Lowe's Home Centers has agreed to pay $546,600 and change how it handles small gift-card balances in California, resolving a civil enforcement case over customers' requests to redeem qualifying cards for cash.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced the stipulated judgment on September 15. The case was brought jointly by prosecutors in Ventura, Sonoma and Los Angeles counties and entered in Sonoma County Superior Court. [S01]
Changes reach the card, the counter and staff training
Prosecutors said their investigation found that Lowe's had refused qualifying cash-redemption requests. The settlement requires the retailer to explain consumers' rights on its physical gift cards and website, display notices in Customer Service or Returns areas, and train employees on redemption requirements.
Those obligations address several points in the cardholder's experience: information at purchase, a visible explanation in stores and the employee response when a balance is presented. The announcement says Lowe's cooperated with the investigation.
The agreement resolves allegations through a stipulated civil judgment. It is not a criminal conviction or a reported jury verdict.
The cash-redemption threshold had already changed before this enforcement action. An August 27 California Assembly committee analysis records that SB 22 raised it from balances below $10 to balances below $15 from April 1, 2026. The settlement concerns how qualifying requests were handled under that framework, rather than creating another increase.
California’s cash-redemption threshold before the settlement
The statutory balance thresholds described in the California Assembly’s August 27, 2026 committee analysis.
USD
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Strictly less than each threshold, not less than or equal. This shows an earlier statutory change, not a new remedy created by the Lowe’s settlement. Qualifying gift-card rules and statutory exceptions apply.
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| Category | Balance must be below this amount |
|---|---|
| Before April 1, 2026 | 10 USD |
| From April 1, 2026 | 15 USD |
The payment is not a single customer compensation fund
A later release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office details the total: $481,600 in civil penalties, $50,000 in investigative costs and $15,000 in restitution to the California Consumer Protection Prosecution Trust Fund. [S02]
The full $546,600 should therefore not be read as money being distributed directly to gift-card holders. The published releases do not identify a consumer claims process or a number of affected cards.
Both offices describe the cash-redemption requirement as applying to qualifying gift cards with a value below $15 when consumers request cash. The settlement is an enforcement development concerning that requirement, rather than an announcement of a new redemption threshold.
Los Angeles issued its account on September 29. That release covers the same settlement first announced in Ventura on September 15; it does not establish a second enforcement action.
Where Lowe’s $546,600 settlement payment goes
Amounts assigned by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s September 29 account of the stipulated judgment.
USD
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
The three amounts total $546,600. The $15,000 recipient is the California Consumer Protection Prosecution Trust Fund; this is not a disclosed direct-payment pool for gift-card holders.
Show data tableHide data table
| Category | Settlement allocation |
|---|---|
| Civil penalties | 481,600 USD |
| Investigative costs | 50,000 USD |
| Restitution to prosecution trust fund | 15,000 USD |
In this article
Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.