Kmart is getting a slap on the wrist from the Federal Trade Commission for hiding annoying gift card fees. In a settlement with the FTC, Kmart has agreed to reimburse "dormancy fees" for eligible consumers. You can find details on Kmart&39;s website, but basically to get a refund you will have to give 1) your Kmart gift card identification number, 2) mailing address, and 3) phone number. If your card did have one of these fees assessed, you&39;ll get a new gift card for the amount of the fees.

At issue were monthly "inactivity fees." It&39;s not that these fees are illegal (though some states do ban dormancy fees or have disclosure requirements). Instead, the FTC found issue with the fact that the cards were marketed as "never expiring," yet a $2.10 fee would be assessed each month the card was not used. In case you don&39;t want to do the math, over two years that adds up to $50.40 in fees.

The FTC says that many consumers didn&39;t learn of the fees until they went to use their cards.

Unfortunately, I imagine most of these gift card holders no longer have their cards so they can request a refund. Would you have kept yours after you spent the remaining balance or finding out it was practically worthless? (The company stopped charging the dormancy fee March 1, 2006). Still, if you have an older KMart gift card still hanging around it&39;s worth applying for the refund.

Gerri Detweiler – Personal finance author, radio host and credit expert. Gerri contributes budgeting, debt recovery and savings information online.