FACTA Credit Card Receipt Laws

FACTA, or the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, was legislation enacted in 2003 to further protect consumers against identity theft.

Many consumers took advantage of FACTA’s offering of free annual credit reports from each of the three big credit reporting agencies. However, many consumers are still unaware of FACTA credit card receipt laws.

What Are FACTA Credit Card Receipt Laws?

FACTA contains provisions surrounding digitally printed credit card receipts to aid consumers in protecting their personal account information, thereby preventing identity theft.

The FACTA credit card receipt laws apply to businesses who accept debit cards and credit cards and to process point-of-sale transactions, providing customers with digitally printed receipts.

It is important to note that FACTA credit card receipt laws only apply to those receipts that are printed electronically or digitally, and do not apply to receipts that are handwritten or receipts that use a manual credit card imprinting machine that make an impression of the credit card number.

FACTA credit card receipt laws contain two main rules that businesses must follow in order to ensure compliance. They are as follows:

1. Businesses may print no more than the last five digits of a customer’s credit card number or debit card number on an electronically printed receipt.

While some businesses have violated FACTA credit card receipt laws by printing the entire account number on the customer’s receipt, many of the violations that continue today are much more subtle.

Some businesses have been found to have printed less than the five allowed digits of the credit card number, but those numbers that are printed do not fall within the last five digits of the credit card account number.

The printed digits may appear at the beginning of the account number or in the middle of the account number, and thus violate FACTA regulations.

Customers should be very vigilant when examining their electronically printed receipts to make specific note of the location of the printed digits in their account number.

2. Businesses are not allowed to print any part of a credit card’s expiration date on the electronically printed receipt.

In general, a consumer may overlook the printing of the expiration date if he or she notices that there are not enough digits in the credit card number for the added expiration date to be the problem.

However, receipts with this information are still considered FACTA violations, and consumers should act accordingly.

What If a Business Does Not Follow FACTA Credit Card Receipt Laws?

If a consumer finds that a business is not in compliance with FACTA credit card receipt laws, consumers may take legal action against the company.

FACTA does not require that customers show actual damages of being harmed by identity theft. Showing the business’ noncompliance is enough to take legal action.

Business is found in violation of FACTA may be responsible to pay statutory damages to an individual in an amount ranging from $100-$1000 per violation.

If you have a receipt that is not compliant with FACTA, you may be eligible to receive legal compensation. A FACTA attorney can review your case for free and can help you determine your eligibility.

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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