SECOND REGULAR SESSION
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PORTWOOD.
Read 1st time March 31, 2008 and copies ordered printed.
D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 447.505, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to gift certificates and credit memos.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 447.505, RSMo, is repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 407.1183 and 447.505, to read as follows:
407.1183. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) "Credit memo", a certificate, card, stored value card, or similar instrument issued in exchange for returned merchandise when the certificate, card, or similar instrument is redeemable for merchandise, food, or services regardless of whether any cash may be paid to the owner of the certificate, card, or instrument as part of the redemption transaction;
(2) "Gift certificate", a certificate, gift card, stored value card, or similar instrument issued in exchange for monetary consideration when the certificate, card, or similar instrument is redeemable for merchandise, food, or services regardless of whether any cash may be paid to the owner of the certificate, card, or instrument as part of the redemption transaction.
2. (1) A gift certificate or credit memo sold or issued for consideration in this state shall not have an expiration date, expiration period, or any type of postsale charge or fee imposed on the gift certificate or credit memo, including, but not limited to, service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, or cash-out fees. However, a gift certificate may have an expiration date of not less than three years if it is provided as a charitable contribution when no consideration is given to the issuer by the consumer, or not less than one year if it is provided as a benefit under an employee-incentive program, consumer-loyalty program, or promotional program when no consideration is given to the issuer by the consumer, and the expiration date is prominently disclosed in writing to the consumer at the time it is provided. A gift certificate may have an expiration date if it is provided as part of a larger package related to a convention, conference, vacation, or sporting or fine arts event having a limited duration so long as the majority of the value paid by the recipient is attributable to the convention, conference, vacation, or event.
(2) Subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply to a gift certificate or credit memo sold or issued by a financial institution or by a money transmitter if the gift certificate or credit memo is redeemable by multiple unaffiliated merchants.
447.505. 1. The following property held or owing by a banking or financial organization or by a business association is presumed abandoned; provided, however, that neither this section nor any other provision of sections 447.500 to 447.595 shall apply to an instrument issued as an offer to settle a claim when failure to present the instrument for payment may be deemed a refusal of the offer to settle:
(1) Any deposit held in this state with a banking organization, together with any interest or dividend thereon that would be due had the owner not abandoned the account, excluding any charges that may lawfully be withheld, unless the owner has, within seven years or five years as provided in section 447.536:
(a) Increased or decreased the amount of the deposit, or presented the passbook or other similar evidence of the deposit for the crediting of interest; or
(b) Corresponded in writing with, or accepted mail from, the banking organization concerning the deposit; and the term "accepted mail from the banking organization" shall mean the banking organization did send correspondence in writing to the owner by first class mail postage prepaid, marked "Address Correction Requested", and such correspondence was not returned by the post office; or
(c) Otherwise indicated an interest in the deposit as evidenced by a memorandum on file with the banking organization;
(2) Any funds paid in this state toward the purchase of shares or other interest in a financial organization, or any deposit made therewith in this state, and any interest or dividends thereon that would be due had the owner not abandoned the account, excluding any charges that may lawfully be withheld, unless the owner has within seven years or five years as provided in section 447.536:
(a) Increased or decreased the amount of the funds or deposit, or presented an appropriate record for the crediting of interest or dividends; or
(b) Corresponded in writing with, or accepted mail from, the financial organization concerning the funds or deposit; and the term "accepted mail from the financial organization" shall mean the financial organization did send correspondence in writing to the owner by first class mail postage prepaid, marked "Address Correction Requested", and such correspondence was not returned by the post office; or
(c) Otherwise indicated an interest in the funds or deposit as evidenced by a memorandum on file with the financial organization;
(3) Any sum payable on checks certified in this state or on written instruments issued in this state on which a banking or financial organization or business association is directly liable, including, by way of illustration but not of limitation, certificates of deposit, drafts, money orders, and traveler's checks, that, with the exception of traveler's checks and money orders, has been outstanding for more than seven years or five years as provided in section 447.536 from the date it was payable, or from the date of its issuance if payable on demand, or, in the case of traveler's checks, that has been outstanding for more than fifteen years from the date of its issuance, unless the owner has within seven years or five years as provided in section 447.536, or within fifteen years in the case of traveler's checks, corresponded in writing with the banking or financial organization or business association concerning it, or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum on file with the banking or financial organization or business association;
(a) No holder may deduct from the amount of any money order any charges imposed by reason of the failure to present those instruments for payment unless there is a valid and enforceable written contract between the issuer and the owner of the property pursuant to which the issuer may impose those charges and the issuer regularly imposes those charges and does not regularly reverse or otherwise cancel those charges with respect to the property. Disclosure of the amount of any such charges shall be deemed adequate if set forth on the money order;
(b) No sum payable on a traveler's check, money order, or similar written instrument (other than a third-party bank check) described in this subdivision may be subjected to the custody of this state as unclaimed property unless:
a. The records of the issuer show that the traveler's check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased in this state;
b. The issuer has its principal place of business in this state and the records of the issuer do not show the state in which the traveler's check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased; or
c. The issuer has its principal place of business in this state, the records of the issuer show the state in which the traveler's check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased and the laws of the state of purchase do not provide for the escheat or custodial taking of the property or its escheat or unclaimed property law is not applicable to the property;
(4) Any funds or other personal property, tangible or intangible, removed from a safe deposit box or any other safekeeping repository or agency or collateral deposit box in this state on which the lease or rental period has expired due to nonpayment of rental charges or other reason, or any surplus amounts arising from the sale thereof pursuant to law, that have been unclaimed by the owner for more than seven years or five years as provided in section 447.536 from the date on which the lease or rental period expired;
(5) [Gift certificates, credit memos and] Credit balances that are redeemable in merchandise only shall be reportable at a rate equal to sixty percent of their respective face value. The state treasurer shall reimburse the owner the full face value.
2. (1) An unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo, as defined in section 407.1183, RSMo, shall not be required to be reported as unclaimed property, except that a gift certificate or credit memo described in subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of section 407.1183, RSMo, shall be reported as unclaimed property. The consideration paid for such a gift certificate or credit memo is the property of the owner of the gift certificate or credit memo.
(2) The consideration paid for an unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo is the property of the issuer of the unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo.
(3) An unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo is subject only to any rights of a purchaser or owner thereof and is not subject to a claim made by any state acting on behalf of a purchaser or owner.
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