New regulations will likely be welcomed by people like Renu Badasha, who have received gift cards and haven't always found them to be the perfect gift

Badasha says she was cleaning out a drawer when she made a sickening discovery.

She found three $50 gift certificates from last Christmas, which expired six months after they were purchased

"I'm like Oh my God that's $150 just down the drain,'' she said. "That's what it feels like.

The gift certificates were from Willowbrook Mall. Badasha contacted CTV and we told her expiry dates are being eliminated and to contact the mall.

"I phoned them and they told me they'd issue a gift card instead because they don't do gift certificates anymore,'' she said.

It's the sort of happy ending more consumers will have under new provincial regulations that are coming soon.

The Retail Council of British Columbia says the regulations were drawn up in consultation with industry.

Most retailers have already phased out fees and phased out expiry dates. The rules will essentially codify what is already standard practice but it is ultimately good news for consumers.

Max Logan of the Retail Council of Canada says retailers are pleased with the new regulations.

"And really what retailers want is their customers to be happy, to be confident and happy in their purchase and be comfortable in the store,'' Logan said.

This is a big change from the shocking list of fees once tacked onto some gift cards.

The fees included:

  • Signup and monthly service charge fees.
  • Withdrawal and transaction fees.
  • Customer service call and balance inquiry fees.
  • Cancellation fees, even inactivity fees if you didn't use the cards enough.

The B.C. provincial government says it will have new regulations in place "before the Christmas shopping season"

And B.C. plans to go further than other provinces.

It will set up a complaints mechanism so that if you are charged a fee you shouldn't have or,

Sold a card with an expiry date in violation of B.C. rules, you'll have a place to complain.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen.