Absher

INTRODUCTION

The issue on appeal is whether the consumer protection statute that prohibits merchants from obtaining personal identification information from credit card users (Civ. Code, § 1747.08, subd. (a)) should be interpreted to apply to a refund for the return of merchandise purchased by credit card. We hold that section 1747.08, subdivision (a) does not apply to such return transactions.

FACTS

In early March 2006, thieves siphoned gas from plaintiff Dave Absher’s (plaintiff) car. On March 8, 2006, plaintiff drove to an AutoZone store to purchase a locking gas cap. He purchased a gas cap with his credit card, took it to his car, but discovered that it did not fit.

Within minutes of the purchase transaction, plaintiff returned to the store. He presented his purchase receipt, the gas cap, and his credit card to the store clerk and requested a credit card refund. The clerk “swiped” plaintiff’s credit card—i.e., passed the card’s magnetic strip through an electronic card reader—handed him a form with lines for his name, telephone number, and signature (return voucher), and instructed plaintiff to fill out the return voucher. Plaintiff, who had been the victim of…