(Image source from: fox10tv.com)

About one billion dollars, is the most valued money which was estimated that goes unused in gift cards every single year. Just ask Connie Krc. She found out the hard way.

Krc is proud of her granddaughter Hailee, who by the way, just finished the eighth grade.

"She's an excellent student. And she has been her whole elementary school career,” said krc.

To help celebrate, Krc attended her granddaughter's eighth-grade promotion ceremony and even gave her a $30 gift card to spend however she wanted.

But, Krc says she was shocked when Hailee called her recently and told her about a problem regarding that gift card.

"I'm trying to buy something and the card doesn't work,” Krc remembers Hailee telling her. “’They've declined the card.’ I mean, I was mortified. I mean, how embarrassing."

Turns out, the gift card was in fact, worthless. And, to make matters worse, so were two other $30 gift cards that Krc had purchased and tucked away into a drawer for safe keeping. Out of a total of $90, Krc wants answers as to how her cards were drained.

"It's not about the money. It's about the principle and what's behind it," she said.

The media has discovered all the money on those gift cards was gobbled up by something called "inactivity charges." Krc eventually found that out when she got a magnifying glass to read the fine print on the back of the gift card. It indicates $2 would be removed from the card for every month it wasn't used. And, that's exactly what happened. Apparently, the gift cards sat in Krc’s officer drawer so long, "inactivity fees" drained their value.

"I feel like this is a legal scam," she said.

Krc says it clearly states on the front of the gift cards that they don't expire until November 2020, which is two years away.

As a consumer, she believes that the expiration date should mean something.

"I mean to me, the date is very misleading. If that date wasn't on there, it would change the entire dynamics of this transaction," she said.

3 On Your Side got involved and we contacted U.S. Bank, which issued the three $30 gift cards.

After looking into the issue, a U.S. Bank spokesman tells us that “…U.S. Bank cards purchased on or after January 2017 do not incur inactivity fees” any longer.

That may be good news for consumers now, but for Krc, it's certainly too late.

She's now out $90 because of those inactivity charges.

By the way, 3 On Your Side asked U.S. Bank if they would consider replacing the cards for Krc, but our repeated requests were never addressed.

"I'm going to be very cautious from now on when it comes to purchasing gift cards," she said.

As a consumer, you should be very cautious too.

With that said, keep this rule of thumb in mind if you ever get a gift card from someone. It doesn’t matter if the gift card is from a restaurant, retailer or a MasterCard like the ones Krc had, always try to use the cards within the first month you get one.

That way, there’s less of a chance you’ll lose or forget about the gift card. You’ll also most likely avoid any inactivity fees that could come with the card.

By Lokesh