PITTSBURGH,None — People who used a credit card to buy tickets to three Pittsburgh-area amusement parks may be eligible for free tickets under a class-action lawsuit settlement.
The settlement was prompted by a federal lawsuit filed in August against Palace Entertainment Holdings LLC by a man who said his credit card receipt at Idlewild & Soak Zone park near Ligonier contained his credit card's expiration date. That violates federal laws meant to protect credit card customers from identity thefts.
Palace Entertainment, which also owns Kennywood, an amusement park, and Sandcastle, a water park, both just east of Pittsburgh, is offering free tickets to anyone who had improper credit card information on their receipt at any of the company's 15 parks nationwide.
The settlement affects only people who paid by credit cards after Dec. 4, 2006.
In 2003, Congress passed a law saying merchants can't print more than the last five digits of a credit card number or the expiration date on a receipt.
Instead of going to trial, Palace Entertainment Holdings, LLC decided to settle.As part of the settlement, anyone who received an electronically printed receipt at Idlewild, Kennywood, Sandcastle or any of Palace Entertainment’s other parks between Dec. 4, 2006, and Dec. 20, 2011, may be entitled to a free admission ticket at that park.
If you think you qualify, fill out this form, letting the court know which amusement park you went to and which credit card you used. You also need the receipt you were given or a credit or debit card statement showing the purchase.
The form must be submitted no later than Feb. 13.
The judge still has to approve the settlement at a hearing scheduled for March 30. The lawyers warn that after that there may be appeals.