Gift cards should be allowed to have expiration dates, but these dates should be permanently and legibly printed on the cards so that they can’t be erased or worn off. It should also be required by law that the balances of every gift card should be able to be checked through either the telephone and/or Internet using only information printed on the cards.

Stores should be required to pay customers one half of the remaining value of any gift cards upon customer request. Such payments should be either in cash or credited to their credit cards, depending upon the request of each cardholder.