A Money Mart program allowing customers to exchange gift cards for half their cash value has been put to a stop.
The payday loan company had previously defended the pilot program as a “convenient service,” but faced backlash from critics who said the program preyed on the vulnerable.
David Orazietti, Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services, said his office voiced its concerns to Money Mart.
“The ministry will be looking into this issue further and will examine if there needs to be increased regulation around the re-selling of gift cards,” Orazietti said in a statement to CTV News. “Our government wants to ensure Ontarians enjoy a high standard of consumer protection."
NDP Consumer Services critic Jagmeet Singh said the company’s voluntary suspension of the program was the right thing to do.
“This pilot project was wrong from the start and preyed on the most vulnerable in our society,” said Singh. “New Democrats still call on the government to investigate how Money Mart was allowed to get away with this morally corrupt practice and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Three things to do with your gift card instead
- Sell or swap it online. Sites like Gift Card Granny and Card Swap offer a venue for users to put their unwanted card up for sale, swap it with a different card or buy other cards at a discount.
- Keep it. All provinces passed legislation within the past five years or so prohibiting most gift cards from expiring. Maybe one day you’ll find yourself stepping into that store or restaurant you’d never heard of before. Or maybe you can just re-gift it next Christmas.
- Use it. Try something new. Maybe scented candles really are your thing, or maybe the restaurant with an unpronounceable name will become your new favourite. Just because you get a gift card to something outside your comfort zone doesn’t mean you were given a terrible present.
