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by allenp 6008 days ago
I think the difference is that the calling cards are for a set number of minutes and a monthly internet service is just a on/off thing. The other thing I wonder about though is gift cards - I'm sure there have to be tons of dollars that expire on those all the time. Does the gov take a cut?
1 comments
ams6110 6008 days ago
I find it a stretch to say that unused minutes can be considered "unclaimed property". The cards basically are a contract where ATT will deliver up to X minutes of use within a defined time frame. That's really just a bandwidth agreement. What's next, will cable companies be required to rebate me for the hours of TV that I don't watch every day?
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mbreese 6008 days ago
What if there is no defined time frame? If you can buy minutes in the form of a pre-paid card, why wouldn't it be property? You could resell it. And it's a "pre-paid" card, not a "minutes contract". That makes it see that it is a stored cash-value card. The only difference is that the value is removed from the card in proportion to calling minutes as opposed to dollars spent.

What about the case of airline points? Those are used almost interchangeably with cash. Hell, didn't American Airlines pay Citi in points once?

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ams6110 6008 days ago
Every pre-paid card I've seen has in the fine print an expiration date. If there are some that are totally open-ended, that does change the argument a bit.
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mbreese 6008 days ago
Those expiration dates are quickly becoming illegal. I don't know how it applies to pre-paid minutes, but for gift cards, most states have eliminated expiration dates.
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billswift 6008 days ago
I don't know about other systems, I use a Tracfone, and while I have to buy a new card every 3 months, the minutes roll over - I'm up to over 7 hours now.
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billybob 6008 days ago
The TV example is different. The cable company doesn't sell you X hours of TV, it sells you 'as much TV as you want' each month. Whether you watch constantly or not at all, you got what you paid for.

The calling cards are good for X minutes. Is it legal to expire those minutes? Seems like gift card sellers have been restricted in their ability to erode gift card value.

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