Buttermilk Falls Gift Card Policy Sparks Consumer Concerns Over Expiration

Customers who purchased or received gift cards at Buttermilk Falls Inn and Spa in Milton for future spa visits say they were surprised this month to learn their cards are no longer valid, following a change in policy by the resort.

Buttermilk Falls began renovating its spa and other facilities around 2019. Spa services closed intermittently and, at times, entirely. Customers report being told the closures were temporary and that gift cards would be honored once renovations were complete. Many say they delayed using their cards based on those assurances. Earlier this month, some learned through phone calls or social media posts that their cards had expired and would not be redeemed.

“I was told they were expired”

Local residents report being informed that their gift cards were no longer valid, despite some cards having no expiration date printed on them. Several customers said they had held cards for four or five years, often worth hundreds of dollars.

Across social media posts, a consistent explanation emerges: customers waited because the spa experience they purchased the cards for was not fully available.

“They kept telling us the renovations were coming,” one resident wrote. “So we waited.”

The policy change

Buttermilk Falls issued a written notice in June of 2025 stating that it would now strictly adhere to New York State’s gift card expiration rules. The notice says that while the resort had previously honored gift cards beyond expiration, it would no longer do so.

Under New York law, gift certificates generally may not expire earlier than nine years from the date they were issued or from the date funds were last loaded. For gift cards sold before December 10, 2022, earlier state minimums applied, commonly five years, depending on the terms disclosed at the time of sale.

Applied retroactively under the resort’s new policy, gift cards purchased in 2019 were deemed expired in 2024, with cards from 2020 expiring in 2025. Customers who waited while the spa remained closed were told their cards had crossed those thresholds.

New York’s General Business Law sets minimum consumer protections for gift certificates and store credits. Among its key provisions:

• Expiration dates must be clearly disclosed. Any expiration date must be clearly and conspicuously stated on the gift card itself, its packaging, or accompanying materials.
• Terms cannot be changed after issuance. Businesses may not alter the terms of a gift certificate after it has been sold.
• No dormancy or service fees are permitted, meaning gift cards cannot lose value over time due to inactivity, and most fees are prohibited.
• Most gift certificates must remain valid for at least nine years, unless they fall into narrow exceptions, such as promotional or loyalty cards. Gift cards issued in the earlier, pre-December 10, 2022 period generally expire five years from the date of purchase, but only if an expiration date was clearly and conspicuously disclosed at the time of sale.

The Attorney General may seek injunctions, restitution, and civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, without requiring proof of individual financial harm. The law establishes minimum standards. It does not require a business to invalidate gift cards immediately upon reaching the earliest permissible expiration date, nor does it prohibit businesses from honoring cards beyond those limits.

What consumers can do

Customers report gift card values ranging from $75 to $800. Some say they are preparing complaints with New York State’s Consumer Protection Division per their website:

The New York State Division of Consumer Protection provides resources and education materials to consumers on product safety, as well as voluntary mediation services between consumers and businesses. The Consumer Assistance Helpline 1-800-697-1220 is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm, excluding State Holidays, and consumer complaints can be filed at any time at www.dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection.

Frustration and trust concerns

Customers say the issue is not only about legal expiration dates, but about expectations formed over years of delayed renovations. Many describe being encouraged, explicitly or implicitly, to wait for the spa’s reopening. Some say they relied on those representations when deciding not to redeem their cards for other services.

The spa renovation, now entering its sixth year, has no publicly stated completion date.

Whether the gift cards complied with all disclosure requirements at the time of sale, and whether prior assurances affect enforceability, remains unresolved.

Buttermilk Falls is the largest hospitality employer in Marlborough. Its owner, Robert Pollock, is pursuing several multi-million-dollar development projects in the town, including expansions at Buttermilk Falls and proposed developments in downtown Milton, all of which require town approvals.

In 2025, State Assemblymember Joe Moloney publicly called for an Attorney General investigation into what he described as a broader “culture of corruption” in Marlborough government, citing alleged relationships between town officials and a major developer identified in news reports as Pollock. The status of that investigation has not been publicly resolved.