J.Crew Receipt Lawsuit Needs to Show Concrete Injury, Says Judge

A J. Crew receipt lawsuit regarding the number of digits on a credit card receipt is making its way through the courts.

Judge William Martini of the District of New Jersey ruled against Ahmed Kamal, who filed a putative class action suit alleging that violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) had left him vulnerable to identity thieves.

Judge Martini said Kamal’s J. Crew receipt lawsuit “failed to allege a sufficiently concrete injury” upon granting J. Crew’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

Kamal says on three different visits, J.Crew provided him a receipt with the first six and last four digits of his credit card number printed upon it. The stores were in Ocean City, Md., Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Wayne, N.J.

Judge Martini said that it “does not implicate the historic ‘right to be let alone,’ particularly when the first six digits do not pertain to the customer’s individual bank account.”

This is the second time Kamal has seen his J. Crew receipt lawsuit face a motion for dismissal. In August 2015, the judge initially denied J. Crew’s motion to dismiss. At that time, Judge Martini said that J. Crew “ignored an obvious and unjustifiably high risk of violating FACTA.”

The Bureau of Consumer Protection, a division of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), says compliance with FACTA laws are important because “credit card numbers on sales receipts are a ‘golden ticket’ for fraudsters and identity thieves.”

The J. Crew receipt lawsuit was later dismissed because of a lack of proof of concrete harm to Kamal. Kamal intends to appeal this latest decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

J. Crew Receipt Lawsuit Alleges FACTA Violations

Although the J.Crew receipt lawsuit alleges FACTA violations, Judge Martini determined the degree of potential risk of identity theft was not enough to prove concrete harm. The judge said that Kamal did not allege any third party had accessed or used his credit card information as a result of the digits appearing on the receipts.

During the J. Crew receipt lawsuit, the company said the receipts were only seen by Kamal himself because the receipts were never stolen, lost or otherwise intercepted.

The verdict was rendered without prejudice. If Kamal wants to file an amended complaint with evidence of harm, he can do that.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) provides consumers with credit card fraud protection.

According to these laws, retailers can print only the last five digits of your credit or debit card on your electronic receipt. These receipts should not show the card’s expiration date.

FACTA-compliant receipts show enough information to make the transaction identifiable to the consumer and to the retailer in the event a return or refund is required, but not enough information to benefit a would-be fraudster.

The J. Crew Receipt Lawsuit is Ahmed Kamal v. J. Crew Group Inc., et al., No. 2:15-cv-00190, in the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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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