Williams-Sonoma Class Action Filed over ZIP Code Collection

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On Wednesday, a Massachusetts woman filed a class action lawsuit against Williams-Sonoma Inc. claiming the home goods retailer violates state law by collecting ZIP codes from customers who make credit card purchases.

Plaintiff Judith Monteferrante alleges that Williams-Sonoma collects users’ ZIP codes when they make purchases with their credit cards, and uses the information to identify the customers’ addresses through commercial databases. The home goods retailer then sends customers unwanted junk mail directly to their homes.

Monteferrante alleges she provided her ZIP code upon request at a Williams-Sonoma store in Massachusetts because she believed she was required to do so in order to complete the transaction. According to the ZIP code collection class action lawsuit, Monteferrante subsequently received unwanted marketing materials from Williams-Sonoma at her home address.

The Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit points to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts who issued a March 2013 ruling in Tyler v. Michaels Stores Inc. that retailers are prohibited by state law from collecting ZIP codes as part of credit card transactions.

“Data mining is one of the more pernicious practices in which retailers engage,” Monteferrante alleges in the class action lawsuit. “Like crows collecting shiny bits of silver to line their nests, retailers like Williams-Sonoma use whatever means necessary to collect customer data so that they can better market their wares,” she continues.

“Indeed, the collection of personally identifiable information is rampant, and it results in intrusive direct marketing and the invasion of consumers’ privacy, as consumers’ identities and purchasing habits become valuable commodities that can be bought and sold without their consent,” the Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit says.

In response to consumers’ desire for protection, Massachusetts passed a law that prohibits retailers from collecting personal identification information, including ZIP codes, from customers when they pay with a credit card. According to the Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit, the law “is designed to protect consumers’ privacy by preventing retailers from using a consumer’s decision to pay with a credit card as an excuse for collecting personally identifiable information.”

Retailers like Williams-Sonoma can use ZIP codes for targeted marketing purposes or by selling the names and addresses of customers to third parties.

By filing the Williams-Sonoma ZIP code class action lawsuit, Monteferrante seeks to represent herself and a Class of Massachusetts consumers whose personal identification information was wrongfully collected by Williams-Sonoma and who subsequently received marketing materials from the retailer since April 15, 2009.

The Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit asserts the retailer violated the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act and was unjustly enriched by its ZIP code collection practices. She seeks injunctive relief, statutory damages of $25 for each Class Member, treble damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with the class action lawsuit.

Monteferrante is represented by Greg Blankinship of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, and Kim Richman of The Richman Law Group.

The Williams-Sonoma ZIP Code Class Action Lawsuit is Monteferrante v. Williams-Sonoma Inc., Case No. 16-cv-10578, in the U.S. District Court for the State of Massachusetts.