Fighting for Consumers

September 2019 Treasurer’s Note by Treasurer Michael Frerichs

Too many of us feel nickel-and-dimed.

That is the simple truth behind legislation we championed to prohibit retailers from using rebate cards that charge dormancy fees.

You know these cards. Make a purchase and, as an incentive, receive a $50 rebate card through the mail from a nationally recognized bank.

The trick is this: Most everyone involved on the rebate card side of this transaction is banking that the rebate card will slide into a drawer or fall to the bottom of a purse rather than be used immediately for a necessary purchase such as groceries, gasoline, or school supplies.

The dormancy fees are the nickel and dimes (actually several dollars per month or more) that corporations drain from the cards when they are not used. These companies literally bank on the fact that the rebate card will not be used before those dormancy fees kick-in.

That’s not right.

We worked with Sen. Cristina Castro of Elgin and Rep. Theresa Mah of Chicago to pass legislation through the General Assembly that eliminates the use of these cards in Illinois. My thanks to them and Gov. Pritzker for signing the bill into law.

We will continue to fight to make sure you get 100% of the money that was promised to you.

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