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Monday, April 07, 2008
Law - Look at your charge receipt; it's likely you too can bring a class action
"Landslide of Suits Over Data on Receipts: 16-month-old statute decried as a 'gotcha' law brings 300 class actions," is the headline to this story today by Tresa Baldas of The National Law Journal. It begins:
A 16-month-old federal law designed to keep private information off customer receipts has triggered an onslaught of class actions against businesses.[More] Read the above in conjunction with "Costco, Kinko's Battle Trial Lawyers Over Credit-Card Receipts", by Cynthia Cotts of Bloomberg News.Since the law went into effect, defense counsel say more than 300 class actions have been filed against a number of companies, including Toys "R" Us Inc., Inter IKEA Systems B.v. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.. They are accused of printing on receipts too much credit card information, thus increasing the likelihood of identify theft. Several of the class actions have been certified.
Online retailers are also getting hit. A federal judge in Florida recently held that the law covers both Internet and store receipts. Grabein v. 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., No. 07-22235-CIV (S.D. Fla.).
Under the law, known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), it is illegal to print on a receipt more than the last five digits of a credit card number or the card's expiration date.
Lawyers warn that one technical mistake could be disastrous because plaintiffs need only prove a willful, technical violation -- not actual harm -- to be entitled to statutory damages between $100 and $1,000 per violation. Add up every noncompliant receipt, and a company could be facing huge penalties.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 7, 2008 05:26 PM
Posted to General Law Related