AZE.US
Retailers in Azerbaijan cannot simply erase the remaining balance on a gift card after its stated expiration date, according to a legal opinion issued by Baku Court of Appeal judge Farrukh Gasimov.
Gasimov said a gift card is not an independent product. When a customer purchases one, the money paid is effectively an advance toward goods that will be bought from the retailer later.
The card itself only confirms that the payment was made and that a sales agreement exists between the customer and the business.
Terms such as “valid only until the expiration date” or “the remaining balance will be canceled after expiration” should be treated as standard contract conditions, the judge said. Such terms are drafted in advance by the seller, while consumers have no real opportunity to negotiate or change them.
Under Article 420 of Azerbaijan’s Civil Code, standard contract terms may be deemed invalid if they allow one party to refuse its obligations without justification or deprive consumers of rights guaranteed by law.
According to Gasimov, a retailer cannot rely on the expiration date to both refuse to provide goods and keep the money already paid by the customer.
Such a practice gives the seller a unilateral right to avoid fulfilling its obligations and could result in unjust enrichment, since the business retains the advance payment without supplying any product in return.
The judge said clauses allowing retailers to erase gift card balances after expiration should therefore be considered invalid.
Consumers should retain the right to use the prepaid amount to purchase goods or exercise other remedies available under Azerbaijani law.
AZE.US