Vineyard Vines accused of including customer expiration date on receipt
It's a Mystery
If Tina Cohen's allegations are to be believed, we've got a real headscratcher for you.
Cohen filed a lawsuit recently in the Southern District of Florida against Vineyard Vines Retail, an upscale producer of preppy casualwear (the "Vineyard" is "Martha's Vineyard"). The accusation? That in March of this year, Vineyard printed Cohen's American Express card expiration date, full name and credit card brand on the receipt of a purchase she made in one of its retail locations.
It's hard to believe that this happened within the past year, given our ever-increasing concerns about personal privacy and the growing risks of identity theft. We've adapted to a constant watchfulness in our online transactions, but we barely think about the security of our IRL paper receipts anymore.
The Takeaway
Cohen is suing on behalf of a large class ‒ Vineyard Vines has retail locations nationwide, and the behavior has allegedly been going on for years. She's claiming violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act's amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The FACTA amendment was signed into law more than 15 years ago and requires persons who accept debt cards or credit cards for the transaction of business to redact certain credit card information from electronically printed receipts, including all of the expiration date. The intervening years have seen enforcement measures and public information campaigns by the major credit card companies and even additional legislation to make the requirements clear, such as the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007, which attempted to tighten the definition of noncompliance with FACTA.
So, if the accusations are true, was Vineyard Vines, which seems to be a successful, tech-savvy company, caught in some sort of time warp?
Perhaps. But if retailers have any doubt about their own practices, they need to do a thorough review of their electronically printed receipts as soon as possible. Following FACTA is an easy win.
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