Costco Fights Truncation Claims in FACTA Class Action Lawsuit

Costco Wholesale Corporation has recently been hit with a potential class action Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) lawsuit, after allegedly printing too many numbers on credit card receipts.

Filed in Illinois federal court, Costco is moving to dismiss this claim by stating the receipts were not actually within the point of sale.

Under FACTA law, electronically printed debit and credit card receipts must show no more than the last five digits of the card and must omit the expiration date on the receipts.

These credit card receipt laws also state that these receipts must adhere to FACTA policy at the point of sale, which is proof of when the item was purchased.

However, due to Costco arguing that these credit card receipts were not printed at the point of sale, these receipts do not violate federal credit card receipt laws, according to the warehouse club.

The class action FACTA lawsuit is being filed by Plaintiff Emiguela Paci, who alleges Costco willfully and knowingly violated this federal policy when they printed the first six numbers of her American Express credit card on one of her receipts.

Overview of FACTA Allegations

According to her FACTA class action lawsuit against Costco, Paci discovered this violation when she went to checkout a forgotten item on a grocery trip and noticed she did not have one of the receipts for her purchases.

Reportedly after reviewing the receipts in a Costco document called Journal Report Detail Results, which is a two-page itemized document to serve as purchase confirmation, the journal report had the first six digits of her credit card.

Soon after this discovery, Paci filed a FACTA class action lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of herself and other individuals who were affected in a similar manner. Under FACTA, which was established in 2003, these credit card receipt laws apply to “any receipt provided at the point of sale or transaction.”

Paci further argued that her “replacement receipt” did not perform truncation, omitting card numbers and expiration dates required by FACTA, and that the company had willfully violated the law.

Costco argued against these claims in their dismissal motion, stating that FACTA does not apply to the journal report showing Paci’s credit card information.

This is because the receipt retrieved from the journal was printed by a Costco supervisor, rather than at the point of purchase for her merchandise.

In addition, Costco also argued that Paci could not prove willful violation and the decision to print more than the last five numbers in the replacement receipts was based on the company’s own interpretation of FACTA.

Paci has since amended her suit, seeking to address the alleged problems in Costco’s system that does not meet FACTA policy. In particular, she is stressing the fact that the journal entry was printed as “part of Costco’s point of sale system and is itself a point of sale terminal.”

FACTA policy applies to all electronically printed debit and credit card receipts produced by cash registers, self service kiosks, gas stations, and restaurants. This federal policy was established to protect consumers from identity theft and credit card fraud, making it vital for merchants to follow.

The Costco FACTA Class Action Lawsuit is Paci v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Case No. 1:16-cv-00094, in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois.

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 for a free class action lawsuit investigation and to pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

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