FACTA Settlements Yield Millions in Payments

Have your receipts been affected by violations of the Fair and Accurate Consumer Transactions Act? You may be able to seek compensation. Consumers have already reached significant FACTA settlements with major companies.

These FACTA settlements have included agreements with Spirit Airlines, LabCorp, and Doctors Associations, Inc.

Spirit Airlines reached FACTA settlements with around 350,000 Class Members, totaling $7.5 million. LabCorp reached a $11 million settlement with 665,000 consumers, and Doctors Associates (the company behind Subway) settled with 2.6 million consumers for $30.9 million. Each of these FACTA settlements came about because the respective businesses allegedly violated FACTA rules by printing certain off-limits credit card information.

Basics of FACTA

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) was first passed by Congress back in 2003 to help protect consumers’ information from fraud and identity theft. It does this by limiting the amount of information that can be printed on debit and credit card receipts. After it was initially passed, businesses had a few years’ grace period to update their machines or purchase machines that company with the new rules. FACTA rules have been in full force since 2006.

Knowing the rules of FACTA can help consumers protect their private information. Consumers who report violations of FACTA rules may even be eligible for some kind of financial compensation. Businesses that fully understand these FACTA credit and debit card receipt rules are also better able to protect their customers and avoid potential lawsuits or paying out (sometimes massive) FACTA settlements.

There are two pieces of information that FACTA prohibits in order to prevent identity theft from receipts: any digits other than the last five digits of the credit or debit card number, as well as any portion of the card’s expiration date.

Truncating, or shortening, the credit card number in any way other than this is a FACTA violation. For instance, printing the first five digits is not allowed—only the last five. Printing fewer than the last five digits is allowed, as long as the numbers are from within those last five digits.

The expiration date must not be simply truncated, but rather censored entirely.

When a business violates FACTA rules, it can affect more than just one person’s information. This is because a machine that prints one receipt in violation of FACTA rules prints every other receipt with the same errors. If you notice a FACTA receipt violation, hundreds or even thousands of other customers may have been affected by the same violation.

Pursuing FACTA Settlements

If you have received a printed receipt that displays more than the last five digits of your card number, or any portion of the card’s expiration date, you may be entitled to some compensation through a class action lawsuit. Some lawsuits may result in FACTA settlements. FACTA offers awards of up to $1,000 per violation of FACTA credit and debit card receipt rules.

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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