Is your credit/debit card receipt the next multimillion-dollar FACTA settlement?

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Scott D. Owens, P.A.
Scott D. Owens, Esq.
Hollywood, Florida

Receipt violations: Who’s affected?

Did a business print too much information on your credit card or debit card receipt? If so, they may have violated federal law and you could be eligible for compensation.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is designed to protect consumers’ private information from being disclosed on receipts in order to prevent identity theft. Under FACTA, businesses can only print the last five digits of a card number on a receipt and cannot include any part of the card’s expiration date.

FACTA covers receipts for:

• Credit card and debit card transactions
• EBT card transactions
• ATM transactions 
• “Reloads” onto prepaid debit cards

When companies violate FACTA, consumers may participate in class action lawsuits. These legal actions can result in substantial settlements, holding businesses accountable for the improper handling of sensitive financial information.

Examples of recent FACTA class action settlements include:

• $30.9 million Subway receipt settlement
• $24.25 million Ikea receipt settlement
• $20 million Safeway gas station receipt settlement

Don’t wait to hold businesses accountable for putting your sensitive data at risk. If you have receipts that fail to properly truncate your credit card or debit card details, fill out the form now to see if you qualify for a FACTA class action.

Fill out the form on this page for more information.

What is FACTA?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is a federal law enacted in 2003 to enhance consumer protection in financial transactions. This legislation amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act, aiming to combat identity theft and improve the accuracy of consumer reports.

What is the proper format for a credit or debit card receipt?

Vendors can comply with the FACTA credit card receipt laws by censoring private information through truncation. Truncation is the process of hiding numbers with symbols such as * or #. These symbols act as placeholders in the system while also protecting sensitive credit card information.

A properly truncated receipt may look like the following example:

ACCT: **** **** ***0 1234

EXP: ****

Receipts that do not comply with the FACTA truncation requirement may increase a consumer’s risk of having their private credit or debit card information stolen.

What are some examples of improper card receipt formats?

If vendors print a receipt containing digits from a credit or debit card number other than the last five digits, they may be in violation of FACTA. The following truncation errors are examples of FACTA violations. Example 1 is the most common violation:

• Example 1: 1111 22** **** 4444
• Example 2: 1111 **** **** 4444
• Example 3:  **** **** ** 444444

Even if vendors print less than five digits of a card number, they may be in violation of FACTA if these digits are not the last digits of a card.

The limitations on a card’s expiration date are equally as strict, with no expiration date information allowed to be printed by a vendor. The following expiration date representations are examples of FACTA violations:

• Example 1: EXP: 03/17
• Example 2: EXP: 03/2017
• Example 3: EXP: 032017
• Example 4: EXP: 0317
• Example 5: Expires: 0317
• Example 6: Exp Date: 03/17
• Example 7: Exp Date: 03/31/17
• Example 8: EXPIRY: 03/17
• Example 9: 03/17
• Example 10: 0317
• Example 11: Date 03/**
• Example 12: **/17
• Example 13: 2017/03

What happens if I have receipts showing FACTA violations?

Stores, restaurants, and other vendors that print receipts containing more than the allowed information are violating consumers’ rights under FACTA. 

In these cases, you may be able to collect between $100 and $1,000 by participating in a FACTA class action settlement. 

Consumers who serve as lead plaintiffs in successful FACTA class action lawsuits may also receive additional incentive awards. Some have obtained up to $20,000 in these cases. Incentive awards are discretionary and decided by the court based on factors including the class representatives’ specific services to the class, any potential risks they incurred, and the amount of the incentive award in comparison to the overall recovery.

If you have credit or debit card receipts that fail to properly hide information, you may qualify to participate in this FACTA class action lawsuit investigation.

Scott D. Owens has litigated five of the largest FACTA recoveries. Some of the class action settlements he has reached include:

• $30.9 million Subway FACTA settlement
• $24.25 million Ikea FACTA settlement
• $20 million Safeway gas station FACTA settlement
• $4.75 million Cheesecake Factory FACTA settlement
• $2.5 million Jimmy Choo FACTA settlement
• $1.2 million Microsoft FACTA settlement
• $6.3 million Godiva Chocolatier FACTA Class Action Settlement
• $11 million LabCorp FACTA settlement
• $7.5 million Spirit Airlines FACTA settlement

Fill out the form on this page to see if you qualify for a free case evaluation.