FACTA Regulations and Policies Explained

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is a federal policy that ensures fair credit reporting for American citizens. Recently, it has been found that merchants across the country are violating FACTA by exposing personal information on the consumer’s receipts.

FACTA specifically states that no person that accepts credit or debit cards for business transactions should print more than the last five digits of the card number or expiration date on the receipt, at any point during the transaction. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act applies to all printed receipts customers receive that are printed by cash registers, self-service kiosks, and restaurants.

However, numerous consumers have complained that more than the last five digits of their debit or credit cards or their expiration dates have been printed on their receipts. If found guilty of this infraction, merchants could be found to be in violation of FACTA due to failing to protect the privacy of their consumers. Violations of these FACTA policies can range from $100 to $1,000 per violation.

Overview of FACTA Policy and Regulations

If a consumer is considering filing legal action, lawyers advise that they familiarize themselves with FACTA and its provisions. To start off, FACTA was established on Dec. 4, 2003, as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every year from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. According to FACTA policy, these credit companies must place a fraud alert on the consumers’ file for at least 90 days, and must notify all other consumer reporting agencies of fraud alert.

This FACTA policy also requires these companies to disclose this fraud alert to any credit score agency that could affect the consumer, for up to seven years. An extended alert also requires the credit agency from giving the name of the consumer to any third parties for the purpose of extending credit offering other insurance products.

There are several provisions in FACTA that are meant to help reduce the risk of identity theft, by giving consumers the ability to place alerts on their credit histories if they suspect identity theft. It also makes falsifying documents more difficult in regards to individuals who are deploying overseas in the military, as FACTA requires secure disposal of consumer information. After 60 days, all reporting agencies must provide a copy of these rules to any consumer, who reported that they may be a victim of fraud.

According to FACTA, the Federal Trade Commission must work with federal banking agencies and the National Credit Union Agency to prepare a summary of the consumer rights, in respect to remedy procedures in place to recover from fraud or identity theft. The reporting agencies must have an established means of communicating to the consumer, to update them on any blacks, fraud or identify theft alerts. Additionally, this section of FACTA requires the reporting agency to release an annual report to the FTC each year, regarding fraud alter requests and complaints.

Potential FACTA plaintiffs should also know the rights of identity theft victims, so they can take additional measures of protection.

Join a Free FACTA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you made one or more purchases and the retailer provided you with a receipt that contained more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card number or the expiration date, you may be eligible to join a free class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

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