Regulations of Electronic Gift Card

An electronic gift card / voucher (hereinafter referred to as “Gift card”) is a non-cash means of payment issued by JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” which may be used by its user up to the expiration date of the Electronic gift card for the payment of goods and services in the sales locations indicated by JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” in “Radisson Blu Latvija Conference & SPA Hotel”, Riga, 55 Elizabetes iela and “Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel”, Riga, 73 Elizabetes iela.
Gift cards may be used several times, in one or several sales locations mentioned in these Regulations and at one or several merchants, until all the nominal value of the Gift card is spent or its expiration date has passed. Gift cards are available for customers with a nominal value from EUR 15.00 to EUR 150.00.
These Regulations of electronic gift card users (hereinafter referred to as “Regulations”) shall determine the issue, circulation and use regulations and procedure of Gift cards published by JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” and shall be binding upon all Buyers, Users, Distributors and Merchants of the previously mentioned Gift cards.

1. TERMS USED IN THE REGULATIONS

Expiration date is the last day (including) until which the Gift card may be used for the payment of Purchases to the Merchant. The expiration date of the Gift card constitutes 12 months from the day of purchase of the gift card.
Gift card is an electronic cash payment card issued by JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” and may be used several times; it has an individual Gift card number and it is provided for the payment of Purchases to Merchants in the amount of the nominal value of the Gift card.
Voucher is an electronic cash payment card issued by JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” which has an individual number and which is provided for the payment of Purchases to Merchants in the amount of the nominal value of the Gift card.
Gift card balance is an electronic cash balance on the Gift card, i.e. a part of the nominal value of the Gift card which has not yet been spent for Purchases at the respective moment.
Gift card nominal value is an amount of money paid by the Buyer to the Issuer or Distributor for an Gift card of the equal amount. The nominal value of the Gift card shall be indicated on the Gift card.
Gift card sum shall correspond to the Gift card balance.
Gift card system is a data base of the Gift cards issued by the Issuer where data about the issued Gift cards are recorded, as well as data about Gift card balances and transactions made by the Gift cards, and software which verifies the authenticity and validity of the Gift cards according to the parameters set in it; it also checks the Gift card balances, authorises the Purchase and performs other functions set in the software.
Gift card system provider is a person who ensures the provision and service of the Gift card system and payment processing of the Gift cards ordered by the Issuer.
Electronic payment device is a POS terminal – an electronic device for the acceptance and charging of gift cards by means of which information from the magnetic strip of the gift card is read and which sends and receives information from the authorisation system.
Issuer is JSC “Viesnīca Latvija”, registered in the Commercial Register of Latvia under the number 40003040166, registered address Riga, Elizabetes iela 55, LV-1050.
User is a person using the Gift card.
Buyer is a person acquiring or ordering the Gift card from the Issuer or Distributor.
Purchase authorisation is an electronic data exchange process consisting of the claim for the Purchase authorisation and the Purchase authorisation reply messages.
Purchase is a purchase of a product or service from the Merchant which is completely or partially paid by the Gift card balance.
Merchant is a legal person which has agreed with the Issuer on the acceptance of the Gift cards as payment for its sold goods or provided services.
Claim is a complaint submitted in writing by the Buyer or User to the Issuer or Distributor regarding the functionality of the Gift card, use of the Service price list and transactions made by the card, Nominal value or Balance, as well as other issues related to the Gift card.
Supervision and control institutions are consumer rights protection institutions, institutions regulating or supervising the financial and capital market, tax control and supervision institutions, control institutions on the prevention of money laundering or other state administration institutions supervising or controlling the Issuer’s activity.
Statement is a document form possessed by the Reception Department staff of JSC “Viesnīca Latvija” ESPA Riga, filled in by the employee in the cases mentioned in these Regulations by issuing a copy of the Statement to the User/Buyer. The completed original of the Statement shall be submitted by the employee to the Head of the Reception Department of ESPA Riga by the end of the same working day at the latest, who shall submit it to the Issuer by 12.00 p.m. of the following working day at the latest.

2. TYPES OF ELECTRONIC GIFT CARDS

2.1. Design and nominal value of the gift cards.
2.1.1. The Issuer shall issue Gift cards of four types.
2.1.2. Types of gift cards:
2.1.2.1. A gift card for a particular previously selected procedure;
2.1.2.2. A gift card for a visit to the recreation area;
2.1.2.3. A gift card for which the Buyer himself/herself freely sets the desired Nominal value from EUR 15.00 to EUR 150.00. Gift cards with a nominal value of less than EUR 15.00 shall not be issued. Gift cards with a nominal value which exceeds EUR 150.00 shall be prepared in several Gift cards.
2.1.3. The nominal value of the Gift card shall be printed and indicated on the gift card in EUR.
2.1.4. The Gift cards shall be issued by indicating the expiration date.
2.1.5. The Gift cards shall be issued without indicating the names and surnames of the Buyer and User on them.
2.1.6. The design of the Gift cards, including all the information to be indicated on the Gift card, shall be determined by the Issuer.

3. ACQUISITION OF ELECTRONIC GIFT CARDS

3.1. Places of acquisition of the Gift cards.
3.1.1. The Issuer shall distribute the Gift cards through the mediation of the Distributors.
3.1.2. Buyers – physical persons may acquire the Gift cards on the website www.espariga.com.
3.2. Acquisition of the Gift cards.
3.2.1. The Buyer shall select a particular type of service – procedure, visit to a recreation area or a Gift card with a particular nominal value on the website.
3.2.2. The Buyer shall enter the contact information.
3.2.3. The Buyer shall acquaint himself/herself with the regulations developed by the Distributor and mark that he/she agrees to them.
3.2.4. The Buyer shall pay the full sum of the nominal value of the Gift card before the receipt of the Gift card using his/her bank payment card.
3.2.5. The Buyer shall pay the nominal value of the Gift card by using a payment card managed by the Distributor. The information about the payment cards which may be used for payment of the nominal value of the Gift cards shall be indicated in the places of distribution of the Gift cards.
3.2.6. The Distributor shall issue a Gift card to the Buyer (a physical person) after it has received confirmation of the payment of the nominal value of the Gift card from the payment card issuing bank regarding the reservation of funds on the card account for payment of the nominal value of the Gift card.
3.2.7. After a successful transaction a client shall receive the Gift card to the indicated e-mail address with the ordered service.
3.3. Replenishment of the Gift card balance.
3.3.1. After the issue of the Gift card to the Buyer, the nominal value of the Gift card may no longer be changed.
3.3.2. The Gift card balance may not be renewed or replenished by new instalments and after its spending the Gift card shall be considered as invalid and cancelled.

5. TRANSFER OF GIFT CARDS TO THIRD PARTIES

5.1. Both the Buyer and Users shall be entitled to freely transfer the Gift cards to other Users. Physical transfer of a Gift card to another person shall also include the transfer of all the rights and obligations related to the Gift card to this person.
5.2. Transfer of Gift cards to the User shall not be connected with, nor depend on any formalities or obligation to inform the Issuer or Distributor.
5.3. The actual and sole lawful User and owner of the Gift card shall be considered the person who actually possesses the Gift card.
5.4. The User shall get all the rights and obligations related to the Gift card from the moment of receipt of the Gift card and starting its use, i.e. by exercising any rights of the user of the Gift card stipulated in the Regulations.

6. PURCHASES BY GIFT CARDS

6.1. The persons who are allowed to make Purchases by a Gift card:
6.1.1. The Gift card for the payment of Purchases may be spent by any person possessing the Gift card.
6.1.2. Neither the Merchants who accept Gift cards for the payment of Purchases, nor the Issuer, nor the Distributors, shall have an obligation to check if the User is the actual and lawful User of the Gift card and how the User has obtained the Gift card, and if the User has a legal basis to use their held Gift card.
6.2. Gift cards may be used for the payment of Goods or Services in any place indicated by the Issuer or Distributor.
6.3. Payment of Purchases by a Gift card.
6.3.1. The User may use the Gift card for an unlimited number of Purchases, unless the total amount of Purchases paid by the Gift card exceeds the nominal value of the Gift card or its expiration date has passed.
6.3.2. The Merchant shall not have the right to refuse acceptance of a valid Gift card for the payment of a Purchase made from the Merchant, except in the case if the respective transaction corresponds to the features of a suspicious financial transaction determined by the Issuer or features of an unusual transaction prescribed in the laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia, or the Merchant’s Electronic payment device does not operate, or if the Gift card submitted to the Merchant is considered as invalid.
6.3.3. If the Gift card balance is insufficient to make a payment for a Purchase, the Merchant shall have an obligation to accept the Gift card as payment for the Purchase if the lacking sum is paid by the User in cash or by a payment card.
6.4. The Merchant shall submit a printout – receipt of payment for a Purchase by a Gift card, confirming a transaction of the Electronic payment device to the User on which the Merchant’s bank details, the last four digits of the Gift card number, a description of the Purchase and the Purchase sum paid by the Gift card, as well as the cash register receipt are indicated.
6.5. After receipt of the Purchase authorisation the Purchase transaction may be cancelled only in the case if the Merchant agrees to it according to its transaction conclusion policy or if the data indicated in the Electronic payment device receipt issued to the User do not correspond to the transaction made by the User or do not correspond to the data indicated in the cash register receipt issued to the User.
6.6. The Purchases for which a payment is fully or partially made by the Gift card may be cancelled according to the procedure prescribed in the laws and regulations.
6.7. The User may receive a report on the Purchases paid by the Gift card at the Merchant in any sales location not later than 1 (one) year after the expiration date of the Gift card indicated on the Gift card.
6.8. Gift cards may not be used for the receipt of cash from the Merchant. The Merchant shall not disburse the Gift card balance irrespective of the sum.
6.9. The User may check the Gift card balance at the Distributor for free in any sales location by submitting the Gift card to the Distributor’s employee.

7. EXPIRATION DATE OF THE GIFT CARD

7.1. Gift card is valid and may be used for Purchases from the moment it is issued to the Buyer.
7.2. The expiration date of the Gift card shall pass on the day following the date which is 12 months from the day of purchase of the gift card.

8. INVALID ELECTRONIC GIFT CARDS

8.1. Gift cards which correspond to at least one of the following features shall be considered as invalid - (a) their expiration date has passed, (b) their balance is equal to EUR 0 - (zero euros), (c) they are damaged or (d) they are falsified or they have falsification features.
8.2. Gift cards which shall be considered as invalid pursuant to Clause 9.1 shall not be accepted as payment for Purchases.
8.3. Gift card, the nominal value of which has been completely spent, shall be considered as invalid irrespective of the valid expiration date.
8.4. Falsified Gift cards shall be annulled and their User shall lose all the User’s rights from the moment of establishing a falsification.

9. EXCHANGE OF GIFT CARDS

9.1. Exchange of damaged Gift cards.
9.1.1. Gift cards which have mechanical damage and which may not therefore be used for the payment of Purchases may be exchanged for a new Gift card if it is possible to see at least either a full card number or use the magnetic strip of the damaged Gift card. The Gift card number shall be considered as invisible if at least one digit of the Gift card number may not be seen or clearly stated.
9.1.2. If neither a full card number is seen, nor is it possible to use the magnetic strip of the damaged Gift card, the Gift card shall not be exchanged for a new Gift card.
9.1.3. The damaged Gift cards mentioned in Paragraph 9.1.1 of the Regulations may be exchanged for new Gift cards by any Distributor. To exchange a damaged Gift card the User shall submit the damaged Gift card to the Distributor along with a written application. The Distributor shall check the balance of the damaged Gift card and accept the application for the exchange of the damaged Gift cardThe User may receive a new Gift card with an equal balance to the balance of the damaged Gift card in the Issuer’s office within 2 (two) working days from the moment of acceptance of the application.
9.1.4. The Distributor shall draw up a statement of defects on the exchange of a damaged Gift card. The User’s name, surname, personal identity number, contact phone and nature of the damage of the Gift card to be exchanged shall be indicated in the statement of defects. The statement of defects shall be signed by the Distributor’s employee who accepts the application for the exchange of the Gift card and the User who wishes to have the damaged Gift card exchanged.
9.1.5. The Distributor shall not exchange a damaged Gift card if the damaged Gift card is not submitted.
9.2. Lost Gift cards.
9.2.1. Buyers and Users shall be responsible for the storage and retention of Gift cards. Lost or invalid Gift cards shall not be renewed and may not be suspended or annulled. This Paragraph also refers to stolen or unlawfully taken Gift cards from the Buyer or User.

10. SUSPENSION OF GIFT CARDS

10.1. The Merchant shall not be entitled to suspend an Gift card unless the Gift card is to be declared falsified pursuant to these Regulations or if the Merchant has a justified suspicion about a falsified Gift card, or if the User makes a suspicious or unusual financial transaction.
10.2. If Gift cards are suspended due to a suspicion of their falsification, the Issuer shall verify the authenticity of the submitted and suspended Gift cards. If Gift cards are declared authentic, they shall be returned to the User. If falsification of Gift cards is proved, the suspended Gift cards shall be declared invalid for further use and submitted to rights protection institutions.
10.3. If the User submits a claim to the Issuer or Distributor regarding the unlawful or unreasonable suspension of Gift cards by the Merchant, the User shall have to prove the fact of suspension of the Gift cards, as well as the fact that the suspension has been made by the Merchant or its employee. If it is proved by the User, he/she shall have the suspended Gift card returned, or, if it is not possible to return it, a new Gift card shall be issued with a balance equal to the balance of the suspended Gift card.

11. CLAIMS ON THE MADE TRANSACTIONS

11.1. If the User has requested and received a report on the transactions made by an Gift card, the User shall have an obligation to immediately, but not later than 30 (thirty) days after the receipt of the report, inform the Issuer about all errors or inaccuracies which the User has established, as well as about all transactions which he/she has not made but which are indicated in the report issued to him/her.
11.2. Claims submitted after the term mentioned in Paragraph 11.1 of the Regulations shall not be reviewed and the refusal of their review shall not be disputed and appealed.
11.3. The User shall have an obligation to check the message which is indicated in the printout (receipt) issued to the User confirming the transaction of the Electronic payment device on the transaction made by the User, compliance with the transaction actually made by the User and information indicated on the cash register cheque until the moment when the User signs the aforementioned receipt. Afterwards, the accuracy of this information and compliance with the transaction made by the User shall not be disputed by the User.
11.4. Claim submission procedure.
11.4.1. The claims mentioned in Paragraphs 11.1 and 11.2 of the Regulations (hereinafter referred to as “Claims”) shall be submitted in writing by specifying the name, surname, personal identity code, contact phone and address of the submitter of the Claim, Gift card number, the transactions made by the Gift card disputed by the submitter of the Claim, facts and circumstances justifying the Claim, and the request of the submitter of the Claim. The documents shall be attached to the claim (if such are available to the submitter of the Claim) confirming the facts and circumstances stated in the Claim.
11.4.2. The Claim shall be submitted directly to the Issuer to the address indicated in the Gift card.
11.4.3. The Gift card shall be attached to the Claim regarding which the Claim is submitted. If the submitter of the Claim is not able to submit the Gift card, the Claim shall not be accepted.
11.4.4. Upon accepting the Claim, the Issuer’s representative shall check the balance and authenticity of the Gift card and issue a confirmation to the User on the receipt of the Claim where the name, surname, personal identity number, number of the received Gift card and balance shall be indicated. The User shall confirm the correctness of the information specified in the confirmation by his/her signature on the Issuer’s copy.
11.5. The User’s Claims shall be reviewed by the Issuer within 10 (ten) working days after the receipt of the Claim and the Issuer shall send a written reply to the User. If the received reply is not satisfactory for the User, the User shall be entitled to submit the dispute to court for review upon his/her choice according to the laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia.

12. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ISSUER AND DISTRIBUTORS

12.1. Neither the Issuer nor the Distributors shall be responsible for the faults, safety and conformity of goods and services, the purchase payment of which is made by the Gift card, and all the requests and claims regarding the abovementioned shall be raised against the respective Merchant or other persons responsible for the safety, faults or conformity of the goods and services pursuant to the law.
12.2. Neither the Issuer nor the Distributors shall be responsible for the Merchants’ activities or inactivity, nor shall they provide any guarantees or confirmations to the User regarding the Merchant and its sold goods or services. The User shall himself/herself undertake the risk for all transactions with the Merchant.
12.3. The Issuer shall reply to the User according to the procedure prescribed in these Regulations on the loss of the electronic cash paid to the Gift card and incorrectly executed transactions when using the Gift card, if the loss of the electronic cash or incorrectly executed transaction is caused due to the fault or incorrect operation of the Gift card, Gift card system or Electronic payment device, except for in the case if the respective fault or incorrect operation has been caused by the User himself/herself or it has been caused due to the intentional activity of a third party.
12.4. The Issuer and the Distributors shall not be responsible for the indirect losses and loss of earnings of the Buyers and Users, as well as the losses incurred by the Buyer or User due to loss, theft, declaring the Gift card invalid or other unlawful taking, damaging of the Gift card or its declaring invalid.
12.5. The Issuer’s and Distributors’ responsibility towards the Buyer and User according to these Regulations shall not exceed the balance sum of the Gift card which the particular Buyer or User has lost due to the fault of the Issuer, Distributor or provider of the Gift card system. When calculating losses, the Purchases and their value that are not disputed according to these Regulations, shall not be counted as being lost.

13. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

13.1. The Issuer and Distributors shall be entitled to process the Buyers’ and Users’ personal data, as far as it is necessary for the fulfilment of these regulations, maintenance and operation of the Gift card system and fulfilment and meeting of the regulations and requirements of legal and supervision and control institutions binding upon the Issuer and Distributors.
13.2. The Issuer and Distributors shall be entitled to transfer the maintenance and operation functions of the Gift card system and the Buyers’ and Users’ data processing necessary for these purposes to a provider of the Gift card system.

14. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE

14.1. All disputes regarding the execution of these Regulations and the contract on the Gift card shall be reviewed in the court of the Republic of Latvia upon the plaintiff’s choice according to the Issuer’s location if they have not been settled by means of mutual negotiation of the Buyer or User with the Issuer.