zoe
March 11, 2009 / 10:03

GAH! that drives me NUTZ! why do companies insist on stupid rules with gift cards. I understand that it can be a bit of a pain keeping track of them but TOO bad! if they want to offer gift cards then don't make it difficult for the customer.

z

Andrew
March 11, 2009 / 10:13

They can legally take money off of the cards? This sounds really bad.
I can't beleive I have not heard of this earlier. What a rip off.

Toronto Mike
March 11, 2009 / 10:16

Metatheory on Twitter just told me malls are temporarily exempt from the rules on fees. The government of Ontario has to close this loophole.

http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/ConsProt/133719.html

elvis
March 11, 2009 / 11:41

Why are they "temporarily exempt"? Was the government "temporarily lobbied"?

Me thinks so.

Bunch of crooks.

Jill
March 11, 2009 / 12:32

That sucks. In reality they should be paying you interest on the months you don't use. Where is Peter Silverman when you need him?

Buffalo Boy Mike
March 11, 2009 / 16:41

So if you purchase a gift card and it is never used where does that money go? Its just free money that they basically steal from you. Not to mention the fact that they are probably leaving that money in an interest bearing account waiting for you to use it so your $20 is actually earning them interest.

dale
March 11, 2009 / 19:41

I receive these same cards at Xmas from a person.
If you read the small printing on the env. that is included you see that after so many months money is taken back month to month.
I agree if the card can't be used within a year or so you should pay a fee.

Mike from Lowville
March 11, 2009 / 19:48

They had a thing on this a while back on Market Place. The A holes running the country and province were supposed to fix it.....corporations have the power to screw.

Toronto Mike
March 12, 2009 / 09:05

Money is money - the law is supposed to prohibit expiry dates and restrict fees.

This is some stupid loophole that hasn't been closed yet.

Anonymous
March 13, 2009 / 16:17

Don't take this crap. Write to the President Of CF. Threaten to boycot their malls.

Mag123
April 6, 2009 / 15:02

It is easy to complain when you do not know all the facts. The Cadillace Fairview Shop! cards are actually contracted in by Master Card and it is master card who charges the $1.50 activation fee. When a card is activated it is essentially opening up an account. There is no fee for having this account open for the first 16 months but once the account matures to 16 months, $2.00 per month is deducted off the remaining amount. If you were to buy a master card gift card you have to pay $4.00 in activation fees, this is a deal! You can use the Shop! card at over 29 malls across Canada, that is over 4000 stores. You can also do exchanges and refunds onto the gift card as well as being able to track all purchases. There is unfortunately a fee for all these amazing services.

Toronto Mike
April 6, 2009 / 15:05

Mag123, let's not confuse a credit card with a gift card.

A gift card should be treated like cash. After 16 months, you shouldn't have the right to keep $2 a month for yourself.

Mag123
April 6, 2009 / 15:13

I think there is a confusion with the card itself. The Shop! card offers more services than a regular gift card. Most gift cards work where you put, for example, $10.00 onto a card, you use it and that is it. If you lose this gift card that is too bad for you. You want to make a refund? Too bad, you can't. If a CF Shop card is lost, it can be tracked down and replaced as long as you have a reciept. No other gift card allows you to use all of these services as well as allowing you to utilize the card at over 4000 stores. It is also no "scam" or secret. There is signage when you purchase the card, in the envelope and on the card itself. As a consumer it is your responsibiliy to read up on your product.

Toronto Mike
April 6, 2009 / 15:29

Yes, there is "signage" in a minuscule font on the back of the card.

This mall gift card loophole will eventually be closed. When I witness first hand the disappearance of a $20 Cadillac Fairview gift card, I consider it my duty to alert others who don't read this minuscule font on the back of the card.

Give cash. Don't buy Cadillac Fairview Gift Cards.

Michael Loyst
June 3, 2009 / 00:16

Man you gotta read the fine print on the card. It clearly says on the back that they take 2 dollars a month after a period of inactivity. Its not only CFaairview thats doing this, other big box stores do it with their cards too.

Still, its highway robbery. they shouldnt be allowed to do this.

Shaun McCarthy
September 30, 2009 / 16:35

Mag123 must be an employee of CF or related. Sorry, but your opinion is mired in CF company facts and missing the big picture -- gift cards are essentially a vehicle for a person to say "please get what you would like from this place". The store(s) that is ALREADY benefiting from the gift card purchase is then trying to steal your money. You know what also works well for refunds and flexibility? CASH. Don't buy CF gift cards.

aliciacole123
November 5, 2009 / 21:20

Good God people...you act as if you have no choice in the matter and that someone held a gun to head to buy a Cadillac Fairview shop card!! I've been buying them for years..and no matter what CF mall I go to, there is always a sign on the desk clearly stating the terms and conditions. They are also printed on the receipt, on the envelope and the card (oh, and on the website). Nevermind that the reps always go through the whole shpeel on the card to the point that I tell them to save their breath because I already know. So how anyone thinks that the maintenance fee after 16 months is some big secret is beyond me! If you don't like it...don't buy it!! Simple! Typical of today's whinny society where no one is responsible for themselves...not even for something as simple as buying a gift card!

aliciacole123
November 5, 2009 / 21:32

Good God people...you act as if you have no choice in the matter and that someone held a gun to head to buy a Cadillac Fairview shop card!! I have been buying them for years..and no matter what CF mall I've gone to, there`s always a sign on the desk clearly stating the terms and conditions. They`re also printed on the receipt, on the envelope and the card (oh, and the website). Never mind that the reps always go through the whole shpeel on the card as well. It`s got to the point that I tell them to save their breath because I already know. So how anyone thinks the maintenance fee after 16 months is some big secret is beyond me! If you don't like it, don't buy it!! Simple!! Typical of today's whinny society where no one is responsible for themselves or anything for that matter ...not even for something as simple as buying a gift card!

aliciacole123
November 5, 2009 / 21:44

You can only use Future Shop and Chapters gift cards in those stores (or maybe two or three other stores under the same corporate umbrella). The CF card has up to 4000 choices. None of these cards are like cash...only cash is like cash. If you don`t like the rules then don`t buy them. No one is hiding what the terms and conditions.

mag123
November 5, 2009 / 22:00

I totally agree with you Alicia. Finally someone on here with some sense. I think people get so upset and irrational with these cards because they feel dumb that they didn't just simply read the back of the card! The information is there for you plain and simple! Any intelligent person knows that you must read legal information on everything, a house, a car, a new bank account and yes, even a gift card! I don't think Alicia is missing the point at all, I think everyone on here is missing the point that not every product is the same. The Shop! card is a higher standard gift card and with that comes additional characterists of purchase. And just because you say, "a gift card shouldn't lose money," doesn't mean it shouldn't lose money. Says who? The law says single retail gift cards can't have expiration dates or fees. And they don't. But the law also states that multi-retail/mutil-mall gift cards CAN have fees. Why are you only concentrating on one part of the law and ignoring the other? Why exactly is it a loop hole anyways? Because it wasn't on the news? Because you don't know all the facts and it has caught you off guard because of consumer ignorance? It's not a loop hole, it's just the law.I don't get exactly what you people expect to be done. Would you like a phone call at your home every month reminding you about the Shop! card terms and conditions? Then after that, have your diapers changed too?You don't like it, don't buy it.

Shaun McCarthy
November 9, 2009 / 00:57

MAG123 - if you care to refute the term "loophole" so be it. Regardless of the law, I would expect a company of CF's stature to have some morals or common decency or regard for it's customers. Hiding behind a law that allows a practice such as clawing back money from a gift certificate just because said gift certificate is good for multiple stores is cheap. Definitely, it's legal. However, there are many legal activities I would expect a reputable company to avoid. Whenever I'm in a store seeing someone asking about the CF gift certificate, I tell them my experience and remind them that cash is a great alternative. EVERY single person I've told has taken my advice. I'm up to 23 people told just at the Eaton Centre alone. I kind of enjoy it.

Consumer
November 11, 2009 / 21:29

You should realize, that since the CF cards are sourced by MasterCard that they fall under the jurisdiction of bank laws. Banks are within their rights under the law to charge a fee to keep accounts open after a certain period of inactivity. A simple questioning of the rationale behind the fees will get you this answer. Nothing is hidden, and all the staff I've ever encountered offer full disclosure of these fees. If you don't like it, you don't buy the cards.

Secondly, as with many corporate gift cards that are good across many provinces or states, these programs MUST be run through a bank to maintain national standards. Individual provinces/states are free to pass laws governing how gift cards are accepted/sold there, but have no control over what banks do since they are regulated federally. For programs like this to run, standards must be set in place.

Do the fees cause inconvenience to some? Sure, but there is some onus on the consumer to be aware of the terms and conditions on their products and to use them according to the specifications set out by the manufacturer.

Seriously, people. Get a grip.

Anwesha
December 29, 2009 / 13:11

Based on Consumer's response... that's fine, a person who doesn't like it shouldn't buy it. But how does this validate the person who received the gift. They didn't have a say in it. Basic principle of this is... a gift shouldn't depreciate in value before you even begin to use it. Basically, the person giving the card might know of the restrictions but that doesn't mean that the person receiving the card is usually aware of the limitations so technically, they're getting screwed. I certainly never hand over a gift to a person and say, "Oh and btw, you need to use this by this date or you won't be able to use it." That's just uncultured.

Nixon Thakkar
January 16, 2010 / 19:47

Well said Anwesha.. I totally agree with your remarks..

Anonymous
January 22, 2010 / 16:51

I had 2 gift cards, still in the orginal envelopes. One of them, from a couple years ago DOES say valid 1 year from date of purchase. Buuut, on the one from the previous year, same lay out and everything, NOWHERE does it say it expires.