What's On Your Mind? US Bank, Trilegiant, Emerson

Identity theft continues to be a major problem for consumers, and it sounds like James, of Arvada, Colo., has become a victim. However, he's blaming his bank.

“US Bank allowed this account to be opened fraudulently in my name without my knowledge or consent and has ignored my repeated attempts to inform them of this and my repeated requests for documentary verification of this debt as mine,” James said. “This is not my debt; this account was opened fraudulently in my name without my consent or knowledge. I have gained no benefit from this debt; I will make no payment on this debt.”

Sorry, James, this isn't something you can ignore. You're going to have to deal with it and it will be time-consuming and frustrating. Your first step is to contact US Bank's fraud department and report it as a suspected case of identity theft.

Sounds like trouble?

Trilegiant is a company that markets membership programs to other company's customers, usually at the end of an online transaction. Many people end up charged for these programs without knowing they were signed up. That's bad enough, but Leonard, of Manteno, Ill., reports getting a disturbing message recently from this company.

“I have received a letter from the Trilegiant Corp. stating they are going to share my personal info with their affiliates and non-affiliates within 30 days,” Leonard said. “I do not know who or what this corporation is. I DO NOT want my personal info shared with anyone. I don't know how they received my personal info to begin with. I want it stopped. As far as I know I do not do business with them and never have.”

It sounds like this is a standard privacy policy update.  Somewhere in the letter there should be an option that allows Leonard to opt out of whatever it is Trilegiant is planning. 

Blank screen

We constantly hear from consumers who purchased expensive flat-screen TVs, only to have them quit working after a year or so of use. However, this report may be the soonest we've heard of one of these TVs failing.

“I purchased a 40-inch LCD Emerson TV from Walmart on Black Friday,” Melissa, of Homer Glen, Ill., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “Standing in line for four hours for this 'great deal' that was too good to be true was exactly that. On New Years Eve while watching a DVD the screen got suddenly dimmer. The brightness adjustment on the remote did nothing.

"I called the hotline number for the warranty and have not been helped at all. Yesterday I was told that the cable might be the issue. The HDMI cable was brand new! Regardless we performed the troubleshooting that the tech told us to do," Melissa said. "As of right now I am on hold for a second time today for 20 minutes for the warranty department. Lesson learned. If a deal sounds to good to be true it is!”

At least Melissa's TV is still under warranty. She should continue to pursue the warranty department.