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TRE Consumer Risk Score Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against The Retail Equation, a service provider for retail companies that assesses and scores consumers’ behaviors to impose limits on how frequently they may return or exchange items—potentially labeling them as fraudsters
- Why: Major companies like Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods use The Retail Equation, and consumers have complained about being denied returns or exchanges due to allegedly false risk assessments from these results and breaches in privacy
- Where: The nationwide class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania
The Retail Equation, Inc. (TRE), a company that generates consumer risk scores for retailers, illegally gathers consumers’ personal data and falsely labels them fraudsters, stopping them from returning or exchanging items, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
The nationwide class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania on July 17 by lead Plaintiffs William Hannum, Sean Frederick, Olga Maryamchik, Victoria Caruso-Davis, and Susana Guevara.
The Retail Equation “works with retailers to warn consumers when their return transactions violate store policies or mimic excessive return behaviors. Sometimes the transaction is stopped,” according to its website.
The group of consumers allege that TRE, and a range of companies that use TRE’s risks reports, invade consumer privacy, violate state competition and consumer protection law, violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and are unjustly enriched.
TRE generates its risk scores through analysis of data it has collected on consumers from both retailers and other sources, which is collected and shared without the consent or knowledge of the consumers, according to the consumer risk scores class action lawsuit.
It provides its services to retailers targeted at “identifying and curbing employee dishonesty, consumer fraud and organized crime within retail,” the claim reads. It uses “a wide variety of data collection technologies in conjunction with stored data, including data collected from other merchants,” the claim adds.
TRE then uses the data to generate a consumer report containing a “risk score” for each consumer attempting to return or exchange merchandise. The score is TRE’s assessment of the likelihood the return or exchange consumer is committing fraud, or other organized crime within retail, the class action lawsuit states.
However, consumers in the TRE lawsuit say that TRE illegally shared, received, and used their personal data, and used it to deny valid returns and exchanges. The risk reports “resulted in numerous consumers being falsely labeled fraudsters and for their otherwise permissible returns or exchanges to be denied.”
William Hannum, one of the lead Plaintiffs, says in the class action lawsuit that he was denied a return or exchange at Advance Auto Parts due to a TRE risk report that he was unaware he was being subjected to. The other plaintiffs have similar stories at a range of retail stores including Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
According to the claim, consumers do have the ability to request their own risk score, to appeal TRE and the retailer’s decision to refuse a return or exchange, or to review or correct the data that forms the basis for TRE’s risk score.
“Furthermore, TRE and retailers do not disclose to consumers the factors they consider in determining the risk score, or the minimum risk score a consumer must maintain to ensure their returns and exchanges will be accepted.”
The claim says that although the collection and use of this information without notice to or consent from consumers is “shocking and unlawful in itself, it is only the tip of the iceberg.”
“TRE’s filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are stunning and reveal data collection efforts that are far wider, deeper, and more intrusive than TRE admits.”
The class action lawsuit alleges that TRE uses not just data related to the consumer in question, but also “transaction data collected at points of return from other customers thought to be related to this customer by home address, family name, or other connecting data.”
In other words, the consumers argue, TRE factors into its analysis whatever data it has on people thought to be related to the customer by any “connecting data,” for example, if TRE believes (rightly or wrongly) that one of your Facebook friends is a fraudster, TRE may label you a likely fraudster as well, the claim reads.
“It is hard to imagine a more invasive collection and pernicious use of information in a ‘normal’ retail setting. Yet, there is no advance notice to consumers of TRE’s involvement in retail transactions; consumers are entirely unaware that they are submitting to this surreptitious process of judgment based on TRE’s analysis of all the information that its massive data mining effort has yielded.”
The consumers want to represent anyone in the country who has had their data accessed by TRE. They are suing for invasion of privacy, violation of state competition and consumer protection laws, violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and unjust enrichment.
They are seeking certification of the class, damages, order of enjoinment, interest, legal fees, and a jury trial.
Have you ever been told you don’t qualify for a refund due to a TRE risk report? Let us know your experience in the comments section!
The consumers are represented by Benjamin F. Johns of Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith, LLP; Tina Wolfson, Theodore Maya, Bradley K. King, Christopher Stiner, and Rachel Johnson of Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC; and Cornelius P. Dukelow of Abington Cole + Ellery.
The TRE Invasion of Privacy Class Action Lawsuit is Hannum, et al, v. The Retail Equation, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-00997-CB in the U.S. District Court For The Western District Of Pennsylvania.
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51 thoughts onBest Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Other Major Chain’s Software and Analytics Service Provider Invades Consumers’ Privacy and Falsely Labels Them Fraudsters, Class Action Alleges
I would like to be apart of this Class action lawsuit. How can I join for wrongfully being denied a return with a valid receipt and told to contact tre, contacted the tre only to be told the same exact thing. No detailed information only too bad you cannot make a return.
Put my name on the list. Was just denied a $100 return of un-opened light bulbs at Advance Auto parts that were the wrong size.
We just tried to return a portion of our order at Home Depot and it was denied because of The Retail Equation. We already returned a portion of the order yesterday and it was approved. We went to Home Depot again today and they were totally okay with us returning the items but said I personally couldn’t return it becuase my ID has been flagged. So we tried using my wife’s ID and it was also flagged… I called the Retail Equation and the people were rude and unhelpful, claiming that there is never any guarentee that we could get a return, even when the people at Home Depot said they would happy give us a return. The report that The Retail Equation sent back to me didn’t provide ANY helpful information! It just said that a return was denied! This is so rediculous. They are preventing home depot from giving us a return and saying that they are not preventing home depot from giving us a return. We are so upset. We just returned a portion of the order yesterday! Please let me know how I can get involved in the case. I’m boston based.
My return was denied because I used store credit and cash to make a purchase. Due to that I was not able to get the materials I needed to do a job. I lost the job thanks to this poorly thought out scam. I feel like they have labeled me as a chief without knowing me. To me that is profiling and they should be sued for doing so
I paid with my debit card, tried to return to Home Depot that day because I bought the wrong size of the door hinges only to be told I could not return. I showed up with a reciepts, and my debit card. How can I join this law suit
I e-mailed the company asking for a report of my returns and they sent me all the return transactions for the entire advanced auto parts store YTD. I’m certain I don’t have 1,600+ requested returns valued at over $150k. That’s how bad this company is at keeping track of spending, and or reporting their data.
I am seeking legal advice here in California. If this already a class action lawsuit which wouldn’t surprise me please contact thank you
You may contact me or provide your contact information – I have some valuable information that can help your case on this matter… I’ve been victimized and brought it to attention of management, in fact just yesterday…
I would also like to be included in this as I too have had a return rejection due to The Retail Equation whom denied my return after the store, Floor & Decor had already approved the transaction and was about to give me a store credit. I had never heard of The Retail Equation nor did I know or authorize my personal information to be shared with them. I was not told by Floor & Decor that they were transmitting my name and drivers license number to this company for a return judgement. Please let me know if I can join the class action lawsuit.
I was denied a return at DICKS SPORTING GOODS due to information gathered and provided by the retail equation. I tried everything to fix the problem including writing to my local news station and appearing on the consumer protection segment called “Ben has your back” to which no one from DSG ever responded. The RE is impossible to deal with! They give you an 800# to call but all the person does is reiterate the information you’ve already received ie; your return WITH A RECEIPT has been denied.
It’s just happened again with an retail store not mentioned in your class action…DSW a store that I have def done several returns or exchanges but ALL WITH MY RECEIPT NONE WITHOUT A RECEIPT EVER and was just told by the rep at TRE “that doesn’t matter if you return to much or too many times receipt or no receipt you can not return anything for 6 months” funny thing is both times I was denied a return it was on a larger purchase…DICKS $130 and DSW $97 this in itself is curious.
Please contact me I want to be a part of this suit or the lead in one that includes DSW!!!
Regards,
Rene’ Ruliera
857-800-1357
I was denied a return at a Walgreens store in NY. The receipt had the TRE website, which I went to to request a copy of my returns. I had to add the transaction number from the receipt to the form. One day later, I received the document, which I downloaded and printed. 60/62 returns were from all over FL amd numerous locations in NY- none anyway near where I shop or live. The last 2 were the ones where I tried to return a &10 item on 2 different occasions- the first when I was denied and the second one is when I went back and told them the story and they tried again, to no avail. Each ti
E I also called the phone number for TRE, both times the call had so much static on the line that it reminded me of how party line’s sounded in the 1950s. My next step is to send copies of my alleged returns, with an explanation similar to this one. If there is no resolution to make it right, I will file a complaint with the BBB amd perhaps call a news station for a consumer affairs story. I will also make as many purchases as possible from Amazon and also ask stores before a purchase if they work with this company. Please add my name to the class action suit. TIA.