Mrs. Fields Unlawfully Disclosed Customer Information, Class Action Alleges

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Mrs. Fields Gifts faces a proposed class action for allegedly failing to notify its catalog customers before disclosing their personal information to third parties for compensation.

The 32-page case more specifically alleges Mrs. Fields has violated Utah’s Notice of Intent to Sell Nonpublic Personal Information Act (NISNPIA) by failing to notify people who purchased products through the company’s catalog that it rents and sells their information to list brokers and data aggregators, appenders and cooperatives. Under the NISNPIA, a business must inform customers in writing or orally that it “may choose to disclose nonpublic personal information” about them for compensation, or provide a “substantially” similar notice, before sharing the data with a third party for profit, the suit relays.

According to the complaint, the snack-food company has compiled data about its customers into mailing lists—including their full names, home addresses, status as Mrs. Fields customers, and myriad demographic details—to sell or rent to third-party data aggregators or appenders. Mrs. Fields also sells its mailing lists to “aggressive advertisers, political organizations, and non-profit companies,” all without warning consumers, the case contends.

The filing argues that Mrs. Fields’ “intentional, systematic, and unlawful” practice allows it to “profit handsomely” at the expense of its customers’ privacy rights.

As a result of Mrs. Fields’ alleged misconduct, direct-mail advertisers have sent catalog customers excessive amounts of unwanted junk mail, which can be dangerous to unsuspecting consumers who may fall victim to scammers, the case asserts.

 Per the complaint, the sensitive information of 284,780 Mrs. Fields consumers is available for 11 cents apiece through list broker Nextmark.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the United States who, during the applicable statutory period, had their private purchase information obtained by Mrs. Fields on or after January 1, 2004 as a result of a consumer transaction.

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