IKEA Class Action Says Collecting ZIP Codes is Illegal

A class action lawsuit alleges that IKEA unlawfully collects ZIP codes from customers paying with credit cards at the point of sale, and in doing so needlessly exposes them to identity theft in violation of California law.

Plaintiff Antonia Burrell says she made a purchase at IKEA in California with her personal credit card.

Burrell claims that she was asked to provide her ZIP code in conjunction with her credit card transaction at the point of sale.

Allegedly, this was not to provide a service to her, because her transaction did not involve shipping, delivery, servicing, installation or a special order — Burrell says she took her item home that day.

The IKEA class action lawsuit argues that collecting ZIP codes for marketing purposes violates California Civil Code, and puts customers at risk for identity theft and credit card fraud.

Allegedly, IKEA records customer ZIP codes for its own advertising purposes and not because credit card companies require ZIP codes or any other personal identification information to complete an in-person credit card transaction.

Burrell says this practice puts customers at risk for identity theft because they are accessible to IKEA employees and lack proper security and safeguards.

The IKEA class action states that Burrell believed that she was required to comply with the request for her ZIP code, so she did that. She says that had she known that it was not required of her to provide her ZIP code, she would not have done so.

She says that IKEA’s practice of requesting customers to present the ZIP code verbally poses an additional threat to privacy because their personal information could be overheard by someone who wishes to commit fraud or identity theft.

The IKEA class action lawsuit asserts that IKEA’s request for the ZIP codes is a violation of California law and states that IKEA should have to pay up to $1,000 for every violation as is reportedly permitted by law.

Burrell elaborates that California Civil Code “generally states that when a merchant is engaged in a retail transaction with a customer, the merchant may not request personal identification information from a customer paying for goods with a credit card, and then record that personal identification information upon the credit card transaction form or otherwise.”

Allegedly, a ZIP code amounts to personal identification information, as defined by California law.

Burrell seeks damages on behalf of herself and all other similarly affected California consumers.

She claims that the proposed Class would be quite large because IKEA makes a practice of requesting a ZIP code from each consumer who makes a purchase with a credit card.

Burrell is represented by Lindsay C. David.

The IKEA ZIP Code Point of Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Antonia Burrell v. IKEA US Retail LLC, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-00292-JLS-BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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