Weekly Retail Fix

THE NEWS: ASSOCIATION FILES SUIT AGAINST TJX DATA BREACH

FRAMINGHAM, MASS. The Massachusetts Bankers Association is filing a class action lawsuit against the The TJX Cos. in the U.S. District Court in Boston to recover damages it said bankers suffered after a credit and debit card data breach that may have compromised more than 45 million cards. —

Ben Cammarata, TJX chairman and acting ceo, responded, “We are deeply concerned about this event and the difficulties it may cause our customers. Since discovering this crime, we have been working diligently to further protect our customers and strengthen the security of our computer systems.”

THE FIX: Theft Act may do more harm than good

Data and identity theft are going to become bigger issues. Problems, such as potential lawsuits, are compounded by the fact that these are issues that draw media and regulator attention. The National Retail Federation is warning that the Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2007, which the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved last week, includes a credit file freeze provision that could have “potentially detrimental effects for consumers,” NRF senior vp for government relations Steve Pfister said in a letter to committee members. While NRF said it welcomed a national uniform standard for data breach notification, it expressed concern that retailers might not be able to authorize credit in emergency circumstances if the provision takes effect.