Legal Matters: Collecting Customer ZIP Codes? 
Beware the Legal Risks

The California Supreme Court Decision
Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma was decided by the California Supreme Court on Feb. 10. The facts considered in the case are quite typical of the way many retailers process their in-store transactions. Jessica Pineda alleged that she visited a Williams-Sonoma store in California and selected an item for purchase. She proceeded to the cashier to pay by credit card, where she was asked for her ZIP code. Pineda believed it was required to supply the requested information to complete the transaction. The cashier entered her ZIP code into the point-of-sale system and completed the transaction. At the end of the transaction, Williams-Sonoma had captured Pineda's credit card number, name and ZIP code.