The Law Is For Thee, But Not For Me.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. §1681] is supposed to protect the privacy of consumers. Among other provisions, it says 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,” and imposes civil liability for violations. An attorney paid a $350 federal court filing fee for a client using his own credit card on Pay.gov. His Pay.gov electronic receipt included the last four digits of his credit card and its expiration date. He sued the United States and the trial court dismissed his suit because of sovereign immunity. Tenacious the lawyer was. He took his claim all the way to the highest court in the land, but he lost there, too. United States v. Bormes (U.S. Supreme Ct.; November 13, 2012) 133 S.Ct. 12, [184 L.Ed.2d 317].