Opinion ID: 175979
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Background on FACTA

Text: In an effort to combat identity theft, in 2003 Congress enacted FACTA, which amended the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1681x. See Pub.L. 108-159, 117 Stat. 1952 (2003). FACTA provides, in relevant part, that no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction. 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g)(1). Congress imposed civil liability for willful noncompliance in the amount of any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000. Id. § 1681n(a)(1)(A). In addition, FACTA allows prevailing parties to recover attorneys' fees and costs. Id. § 1682n(a)(3). In response to misunderstandings about the truncation requirements, Congress amended FACTA in 2008 with the Clarification Act. Apparently, a significant number of merchants had erroneously concluded that merely truncating the account number down to the last five digits while leaving the expiration date displayed would satisfy FACTA's requirements. See Clarification Act § 2(a)(3),122 Stat. at 1565. After the deadline for compliance passed, hundreds of lawsuits were filed alleging that the companies' failure to remove the expiration date constituted willful violations of FACTA. Id. § 2(a)(4), 122 Stat. at 1565. In response, Congress amended the willful noncompliance requirement of FACTA to insulate from liability any person who printed an expiration date on a receipt between December 4, 2004, and June 3, 2008, so long as they otherwise complied with FACTA's requirements. Id. § 3(a), 122 Stat. at 1566 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(d)). As expressly stated in the bill, the Clarification Act aimed to ensure that consumers suffering from any actual harm to their credit or identity are protected while simultaneously limiting abusive lawsuits that do not protect consumers but only result in increased cost to business and potentially increased prices to consumers. Id. § 2(b), 122 Stat. at 1566.