Legal Question in Consumer Law in District of Columbia
Restaurant Gift Certificates - Expired ?
I saw the question about an ''expired'' restaurant gift certificate, as well as the answer stating that it is generally not legal for such certificates to ''expire.'' However, both the questioner and attorney who responded were from Pennsylvania. Does anyone know if this would also be true for the District of Columbia? Does it vary from state to state? I have a certificate to an upscale DC restaurant that has a hand-written expiration date (month/year) that's 3 months after the date it was purchased.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Restaurant Gift Certificates - Expired ?
Yes, whether gift certificates are allowed to expire or not appears to be a matter of individual state law and with varying conditions which may be applicable. California, Montana, and Connecticult appear to have enacted a blanket prohibition on such expirations. New Hampshire, however, apparently, only permits such expiration if the certificate is valued at $100 or more. Washington state appears to allow it only if no money was paid for the gift certificate or if it's designed for a cultural or artistic event and the fact of the expiration is disclosed on the certificate.
As for the District of Columbia, there are apparently no local laws governing the matter as all kinds of gift certificates seem to be for sale here with varying expiration dates and conditions or none at all. (Consequently, if you plan on patronizing that upscale DC restaurant, you had best plan on personally paying for whatever you order--and with something other than that gift certificate.)
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