Customer Files Hilton FACTA Class Action Over Card Info On Receipts

A Hilton customer has filed a class action lawsuit claiming that the hotel chain violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) by displaying too much of his debit and credit card information on receipts given to him.

The Hilton receipt information class action lawsuit was filed by Kevin Rouse, a Minnesota resident. He says that he stayed at Hilton’s Fiji Beach Resort and Spa in December 2019. Allegedly, he made multiple card payments while staying at the resort, particularly at The Deli restaurant and Jack’s of Fiji shop, owned by the company.

According to Rouse, he received paper point-of-sale receipts for his purchases. He claims that the receipts contained too much information on them. Allegedly, the FACTA allows businesses to only print the last five digits of a card number on a customer receipt, but Hilton printed the first and last four digits of the card number. The FTC explains that even if there are fewer than five digits printed on a receipt, the law may still have been violated if those visible digits are anything other than the last five.

Investopedia explains that FACTA specifically mandates truncation, and prohibits the inclusion of more than the last five digits of a card number on customer copies of receipts, as opposed to merchant copies. The Hilton customer receipt class action lawsuit stresses that a customer copy is what was provided to Rouse.

In his Hilton receipt information class action lawsuit, Rouse asserts that the company violated the law in many instances, not only in printing receipts for him, but in printing receipts for many other customers that allegedly included too much information. He seeks damages on behalf of himself and all other similarly impacted customers. 

Protection from Fraud

Rouse asserts that he and other customers suffered injury because of Hilton’s failure to comply with the law. Allegedly, if these receipts, and by extension the payment card information, fell into the wrong hands, customers could be exposed to fraud, identity theft, and financial injury. He notes that protecting oneself from fraud in the event that payment card information is exposed can be a time-consuming and inconvenient process.

Though Rouse says that identity theft is a potential risk that his proposed class of customers may face, he excludes from the class any customers who have already suffered identity theft after their card information was exposed by Hilton.

Rouse argues that Hilton knew or should have known that including more than the last five digits of a card number on a receipt violated the law. He notes that the current requirements for the FACTA were publicized in 2003, and went into full effect in 2006, so the hotel company has had many years to learn of the law and implement processes to comply with it.

Additionally, as the company’s line of business involves many transactions generating customer receipts, Rouse states that the company should be well aware of the law’s requirements. He goes on to cite numerous news sources and industry experts who publicized the law’s requirements, noting that Hilton had plenty of access to information about the law. 

Rouse goes on to say that Hilton should have been aware of the law’s requirements because of its agreements with credit card companies including Visa, Master Card, American Express, and others. Rouse states that these agreements also informed Hilton of the need to truncate payment card numbers. Rouse then stresses that Hilton’s merchant bank also informed the hotel of its obligation to truncate card numbers in its statements provided to the company.

The Hilton Receipt Credit Card Information Class Action Lawsuit is Kevin Rouse v. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., Case No. 0:20-cv-00800, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Join a Free Credit Card Receipt Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you have a receipt, invoice or contract from a retailer or vendor that includes more than the last five digits of your credit card or debit card number or any portion of the expiration date, you may qualify to file a credit card receipt class action lawsuit.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.