In Straaten v. Shell Oil Prods. Co. LLC, 678 F.3d 486 (7th Cir. Ill. 2012) the Seventh Circuit interpreted and clarified the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), 15 USC § 1681c(g) requirement that an electronically printed receipt not display “more than the last 5 digits of the card numbers.” Neither the statute nor the agencies with the authority to interpret the statute, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, had defined the term. Continue reading this entry
Category Archives: Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
Federal Reserve Board and FTC Amend Adverse Action and Risk-Based Pricing Notice Requirements
Posted in Compliance; Consumer Financial Protection Act; Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act; Fair Credit Reporting ActAs mandated by Section 1100F of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, new final rules issued by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) require creditors to disclose credit scores and information about credit scores to applicants for credit in adverse action and risk-based pricing notices.
Creditors who use credit scores in denying applications for credit (or otherwise taking adverse action), and/or in granting or extending credit on material terms that are materially less favorable than the most favorable terms offered by them to a substantial proportion of their consumer customers, will need to modify their forms of adverse action and risk-based pricing notices. The rules prescribe model forms for these notices.
The new rules were issued on July 6, 2011, and modify the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulations B and V (12 CFR Parts 202 and 222) and the FTC’s risk-based pricing and model forms rules (16 CFR Parts 640 and 698). The new rules will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register (which is expected imminently).
In Determining Class Certification In FACTA Case, Ninth Circuit Prohibits Courts From Considering The Potential For Disproportionate Damages
Posted in Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ActIn Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc., — F.3d — (9th Cir. Sept. 27, 2010), a case involving claims under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), the Ninth Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion by denying class certification due to the potential for damages which are disproportionate to the actual injury suffered.
To protect against identity theft, FACTA requires, among other things, that credit and debit card receipts issued to consumers not contain the card’s expiration date or more than the last five digits of the card. For each willful violation, FACTA permits the recovery of either actual damages or alternatively, if a plaintiff so elects, statutory damages from $100 to $1000. Importantly, permitting the recovery of statutory damages relieves a party from having to prove their damages as a prerequisite for recovery.
Seventh Circuit Limits Scope of FACTA
Posted in Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ActOn August 10, 2010, the Seventh Circuit in Shlahtichman v. 1-800 Contacts, Inc., held that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003’s (“FACTA”) prohibition from printing more than the last five digits of a credit card number or its expiration date on a receipt did not apply when the receipt was provided by email.
The Federal Trade Commission Counters Credit Monitoring Ads – With Its Own Ads
Posted in Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ActUnder the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”), consumers are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three national consumer credit reporting companies. Unless you live under a rock (or without television), you have undoubtedly seen the ubiquitous commercials run by freecreditreport.com that portray an unfortunate group of musicians who lament their fate –stolen identities that could have been avoided if only they received a free credit report– through catchy songs.
FACTA Red Flag Rules Run Into More Hurdles
Posted in Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ActThe Red Flags Rules hit two more hurdles recently. On October 29, 2009 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to the American Bar Association to set aside an extended enforcement policy of the controversial Red Flags Rule in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) as it would have pertained to working lawyers. (American Bar Association v. Federal Trade Commission, case number 09-cv-1636).