By Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Under a little-known Pennsylvania law, your expired gift certificates are still good. In effect, the law says gift certificates can't expire. If a business doesn't honor your expired gift certificate or card, it can't simply snicker and keep the money. The unused balance must be turned over to the state, where you can claim it.
If you'd rather use the expired certificate instead of receiving the money, you may be able to do that, too.
Technically, you can't force a merchant to accept an expired gift certificate or card. The law says only that the money must be forwarded to the state. But practically speaking, because businesses can't keep the money anyway, often they'll oblige you. First, it's cheaper to give a customer $50 worth of food or merchandise than to be out the money. Second, doing so is good customer relations.
Unfortunately, many businesses are unfamiliar with the law, or at least claim ignorance. If your certificate is at least two years past the expiration date, you may file a claim with the state Treasury Department's Bureau of Unclaimed Property at www.patreasury.org or by calling 1-800-222-2046.
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