Gift card users are free from expiration dates and fees due to new Illinois legislation passed Aug 17.

The law requires retailers to remove all fees, charges and expiration dates to the gift card purchaser or user, said Martin Noven, deputy chief of staff for the Illinois state treasurer.

Gift card use has grown 20 percent every year since the cards were introduced in 1996 and is now a $32 billion industry.

Fees and dormancy charges are often attached to gift cards without the knowledge of the purchaser or the user. For instance, some gift cards deduct $2 a month if the card is not used for six months, Noven said.

“Most companies state the fees clearly either on the card or on paper, but most people don’t know about this if they don’t read the fine print,” said Carolyn Barry, press secretary for the state treasurer.

Customers who are unaware of the fees end up wondering why their gift has dwindled down from its original worth.

“One of my friends had an Express card and lost it, and after awhile, the value of the card was deducted from $25 to $20 and she didn’t know why,” said Lisa Bonn, senior sociology major. “You shouldn’t have to pay for that sort of thing.”

The law also exempts retailers who remove all gift card fees and charges from unclaimed property laws, Noven said.

Before the new legislation passed, retailers were required to report unused gift cards as unclaimed property to the Illinois state treasurer’s office. The retailer would surrender the card’s cash value to the state, and the state would issue a cash refund to the consumer, Barry said.

Noven said the legislation is a win-win situation for businesses and consumers because it builds good will between the retailer and the consumer.

“The response is more immediate for the consumer because they can take care of everything through the store instead of being told they have to go through the state,” he said.

In 2001, the state treasurer and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association passed consumer protection legislation resulting in the removal of expiration dates from gift certificates and gift cards, Noven said.

“There is no reason for the state to get ainvolved and this legislation will be an extension to what we passed before.”

Several local retailers said the new law wouldn’t apply to their stores.

“We don’t have any fees on our gift cards, and we only tax the actual purchase when they come in, so they aren’t being double taxed,” said Michael Klaas, inventory supervisor of Borders Books & Music, 2520 Sycamore Road.

Along with the fees, expiration dates don’t always present a problem, either.

“Expiration dates on our cards are technically three years, but even if the time passes and they forget they have a gift card, we usually just reissue one and it’s not a problem,” said Jenny Jeffries, store manager of Maurices, 2506 Sycamore Road.