Call Kurtis: Hanging Onto Gift Cards? Don't

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Viewers stuck with unspent Fry's Electronics gift cared are trying to get their money back.

This is exactly why you need to open your wallet and spend any gift card you have, as soon as you get it

You never know when a company will go out of business or file for bankruptcy.

All Fry's stores are now closed, leaving viewers like Brian Meiss of Sacramento with nowhere to spend their gift cards. His are worth $260. He says his calls and emails to the company have been ignored.

"It's frustrating that I'm, you know, out of the money. It's made me not want to buy gift cards anymore." Meiss said.

We tracked down the home numbers for the corporate officers and got no answer. If you have a gift card, email them through their website, so you have proof you tried to resolve this. If they don't respond, you could take them to small claims court, but even if you win, they don't have much of an incentive to pay you. It may be a challenge to collect.

If the company files for bankruptcy, which they haven't, you'd become a creditor just like everyone else owed money, and chances are you'd only get pennies on the dollar.

Again, spend any gift card you have now, so you don't end up in this situation.