Party City Class Action Lawsuit Claims FACTA Violations

Three plaintiffs have filed a Party City class action lawsuit, alleging the chain of party supply stores has been violation federal credit card receipt laws. On Jan. 23, 2018, this Party City class action lawsuit was certified in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The complainants involved in this Party City class action lawsuit have alleged that the company violated their right to privacy under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). The plaintiffs which filed the Party City class action lawsuit are Anthony M., Nicola G., and Joan P.

The allegations they made were based upon receipts generated by the party supply retailer between March 1, 2016 and Nov. 2, 2016 which supposedly had full American Express expiration dates printed on them.

According to FACTA, printing a credit card expiration date on a transaction receipt is prohibited. This is to protect consumers from would-be identity thieves.

What are the Rules of FACTA?

In 2003, FACTA was passed as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Its intention was to address the problem of identify theft by putting key protections into place. In terms of this Party City class action lawsuit, the most relevant rules of FACTA concern what information may and may not be included on a receipt.

According to FACTA, only the last five digits of the credit card number can be printed on a credit transaction receipt. There are no exceptions as to which five numbers can appear—it may only be the last five. Instead of numbers, retailers often use placeholder text such as number signs or stars.

Second, under no circumstances is it acceptable to allow any reference to the credit card’s expiration date to be printed. The idea behind this is that it makes hunting for credit card information by process of elimination much more difficult to criminals.

Party City Points the Finger Elsewhere

Party City has responded to the allegations, according to Law360, by attempting to point the finger of blame at the American Express Company itself and a contracted credit card processor known as Cayan LLC. It claims that there was no willful disregard of the law with respect to FACTA and the expiration date printing that occurred.

Party City says that Cayan LLC was assigned with revamping their payment system to allow chipped cards. They also said that this revamping was necessary to remain in compliance with American Express.

The U.S. District Court federal judge that certified this Party City class action lawsuit is not concerned with the third-party aspect of this case. Even with that element, he is certain all parties to the case can complete pretrial preparations prior to a court date tentatively set for Oct. 10, 2018.

If you have had your credit card information wrongly printed on a Party City or any other retail or restaurant transaction receipt in violation of your rights, you may qualify to join a FACTA class action lawsuit and receive a free legal consultation.

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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