Plaintiffs Call for Early Victory in Costco FACTA Class Action Lawsuit

A Costco FACTA class action lawsuit has been filed by a group of concerned customers alleging their electronically printed credit card receipts exposed them to increased risk of fraud and identity theft.

These customers allege their receipts showed too many of their card numbers, and have asked an Illinois federal court to speed the litigation process along.

The consumers believe a quick resolution to the Costco FACTA class action lawsuit is needed, stating their receipts illustrate direct violations of federal privacy law.

Overview of Costco FACTA Class Action Lawsuit

The putative class is led by lead plaintiff Emiguela Paci, who states the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) will clearly favor the consumers in this case.

Under FACTA policy, merchants can only show the last five digits of the debit or credit card on the electronically printed receipts and must completely omit the expiration date.

Paci alleges one of her receipts had included both the last four digits and the first six digits of her credit card, which may increase the chances of her experiencing credit card fraud or identity theft.

Paci’s motion states she has earned summary judgment, based on the fact that it “has confirmed that the receipt is printed within a Costco store and that the machine that prints the subject receipt is part of Costco’s point of sale system. [C]ostco used the default setting from Toshiba that was preset to print the first six digits of the credit card’s card number.”

Furthermore, Paci alleges Costco was aware its receipts were not FACTA compliant.

Furthermore, Paci also states that her receipt shows definite harm under the guidelines of the United States Supreme Court’s Spokeo ruling. This case stated that plaintiffs who file for damages under FACTA must show concrete injury and not just a statutory violation.

“Plaintiff [as] a factual matter has had to take time in doing something she would not have to normally do, expend time to protect her receipt, which she has done, instead of simply throwing out her receipts,” Paci’s lawyers said.

Recently, the company had tried to have the Costco FACTA class action lawsuit dismissed, arguing the card numbers simply identified Paci’s card as American Express.

Costco further argued that the first six numbers on all American Express cards are identical, and therefore does not pose any risk of fraud or identity theft.

“The identity of the issuing bank is lawful to print on receipts in word form and, thus, not unlawful to print in numerical form,” Costco representatives said.

The receipt at the center of the Costco FACTA class action lawsuit was a replacement receipt printed by a store manager, in which the company argued is a journal receipt.

The company points out that FACTA only applies to electronically printed receipts, which are produced at the point of sale. Paci disagrees with this sentiment, and will continue to lead the Costco FACTA class action lawsuit.

The Costco FACTA Class Action Lawsuit is Paci v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. 1:16-cv-00094, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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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