Personal information on receipts removed, return information limited

Settled case summary #16

Complaint

An individual complained about a retail chain’s practice of printing a customer’s name, credit card number, and expiry date on receipts.  She also was concerned about its practice of requiring a customer to supply a driver’s licence and credit card, information which was also recorded by the clerk, in order to obtain a refund.  The complainant felt that this was an unnecessary collection of personal information.

Outcome

During the investigation, the company changed its point-of-sale equipment to a new system whereby printed receipts could be issued with the customer’s personal information masked.  All of its stores now have the equipment in place.

With respect to customers returning items to the store, the company will continue to collect the name, address and telephone number of the individual making the return.  As for the supporting identification information, the company will still ask to see a piece of identification, but will no longer record such information.  In addition, unless a credit card was used to make the purchase, the company will not ask for credit card information.  The company committed to informing and training its employees on this new procedure.

Both the complainant and the Office were satisfied with the outcome.  The complaints were considered settled during the course of the investigation.