift voucher per transaction;
- retailers cannot refuse to accept a gift voucher when it is not in a consumer's name; and
- a fee cannot be charged to change the name written on a gift voucher.
What's included?
Subject to certain exclusions, the Act applies to gift vouchers intended to be used as a substitute for money when paying for goods and services. It is primarily targeted at 'paid for' gift cards.
What's excluded?
A number of categories of gift vouchers/coupons are excluded from the scope of the legislation. These include:
- vouchers/coupons that are only redeemable for the purchase at a discounted price, of specified goods or services from a specified trader(s), either on a specified date or for a specific limited period, not exceeding three months;
- vouchers/coupons supplied as part of a customer loyalty scheme or in connection with a promotional campaign;
- gift vouchers issued by way of a refund for returned goods;
- vouchers/coupons which are considered instruments for electronic money (e.g. One4All vouchers); and
- vouchers/coupons for telephone or, internet services, fuel, electricity, heating or any other utility.
Consequences of non-compliance
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the regulator responsible for enforcing the Act. Failure to comply with the new legislation is a criminal offence. The CCPC has a wide range of powers to ensure compliance which include issuing 'on the spot' fines in the form of 'fixed penalty notices', and bringing prosecutions.
Convicted traders may be subject to fines or imprisonment, the level of which will depend on the seriousness of the offence (up to €3,000 and/or six months imprisonment on a first summary conviction, or up to €60,000 and/or 18 months on a first conviction on indictment).
The CCPC has issued guidelines on the new legislation which are available here.
