Darden settles gift-card dispute with FTC

WASHINGTON Federal regulators and Darden Restaurants Inc. of Orlando, Fla., reached agreement Tuesday on restoring inactivity fees deducted from unused gift cards for the company’s Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones restaurant concepts.

Darden said it stopped charging the “dormancy fees” in October 2006 and has voluntarily restored all dormancy fees ever charged to gift cards sold through its program.  

The Federal Trade