Latest of FACTA Credit Card Receipt Settlements is the Largest Yet

The latest of FACTA credit card receipt settlements has been granted preliminary approval, and amounts to almost $31 million in total award money.

Like many FACTA lawsuits, this was filed as a class action. Lead plaintiff Shane Flaum alleges that when he bought food at one of the Subway restaurants in Florida, the business printed a receipt that displayed the last four digits of his Visa card and its full expiration date.

While displaying the last four digits or even five digits of a card number is allowed—and, in fact, common practice—displaying any portion of a card’s expiration date plainly violates the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA.

According to FACTA: “No person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of sale or transaction.”

In response to this FACTA violation, Flaum filed a putative class action lawsuit that targets this Subway restaurant as well as other Subway restaurants in Florida, claiming that these chain stores committed these FACTA violations on multiple occasions against a large number of consumers in willful violation of FACTA rules.

The FACTA class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Preliminary approval was granted to the settlement on March 23^rd.

The nearly $31 million award amount is the largest award known in the history of FACTA credit card receipt settlements so far. The award will be divided between all Class Members. Those eligible for a settlement award include Subway patrons who received receipts that displayed their card’s full expiration date between Jan. 1, 2016 and March 23, 2017.

Subway attempted to have this case dismissed, but that motion was denied.

FACTA Basics

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, more commonly known as FACTA, is a set of credit and debit card receipt rules that regulate what information can be printed on a receipt and what cannot, helping to protect consumers’ account information. These simple FACTA receipt rules prevent important information from being printed, which in turn works to prevent potential fraud or identity theft.

The credit and debit card receipt rules outlined by FACTA were first passed in 2003, and have been in full force since 2006.

FACTA receipt rules require that businesses follow specific truncation requirements to censor the credit card information printed on their customers’ receipts. If these receipt rules are not adequately followed, businesses have committed a FACTA violation that may be penalized.

FACTA credit card receipt rules require that no more than the last five digits of a credit or debit card number may be displayed on receipts. The rest of the digits must be censored. Five digits or fewer taken from elsewhere in the card number may not be displayed; only the last five digits are permissible to appear on a receipt. For example, this follows FACTA receipt rules:

**** **** ***5 4321

as does this:

**** **** **** 4321

FACTA receipt rules also prohibit businesses from printing any portion of a card’s expiration date.

FACTA Credit Card Receipt Settlements

Proving that a business violated FACTA receipt rules is fairly simple. Take note of whether or not your receipts follow receipt rules for both card numbers and expiration dates. If they do not, then you may have grounds to file a FACTA lawsuit against the business responsible. This has resulted in substantial FACTA credit card receipt settlements for many consumers in the past.

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.

Get Started