PrivacyGuard Reviews

On September 1st I contacted Chase & told them not to accept ANY charges from them but I was charged the $11.99 on the 7th which put my account over limit & Chase then charged me $35. I contacted Chase again & told them they needed to take that over limit charge off my account because I had contacted them on the 1st & asked them not to let TLG make any more charges to my account & they did. I was refunded the $11.99 from TLG on the 13th. I have also contacted TLG but they have yet to respond.

My credit account is over limit which will probably end up showing up bad on my credit report which I've been working hard the last year or so trying to get straightened out. I was planning to use the supposed $50 check to pay a bill which ended up being late & I was charged a fee for that as well. I ended up borrowing the money from my mother which I have yet to pay back to her so she's not happy with that is not talking to me too much these days. Since I'm not currently working the extra $25 that I would of had if not for a scam company would of helped out a lot.

I called PRIVACY GUARD (800-238-7298) this morning and spoke to Roman who advised me that I had elected identity theft protection back in 2004 on trial basis and unless it was cancelled I would be billed annually for the coverage and it also allowed me to get my credit report with scores. I told him I vaguely remembered the call to me but it was so long ago that I might have forgotten. I also told him that in the state of Florida residents can get a free credit report by law now and that I don't need the service. He stated that you can't get the credit scores for free though. He then gave me the web site of Privacygard.com and instructions for logging in to get the credit report & scores. He then told me once I got that to call back and cancel the coverage and I would be refunded the $99.99. I went back to the Consumer Affairs web site and looked further under the settlement with the state of FL and discovered the following:

Consumers were signed up for trial memberships in the clubs, billed for membership fees, and continually re-enrolled. Membership fees ranged anywhere from $59.95 annually to $89.95 annually. Once the victims were enrolled in the club, membership fees were charged to their credit cards without their knowledge one to three months later after a "free" trial period. Problems were also reported with efforts to cancel memberships and obtain refunds. Under the settlement with the state, Trilegiant and its subsidiaries will provide restitution to consumers who have already filed complaints or who do so within the next six months, if the consumers did not take advantage of the benefits provided by club membership.

I called PRIVACY GUARD back and spoke to Derwin, explained the situation and the information I found on the Consumer Affairs web site regarding TRILEGIANT and that I never used the services and I wanted it cancelled and the charge refunded. He agreed to cancel it, gave me a cancellation number and it would be processed in 10-14 days but I may not see it on my statement for 1-2 billing cycles. I called Chase back to notify them of the situation and inquire if there had been any prior charges by Privacy Guard or Trilegiant prior to this charge and was told by Teresa that no, there had been no prior charges. She also said there would be no problem crediting it back to my account even though the account has been closed.

I asked if they had been monitoring my credit report since August 2004. He said, "No because you haven't accessed our services and so we cannot do anything for you (yet they still charged me all these months)." He said that it is a "valuable service" and that I can go online right now to get my credit report. He also said, "You are eligible for a 25-dollar rebate... I will transfer you now." Another man came on and said "For a one dollar initiation fee for the first month and if I did not cancel $7.00/mo each month after," I can get all kinds of product discounts. I said, "I'm not interested," and he continued to try to sell me. I insisted and hung up. I called Citibank and asked them about "Privacyguard" and they said, "Oh yes, they are a great company and they're associated with us."

So, I signed up to the website (Privacyguard.com) and attempted to get my credit report. I encountered a screen for my "private access code." I then called the 888-609-2455 and asked for my "private access code." After giving my name, address, mother maiden name and DOB to three people, a woman said, "Before I can release your report, I need FOUR NAMES of the exact companies on your credit report." When I could not supply the names of my student loan lenders, she said, "Call back when you have the information." Calmly, but with feelings of anger, I said, "I have been paying $9.99/mo to PrivacyGuard since August 2004 and I have given all of my information. I just want to see my credit report. I HAVE ALREADY PAID YOU 80.00 DOLLARS!!"

She replied, "That's fine. Call back when you have the information (with an angry tone). Goodbye." I feel ripped off and violated. They have effectively taken $80.00 of my money and have given me NOTHING. They have STOLEN my money and I am furious and feel humiliated.

Today, 1/7/02, when I called again, Linda ** (a supervisor) told me that they are experiencing similar problems with other customers and they don't know what happened to that money. This sounds a little suspicious to me. She also stated that she does not know when the problem will be resolved. The last time I spoke with someone else, Candice, on 12/13/01, asked to fax my bank online statement where it shows that the money was taken by PrivacyGuard and that as soon as I faxed that to her they were going to work on it and get the credit back to my account to which hasn't been done. Please help. Thank you.