redeem gift certificate, pending balance

[LizD567]

I had a client purchase a merchant gift certificate for services.  When she came to see me she hadn't redeemed the gift certificate in advance because she couldn't find the email and the code.  I thought that I could move the certificate from pending and apply it to the payment for services, but I couldn't.  It's been approximately a year since the original purchase - will paypal automatically release the pending amount to me (the merchant) after one year?  if not, when or what do I do?

[Misty11]

Hello LizD567,

Proceeds from gift certificate sales are held in a pending balance in your PayPal account until the recipient redeems part or all of the gift certificate value, or for 18 months from the purchase date, whichever comes first. If a gift certificate is not redeemed for 18 months from the purchase date, the proceeds from the sale are automatically transferred to your available balance. You can also view the Merchant Gift Certificate Agreement for more information.

I hope this is helpful.

~Misty