Beware of giving and receiving gift cards this holiday season.
If you have a gift card or store credit with a retailer that has filed for bankruptcy, you can be pretty assured that you won’t ever see that money. You could try standing in line behind creditors in bankruptcy court, but personally, I wouldn’t waste my time.
With Circuit City being the most recent retailer to file for bankruptcy, the number of retailers to do so are increasing. Six retailers filed for bankruptcy in 2006, seven retailers in 2007 and this year alone has seen 17 retailers file.
If you have gift cards lying around at stores that you’re unsure of lasting through this economic downturn, I’d go spend them!
