If this is established as a precedent though how far will it apply? Do ISP's have to turn unused internet bandwidth over to the government too? It doesn't seem feasible.
What about the case of airline points? Those are used almost interchangeably with cash. Hell, didn't American Airlines pay Citi in points once?
The calling cards are good for X minutes. Is it legal to expire those minutes? Seems like gift card sellers have been restricted in their ability to erode gift card value.
If you then notify the state that they have your money (such as via http://ucp.dor.wa.gov/ ), then you can file a claim, and they'll give you the money.
Phone cards are basically just (small) deposit accounts that are withdrawn against for one particular purchase. It makes a lot of sense that they'd fall under the same law.
Your "slippery slope" example on the other hand doesn't seem to match, because ISPs charge a fixed price for daily access. They don't (currently) take a deposit and then debit that account based on usage. If they did, then it seems like it might fall under the same laws.
How exactly will D.C. redistribute the pre-purchased minutes to their rightful owners? My guess is they wont, which is why calling it a cash grab is appropriate.
It seems more likely that the difference is that cable companies usually bill later, whereas prepaid phones obviously bill up front.
No. Bank deposits are accounted for as money held in trust under a limited power of attorney, the total principal value must be reserved against by high-quality assets, and they are super-senior debt instruments that have priority in liquidation.
The purchase price of phone cards is accounted for as income for the phone company, the cards are sold to provide a bearer service contract, they can discount the sale price to account for minutes that will not be used, reserves are whatever the phone company wants, and they are junior instruments that have low priority in liquidation.