He said the company's technicians would look through its data bases and expunge information that had been improperly collected as a result of earlier versions.

Saks said this spring that it had improperly collected more than $20 million from suppliers and would return it.

Furthermore, she said, Saks has pledged to "repay all improperly collected vendor allowances identified in our publicly disclosed investigations."

In March, Mr. Ray reported on allegations that the White House had improperly collected confidential F.B.I. files, which he attributed to a bureaucratic foul-up.

Initially, Saks announced the amount improperly collected from 1999 to 2003 was about $20 million.

The company, which he did not name, relented after he intervened and refunded the improperly collected amount, he said.

In March, the company said an investigation by the audit committee of its board found that it had improperly collected markdown allowances of $20 million from vendors from 1999 to 2003.

Tissue that is improperly collected, processed or shipped, experts said, is more likely to fail in a recipient's body, causing further medical problems.

When the files were disclosed in 1988, it was apparent that the bureau had improperly if not illegally collected intelligence files on thousands of people.

There is no indication that the information was improperly collected.