J. Crew Hit With Credit Card Class Action Lawsuit

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A New York man is seeking damages on behalf of himself and potentially hundreds of thousands of others affected by federal violations alleged in a J. Crew credit card class action lawsuit.

The man alleges that he made purchases at stores in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey using his Discover Card. According to the class action lawsuit, each receipt he received included the last four digits of his credit card number but also the first five, reportedly a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

The class action lawsuit alleges that the statute prohibits companies from issuing receipts that “display the expiration date or more than the last five digits of the card number” and retailers like J. Crew needed to be in compliance by Dec. 4, 2006. Any additional information, the class action lawsuit argues, increases the likelihood of identity theft by making it easier for criminals to figure out the full number.

Moreover, credit card companies like MasterCard and VISA had warned retailers about the change and required immediate compliance. In the case of the latter, a 2006 “Rules for Visa Merchants” expressly required that “only the last 4 digits of an account number should be printed on the customer’s copy of the receipt” with no expiration date at all, as does a 2011 update. The 2012 edition of MasterCard’s agreement had similar requirements.

With those guidelines in place, the class action lawsuit alleges that J. Crew should have been aware of the requirements of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. There is other evidence, according to the lead plaintiff, as well. The plaintiff notes that J. Crew’s “knowledge of the FACTA requirements is evidenced by their removal of expiration dates[.]”

However, the company uses the first five digits to help distinguish among customers, according to the class action lawsuit, in cases where the final four digits are the same in order to “monitor each customer’s specific purchases and returns, compile such data from stores across the United States, and share same within the entire J. Crew network,” Kamal alleges.

As a result, he seeks to represent a putative Class of “all persons or entities to whom defendants provided an electronically printed receipt at the point of sale or transaction, in a sale or transaction occurring after June 3, 2008, which receipt displayed the first 5 digits and last 4 digits of each customer’s credit card or debit card.”

Kamal is represented by class action attorneys from Robert A. Solomon PC, Frank & Bianco LLP and Nabli & Associates PC.

The J. Crew Credit Card Class Action Lawsuit is Ahmed Kamal v. J. Crew Group Inc., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-00190 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.