More resources for both sellers and service suppliers: We strive to provide a website that is easy to use and understand. The Virtual Visa Gift Card can be redeemed at internet merchants everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted in the US. In general, you should charge and collect local charges for the city and/or county where your business is located. Stats 2004 ch 319 (AB656) closed a "loophole" by allowing an expiration date to be called a redemption date. can prepaid services expire in california. Simple steps to get started 1. Next, subtract the selling price of the phone without the sales tax from the total selling price to get the sales tax amount: Note: If you do not separately state an amount for sales tax, you must post on the premises, or include on the price tag, in an advertisement, or other printed material, a notice stating: "All prices of taxable items include sales tax reimbursement.". Receive 24-Hour Roadside Assistance. If you purchased prepaid MTS and overpaid the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and/or local charges, you may file a claim for refund. In general, only one 911 surcharge and one 988 surcharge apply to each access line. While such an argument could be made on the face of Civil Code section 1749.45(a), such fees could in fact use up the value of the card, violating the spirit of the law. As a result, you'll find such fees and restrictions apply to most of these cards. Most gift certificates and gift cards sold by retail sellers for use with the seller and its affiliates cannot contain an expiration date or a service fee, including a fee for dormancy. You can also buy a $10/5GB mobile hotspot as an add-on. This law, however, has a number of exceptions that allow expiration dates or service fees, which include: Cards issued by a bank or other financial institution that can be used at multiple locations, provided that the issuer discloses any expiration date and fees associated with the card. Entrepreneurs should consult with a business attorney before proceeding down this path. A seller of these unaffiliated, multiple seller cards may take the position that such cards without an expiration date are exempt from the definition of "gift certificate" under Civil Code section 1749.45(a), and therefore service fees or dormancy fees can be imposed and do not have to be disclosed. We reached out to the company. Prepaid cards do not expire. As a result, these types of gift cards may not be your best bet. Since you know your customer's address, you should use her address to determine if the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges apply. The U.S. Bank Visa Gift Card cannot be reloaded with additional funds, nor can it be used at an ATM. For prepaid cards Federally regulated financial institutions can't set an expiry date on funds loaded onto prepaid cards they issue. 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). To register online for a prepaid MTS account, visit our Taxpayer Online Services Portal. In the case of a gift card, ask the seller if the recipient can add value or "reload" the card. Should You Give Someone a Gift for Saint Patricks Day? That $80 gift card cannot have an expiration date of less than 5 years from the date of purchase. 13California Civil Code Section 1749.5(d)(1). Reallocating local charges that were collected in error for up to two past quarters from the date of knowledge. This avoids the problem of spending additional money on a purchase when it's difficult to find merchandise priced lower than $10. Card benefits expire after 180 days of last use or 30 days after your service is suspended, whichever occurs first. You sell SIM cards that are loaded with prepaid wireless minutes for international use. Bankruptcies: When Circuit City closed its doors in 2008, the value of gift cards for those stores disappeared. In a 2016 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some consumers complained that they had money on their cards when they expired but the issuer didn't reissue cards that included those balances. You sell a SIM card loaded with prepaid airtime for a single price. 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. Prepaid services remain with the service address originally purchased for & are NOT transferable to another service address during the same season in which they were purchased. 21California Civil Code section 1749.5(b)(2). Subscribe to our newsletter for special discounts. A recently adopted California law is intended to help gift certificate and gift card holders when the seller declares bankruptcy. All our prepaid data plans include 5G Nationwide/4G LTE. Generally, that it is "issued : Includes gift cards. You can look up the local charge rates by city (see 911 Surcharge, 988 Surcharge, and Local Charge Rates for Sellers of Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS)). These rules have no effect on service fees imposed before January 1, 2004. Browse phones now! Service suppliers may elect to combine the 911 and 988 surcharges into a single-line item on the service user billing. Compare T-Mobile's prepaid phone plans, including unlimited talk, text, and data all on our 5G network to find the best plan for you and your family. Verizon - Best Prepaid Plans With Loyalty Discounts. Add it for $10/month. Since most of the answers also have exceptions, be sure to read the entire answer. A customer who lives in San Francisco purchases prepaid wireless airtime from you at your store location in San Jose. Cal. What do you Give People for Cinco de Mayo? In addition, many "multiple seller" cards are issued by banks, usable similar to pre-paid debit cards. 16California Civil Code Section 1749.5(a)(2). Refills of $10 to $24 expire in 30 days. Note: Unless there is a separately stated charge for the SIM card, sales tax generally does not apply to the prepaid SIM card sold with minutes or airtime since the SIM card (tangible personal property) is typically considered incidental to the sale of the minutes or airtime. First, not covered by the law were gift cards that could be redeemed for a specific good or service, or experience, such as a spa treatment, hotel stay, or airline flight. By comparison, the law does cover gift certificates that can be applied toward the purchase of a specific good or service, such as a certificate or card redeemable for a spa treatment up to $50.. A. No cash access. Sellers that file "Chapter 11" (reorganization) bankruptcy intend to stay in business, so they typically will ask the bankruptcy court for permission to honor gift certificates in an effort to maintain good customer relations. 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. In general, purchasers of prepaid data plans, including prepaid plans marketed as data-only plans provide their wireless (cell phone) number when purchasing the plans. The law also places general limitations on fees. Best Plan: Unlimited . They have relatively high priority among unsecured creditors in a Chapter 7 case, and may receive some percentage of the certificate's or card's value, but only if the bankruptcy estate has enough assets to pay claims. Most retail stores allow you to return things you buy within a reasonable time for a full refund, credit, or an exchange. June 1, 2022. by karen akhurst funeral. You may also check your balance by doing a balance inquiry at an ATM, or online at www.bankofamerica.com . Prepaid cell phones have widespread use in the United States. A Guide to Creating Custom Easter Baskets. A Local Charge Agreement for state collection and administration of local charges, A Certification of ordinance that applies to local charges, A Resolution to authorize representative(s) for the local jurisdiction. Nmero. Last year, SoulCycle paid out as much as $9.2 million in a class-action lawsuit due to the expiration date. Compare two recent cases of fitness companies who sold class packs to customers and faced lawsuits over alleged violations of the CARD Act: SoulCycle, a nationwide operation of indoor spin cycling studios, and CorePower Yoga, a yoga studio chain. The cash equivalent value of the class passes was clearly displayed when purchased by the consumerthat is, if a customer purchased a series certificate that can be used to purchase classes valued at $30, the series certificate was displayed as SOUL30., The federal guidance accompanying the CARD Act provides two helpful illustrations. The 911 and 988 surcharges apply to the transaction. As the court wrote, SoulCycles sale of classes are tethered to a specific monetary value of the class being purchased and in this way the SOUL30 and SOUL34 passes more closely resemble a certificate redeemable for a spa treatment up to $50 rather than merely a spa treatment. This was enough for the court to deny SoulCycles motion to dismiss. When you make online sales and do not know your customer's address, the sale of prepaid MTS occurs in California and the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges (if applicable) apply if your customer has a mobile telephone number that is associated with a location in California. Look in the "County Government" and business listings of the telephone book's white pages. for qualified customers with the federal Affordable Connectivity Program Add to cart Unlimited High-speed data Access to the TMobile 5G network TMobile Tuesdays ScamShield 1-year subscription VIX+ ON US Get 4 lines for $100 when you switch In store only. If balance is insufficient to renew all lines on your account for 120 days, all lines will . 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. Can the holder of a gift certificate or gift card redeem it for cash? The differences in outcomes turned on a minor difference in how the two merchants structured their class passes. Ask the seller about its policies on returning merchandise. That is, prepaid passes that can be redeemed for a specific number of exercise sessions. The first law to regulate gift cards was the Illinois Unclaimed Property Act. By giving a gift certificate or a gift card, you make it possible for your friend to purchase the particular item or product that he or she wants. Ingresa. Gift card funds must be good for at least five years under federal law, and some states laws give you more time. The 911 surcharge and 988 surcharge applies to the transaction and the sales tax and local charges apply to the entire bundled charge for the prepaid phone and airtime. Such gift cards may have expiration dates if that fact is printed in 10-point type on the front of the card. The class passes offered by both companies lie somewhat in a legal gray area. Forgot Password / New User. The service supplier shall remit the combined surcharges collected to CDTFA in separate amounts for each surcharge. These include cards with a value of $5 or less; when the fee is $1 or less per month; if the card has been inactive for 24 consecutive months; or a card can be re-charged by the owner with a value to over $5. The Civil Code also is available on the Internet at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/ under the "California Law" button. Check your cardholder agreement to see if there are actions you need to take to prevent this loss. Refills only 'roll over' if you add funds before expiration date. They are prepaid debit cards onto which a government agency loads funds directly and you can use them just like traditional debit cards. Single-store cards: The traditional single-business gift card for merchandise or services has the best consumer protection. If the gift card was sold at a discount, the card may state an expiration date, but it must be at least 30 days after it was sold. Bank gift cards are both flexible and convenient as they usually tap into a leading credit card network and can be used at many stores. In this respect, California law is more consumer friendly than the federal law. Under federal law, inactivity fees can only be charged after 12 months of inactivity and if other conditions are met. A telephonic service provider/service supplier; Any person providing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service line with access to the 911 emergency communications system and 988 suicide and crisis lifeline; A service user that did not have the surcharge collected by a service supplier; or. Where can I get a copy of the gift certificate law? However, California does require expiration dates be printed on the card. Pricing and services apply to the 2023 service season. If you opt to make monthly installments, expect to pay $125-$300 per month depending on the total cost, age, and installment period. These examples assume a 911 surcharge rate of $0.30, a 988 surcharge rate of $0.08, local charges at a rate of 13.76 percent (0.1376) and a sales tax rate of 9 percent (0.09). 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. The amounts for the 911 surcharge, the 988 surcharge, and local charges should be separately stated on the invoice, receipt, or other similar document that is provided to the prepaid consumer, or otherwise disclosed electronically to the prepaid consumer, at the time of the retail transaction. The CARD Act provides a compelling case study into the need for every small business owner to hire a good business law attorney. The sale is not subject to the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, or local charges. The escheat laws do not apply to gift certificates subject to the rules discussed above. The provider might charge you a fee for this. Because you know your customer's address, you should determine if the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges apply based on the address, not on your customer's mobile number. Out-of-state sellers who make retail sales of prepaid MTS to customers with an address known to be in California (see Known address transaction section above) are required to register as a prepaid MTS seller and collect the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and any applicable local charges, and pay the collected amounts to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). If you are planning to travel abroad soon or stay in touch with loved ones who live abroad, there are plenty of great international service options with AT&T PREPAID. The app can only activate a T-Mobile prepaid line. 17California Civil Code Section 1749.5(e). 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? Three years after the due date of the return on which you overpaid the surcharge, Six months after you overpaid the surcharge, Six months after the date a billing became final, Three years after CDTFA collected an involuntary payment, such as from a levy or lien, The item is shipped to, or picked up by, your customer at a California location, or, Your records show that the customer's address is located in California, or. A prepaid consumer that did not have the surcharge collected by a seller. Service may be suspended/terminated if used in violation of Acceptable Use Policy. . Law Advice; Insurance Advice; Retirement Planning Advice for Women; 10 Tips for Filing a Catastrophic Injury Laws Additional Public Benefit Programs . Ever wonder why credit cards expire? This legal guide answers common questions about gift certificates and gift cards sold after January 1, 2004, with respect to California law. Your customer pays with her PayPal account. In California, for example, it's against the law for store gift certificates and gift cards to have an expiration date or dormancy fees (except under certain circumstances), and if the balance on the card is less than $10, you can redeem it for cash. 1488 (February 11, 1997) Gift Certificates. It places No. Most pre-paid insurance policies range from $10,000 to $25,000. 2 lines $80 3 lines $120 $90 4 lines $160 $100 5 lines Spengler Agans Bradley can advise your business to help ensure your startup doesnt become victim to the next $9.2 million class action suit. Lessons for selling with an expiration date The CARD Act provides a compelling case study into the need for every small business owner to hire a good business law attorney. . 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). No international roaming allowed. As the benefits of the expenses are recognized, the related asset account is decreased and expensed. Those cards can continue to charge monthly fees and can expire, as long as those limitations are clearly disclosed on the card. CorePower Yoga structured their gift certificates slightly differentlyi.e., the passes to yoga classes were not tied to any specified dollar amount. But issuers may begin applying fees if a money order goes uncashed for a year or more. characters. Dispute the location of the retail transaction, Believe the transaction is exempt from the local charges, or. 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. Unless they were sold at a discount, gift cards cannot have an expiration date. The number of access lines subject to the 911 and 988 surcharges in a PBX phone system shall not exceed the total number of concurrent outbound calls that can be placed to the 911 emergency communications system or 988 suicide and crisis lifeline at the same time. Yes, it is perfectly legal. Contrasea. A gift certificate or gift card without an expiration date is valid until it is redeemed or replaced.20, Notwithstanding any policy of the seller, effective January 1, 2008, a gift certificate with a cash value of less than ten dollars ($10) is redeemable in cash (not a new certificate or merchandise) for its cash value.21 Cash for purposes of this section includes currency or check.22 Where a seller accepts funds toward a gift certificate from one or more contributors as a gift for another person (the "recipient"), the seller must give each contributor a full refund of the amount paid toward the certificate if the time in which the recipient may redeem the funds by purchasing a gift certificate is clearly disclosed in writing to contributors and recipient and the recipient does not redeem the funds by the time disclosed.23. Q.7. Each retail purchase of prepaid mobile telephony services in California. Click here to buy cards for your business. 28California Civil Code Section 1749.45(a). For use in the U.S. only. You sell a SIM card (starter kit) without any prepaid minutes or airtime. The key takeaway was that the federal CARD Act applies to gift cards and other certificates that are linked closely to a specified cash dollar amount. Statutes 2007, chapter 640 (SB 250). Int'l. services extra. We offer 4 prepaid data plans for tablets and mobile hotspots. Q.4. However, the holder of the certificate or card may have a claim against the bankruptcy estate. By way of background, and for the legal geeks out there, the CARD Act defines gift certificate as an electronic promise that is: (i) redeemable at a single merchant or an affiliated group of merchants that share the same name, mark, or logo; (ii) issue in a specified amount that may not be increased or reloaded; (iii) purchased on a prepaid basis in exchange for payment; and (iv) honored upon presentation by such single merchant or affiliated group of merchants for goods or services. Both cases turned on the interpretation of a specified amount.. Only available for Apple iPhone XS or newer running iOS 12.1.1 or later. 10California Civil Code Sections 1749.5(a)(1),(f). If these types of prepaid data service plans can be used to make or receive cell phone calls, as well as for data or text, the sales are subject to the 911 and 988 surcharges, plus any applicable local charges. Although your customer intends to use the SIM card and minutes outside of the U.S., the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges (if applicable) apply because the sale was made at your California store. State of emergencies declared in California for the past three years. Access lines used in wide-area telephone service by common carriers in the conduct of their business. Benefits of a prepaid cell phone. What makes everything a lot more complicated is the fact that depending on the state you're in, laws regulating gift cards can change quite a bit. AT&T Prepaid Unlimited 1 plan gives you unlimited data, talk, and text to more than 230 countries, plus 5G access 2. 2022, ch.747) revises the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act to include the 988 surcharge and establishes a new 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund. In the new on demand economy, subscription-based revenue models, or subscription plans, have grown in popularity. To determine local charges properly for your online sales, you should charge the rate in effect based on the above known California location or address of your customer in the order listed. Senior operations manager Paul Benvenuti says they have "extended the expiration date on dozens of VIP passesThe last thing we want is for someone to purchase a pass and not be able to use all the visits.". Can a gift certificate or gift card contain a service fee? Yes. Are a "gift certificate" and a "gift card" the same thing? 25California Civil Code Section 1749.6(b) (Statutes 2002, chapter 997 (AB 2473)). Refill of $100 or more expires in 365 days. Sales of prepaid data service plans (minutes) that can be used for data, text, or as cell phone airtime minutes are subject to the 911 surcharge, 988 surcharge, and local charges apply (if applicable). 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. In California, most gift cards cannot have any expiration dates or service fees. A. 1. The 911 and 988 surcharges are flat fees that apply to each retail transaction involving a sale of prepaid MTS to a prepaid MTS consumer. The Attorney General's Opinion concluded that a gift certificate for a meal sold by a restaurant may not contain an expiration date. California Business and Professions Code Section 17538.9 permits certain fees and practices with respect to prepaid calling cards. The cell phone and 200 minutes of prepaid airtime are sold for a single price of $139.99 (bundled transaction), and the customer is required to purchase the minutes with the cell phone as part of a package deal. 4. Petro-Canada Mobile | Top-up plan | $25/120 daysBest prepaid plan for bonus perks. We brought the issue to consumer attorney Ian Barlow. Need to know more? The 911 and 988 surcharges apply to partial month billings in the full amount. 911 Surcharge, 988 Surcharge, and Local Charge Rates, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's), Filing Claims for Refund - Special Taxes and Fees, Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Collection Act (42100-42111), subdivision (e) of Revenue and Taxation code (RTC) section 42020, Pay-As-You-Go cell phone with minutes/airtime, Prepaid telephone calling cards vs. prepaid wireless calling cards, SIM cards sold with prepaid wireless airtime/minutes, Prepaid products and services sold for use outside of California, Kiosks selling prepaid top-up airtime/minutes, Consumers that want to file a claim for refund for local charges, Telecommunication Service Suppliers (Service Suppliers), Medical alert devices and inmate call systems, Multiple Service Suppliers Furnishing Services Using the Same Access Line, Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Collection Act Law, New Local Charge Rate for San Francisco Retail Sales of Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Effective April 1, 2023, New 988 Surcharge and Rates for the 911 and 988 Surcharges Effective January 1, 2023, New Local Charge Rate for San Francisco Retail Sales of Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Effective April 1, 2022, Emergency Telephone Users (911) Surcharge 2022 Rate and Mandatory Online Filing for Service Suppliers, Collection of Local Charges Extended through December 31, 2025, New Local Charge Rate for San Francisco Retail Sales of Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Effective April 1, 2020, Emergency Telephone Users (911) Surcharge Rate Effective January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, Collection of 911 Surcharge Required by Sellers Beginning January 1, 2020; Collection of Local Charges by Sellers Extended through December 31, 2020, Emergency Telephone Users (911) Surcharge Rate Effective January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, The Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Return Will Move to Our New Online Services System Effective November 9, 2020, Important Notice Regarding Your Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Return, Changes to the Emergency Telephone Users (911) Surcharge Effective January 1, 2020, Information for Local Jurisdictions and Districts, Total due on sale (Price of Phone + Airtime + 911 Surcharge + 988 Surcharge + Local Charges + Sales Tax), Prepaid phone (see computation below for amount of sales tax included), 1000 minutes of airtime (911 Surcharge and local charges included), Local charges included in selling price (see computation below), Total due on sale* (price of phone + price of airtime), Total due on sale (single price of phone and airtime + 911 Surcharge + 988 Surcharge + local charges + sales tax), Prepaid phone + 10 minutes of airtime (or $5 in airtime), Total due on sale (price of phone + airtime + sales tax), Prepaid smartphone and 60 minutes of airtime, Total due on sale (prepaid smartphone and 60 minutes of airtime + 911 Surcharge + 988 Surcharge + local charges + sales tax), SIM card + one month unlimited talk & text, Total due on sale (SIM card + one month unlimited talk & text + 911 Surcharge + 988 Surcharge + local charges), Selling price of prepaid wireless airtime card. Several exceptions apply. No cash or ATM access.