Venditoris: Beware of Scams

09 Jul 2008 @ 3:04 PM

Trilegiant Complaints & More

Listed below are excerpts from selected pages, with links, around the Web that have reported on Trilegiant, its “Services” and the organizations that cooperate with them to promote those services on the Web.

Of particular interest are the reports of legal actions and the reports of individual who believe they have been scammed or ripped off by these services.

At the bottom of the article is a short listing from the Trilegiant wesite listing their services and contact telephone numbers in case anyone wishes to learn more about them

http://groups.msn.com/USBankComplaints/ usbankprivacyguardandtrilegiant.msnw

US Bank, PrivacyGuard and Trilegiant

Consumer complaints about Trilegiant unauthorized charges - PrivacyGuard is a product of Trilegiant and apparently sold through U.S. Bancorp Insurance

U.S. Bank Bolsters Consumer Identity Theft Protection Offering with Ad

Many consumers have been charged by Trilegiant for reports and services they say they did not order. Trilegiant has a history of complaints concerning deceptive marketing and selling strategies, unauthorized charges on consumers’ credit cards, and non-cancellation of memberships following cancellation requests Class Counsel

Investigating claims by Wells Fargo debit cardholders who allege that, upon activating their debit card, Wells Fargo assessed a fee for the purchase of Privacy Guard, although the cardholder did not authorize that purchase Lieffcabraser

Another Madison County lawsuit has bounced to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act that Congress passed in February…claims that Trilegiant posted charges for unsolicited services on credit cards and other accounts Madison Record

California Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Chase Bank and Trilegiant Corp. alleging the defendants unlawfully deceived tens of thousands of California consumers into paying for membership programs that purportedly provided discounts on car and home repair, shopping, and other goods and services Keep Media

Suit charges Trilegiant ‘tricks’ - After more than 500 complaints and almost two years of investigations, state Attorney General is suing Norwalk-based Trilegiant for allegedly tricking consumers into joining discount travel and retail clubs and making it difficult to cancel them Access

PRIVACY GUARD IS A BUNCH OF HUSTLERS CANCLE ANY BODY WHO DOES BUISNESS WITH THEM, LIKE US BANK PrivacyGuard Scam or Fraud

Trilegiant Settles Fraud Charges - Telemarketer Trilegiant Corp. has agreed to pay $400,000 in restitution and to refund an undetermined amount of money to Florida consumers to settle allegations that it had violated the state’s deceptive trade practices laws Crmxchange

If you’re one of those unfortunate souls who’ve found unauthorized charges on your credit card from programs like AutoAdvantage - a “trial offer” that ends up being billed to your account repeatedly without your consent - then you may already be at least familiar with Trilegiant - direct marketing firm has found itself the target of a lawsuit Consumer Affairs

If you are having trouble cancelling your PrivacyGuard, Hot-List, or other Trilegiant company offering by U.S. Bank there is a possible class action PrivacyGuard/Hot-List

Trilegiant - Complaints Consumer Affairs

Privacy guard - claims tried to access the FREE credit report online and was not successful… spoke with on the phone said had to wait for a secret code to be mailed. After waiting several weeks, did NOT receive a code in the mail Complaints.Com

Aol.com, Privacy Guard - several problems and questions Complaints.Com

Privacy Guard - I canceled this service and have a cancellation number. To date, they continue taking money out of my checking account for this Complaints.Com

Privacy Guard - Don’t get sucked in Epinions

Complete Home deception and Trilegiant Rip Off Find Law

All those complaints about ConsumerInfo.com and PrivacyGuard Credit Suit.Org

Identity Theft - Unauthorized charges on credit cards from Trilegiant Matt.Baya

Trilegiant Corp-health Saver ripoff - debit card account unathorizated Rip Off Report

Complete Home (trilegiant Corporation) ripoff Rip Off Report AOL Credit Alert - Privacy Guard Unauthorized charges poor customer service unfair billing Rip Off Report

Trilegiant charged illegally my account and refuse to take responsibility Rip Off Report

Alerts:

Class Action Info - Trilegiant has charged a number of people’s accounts without their knowledge by either “cramming” or through fraudulent “free” trial periods or gifts. The certified class includes all persons and entities who had unsolicited charges for Cendant products posted to their credit card, phone, bank, or mortgage accounts - seeking reimbursement for all unauthorized charges received by Trilegiant Lakin Law

Investigating consumer claims that Trilegiant charged for services that they allege they did not order or request Girard Gibbs - Investigation of Trilegiant

Buyer Beware - Trilegiant’s success in its unethical practices seems to be in consumers not knowing who is behind the service that has charged them. All the victims of Trilegiant simply know their service as “AOL Advantage,” “AOL Credit Alert,” “Complete Home” or some other name; no one knows that Trilegiant Unethical Billing Practices

Watch your junk mail for this one! A company called Trilegiant Corporation is sending out packets informing consumers that they have been lucky enough to get a free trial offer of their program called AOL Credit Alert AARP Elder Watch - Fraud Alert

Surfers unaware that credit card information is sometimes shared - Memberworks complaints and Florida officials also confirm the state is investigating similar complaints against Trilegiant PC World - Consumer Alert

I am posting a warning to all consumers about a very deceitful, conniving company, Complete Home (Trilegiant) Screwed Central

Firm’s record poor on canceling memberships - Trilegiant - “has an unsatisfactory record with the bureau due to a pattern of complaints concerning deceptive selling practices, unauthorized charges to customers’ credit cards, and non-cancellation of memberships following cancellation requests” St Petersburg Times

Apparently MANY people are finding charges for reports they didn’t order or for “free” reports and don’t know how to get their $$$ back. listing ConsumerInfo.com and PrivacyGuard in the same topic, but they are SEPARATE companies Credit Court Forum

More information:

US Bank - For $9.99 per month, Privacy Guard monitors daily all three credit bureaus and notifies customers of any changes to their credit report Bankrate - Is identity theft protection worth the money?

Trilegiant Settles Florida Charges - has agreed to provide compensation to consumers wronged by the company’s tactics in marketing various club membershipsConsumer Affairs

Trojan horse in an envelope - The Florida Attorney General’s Office says it is investigating hundreds of complaints about Trilegiant, typically from consumers who believe they were wrongly billed for services such as AutoVantage Jewish World Review

Is this the next MWI? It certainly looks like it, judging from the complaints below. TLG — corporate name Trilegiant Inc. Consumer Affairs

SERVICES RUN BY TRILEGIANT - includes Privacy Guard Unethical Business Practices

Some are asking “Is Trilegiant another MWI?” US Bank was sued and settled for allegedly selling consumer private information. Unauthorized charges were made to their customers by MWI Memberworks Consumer Privacy Sold Out

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/ settlements/08313/online-shopping-membership.html

Settlements and Verdicts

Trilegiant

Little Rock, AR: (Jun-05-07) Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office filed a consumer protection action against Trilegiant, a Connecticut-based company that offers online shopping services and discounts to people who purchase memberships. The suit claimed that the company gave customers free trial memberships, but did not adequately inform them they would be charged automatically if they did not cancel within a certain time.

In a settlement reached, Trilegiant must pay restitution to Arkansas residents who were charged membership fees on or after July 1, 2001, but did not agree to a membership plan or did not understand they would be charged a membership fee or an automatic renewal fee. The company will not pay reimbursement to customers who used the services offered by the membership program. Further, as part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to pay $15,000 to the attorney general’s office for its costs. An added $15,000 will be used for reimbursements. [TIMES RECORD: CONSUMER FRAUD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinion_Group

Complaints

Numerous issues with this company have been reported. According to the Better Business Bureau, hundreds of issues have been reported by consumers for deceptive selling practices, unauthorized charges to consumers’ credit cards, and failure to respond or resolve issues.^[5]

On March 7, 2005, the company made a Settlement Agreement with the Office of the Attorney General of Florida. Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Chapter 501, Part II, Florida Statutes.^[6]

In July, 2005, the Attorney’s General of Connecticut, California, and Maine brought a lawsuit against TLG/Affinion for allegedly deceiving consumers into enrolling in its clubs.^[7] ^[8]

In December, 2006, Trilegiant/Affinion agreed to pay over $8 million dollars to 17 states and their residents to settle allegations they tricked residents into paying for its programs.^[9]

References

^ Affinion Direct Response Group Launched article. AOL Money. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ ^a ^b SEC Filings S-1/A AFFINION GROUP HOLDINGS, INC article (page 6). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ SEC Filings S-1/A AFFINION GROUP HOLDINGS, INC article (page 50). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ SEC Filings S-1/A AFFINION GROUP HOLDINGS, INC article (page 93). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ “Better Business Bureau CT TLG report”

^ AG Case # L01-3-1484. State of Florida, Office of the Attorney General.

^ CT Attorney General Lawsuit. “Connecticut Attorney General’s Office (2005-07-12). Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ CA Attorney General Lawsuit article. Connecticut Attorney General’s Office (2005-07-12). Retrieved on 2008-02-27.

^ Chase Bank, Triligent, Settle Negative Option Fraud Chargesconsumeraffairs.com.

http://www.girardgibbs.com/trilegiant.html

Trilegiant Membership Program Lawsuit

COMPLAINT ALLEGES TRILEGIANT ESTABLISHES SUBSCRIPTIONS WITHOUT CONSUMERS’ INFORMED CONSENT

In May 2006, Girard Gibbs filed an amended class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all persons in the U.S. who were charged on their bank, home mortgage, or debit accounts for any Trilegiant membership, and on behalf of all California residents who were charged on their credit cards for Trilegiant memberships. The complaint alleges that Trilegiant establishes subscriptions for its membership programs in consumers’ names without their informed consent, and also impedes consumers’ ability to cancel these memberships. Trilegiant’s memberships are marketed under a number of different names, including “Just for Me,” “Great Fun,” “Travelers Advantage,” “Shoppers Advantage,” “Autovantage,” “Credit Alert,” “Complete Home,” “Health Saver,” “Great Options,” “Netmarket.com,” “Buyers Advantage,” “Privacy Guard,” among others.

www.ripoffreport.com/ : Learn even more by searching “Trilegiant” on RipOffReport by clicking here