We've all found them...lost for years, hidden in drawers or old pocketbooks, and wondering if they're any good now. Maybe you threw them away or tried to use them. Crumpled up gift certificates or dusty gift cards, that's what we're talking about. Some have expiration dates on them and others state that a fee is subtracted for each month of non-use. But is that fair? We wanted to get to the bottom of gift card rules and regulations.

In 2003, some big changes were made to the state's gift certificate law. Now, under Massachusetts law (Chapter 510 of the Acts of 2002 and Chapter 18 of the Acts of 2003), a gift certificate must be redeemable for a minimum of seven years from the date of issuance. Prior to June 2003, gift certificates were only valid for two years. The updated law also expanded the definition of gift certificates "to include electronic cards with a banked dollar value, a merchandise credit, a certificate where the issuer has received payment for the full face value for the future purchase or delivery of goods or services and any other medium that evidences the giving of consideration in exchange for the right to redeem it for goods, food, services, credit or money of at least an equal value."

Interestingly, if you have a gift certificate that's not clearly marked with both a date of issuance and a date of expiration, it is valid forever, as stated in the new laws. And if you have a gift card with a banked dollar value that's not clearly marked with both the issuance date and expiration date on its face, the issuance date and expiration date must either be clearly printed on a sales receipt and given to you at the time of sale or available through a website or toll-free number.

So, now they're valid longer, but is that really enforced? That law was changed as well. Now merchants who refuse to redeem a gift certificate or gift card sold before it has reached its expiration date, or try to sell them with a time limit for less than seven years, will be punished by a fine of not more than $300. And those annoying dormancy fees - fees charged for not using your gift certificate in a timely manner - simply aren't allowed in Massachusetts.