TruTech TV review: TV has broke in 6 months! 206

I too am grateful for finding this information. I was looking at this tv as a workplace addition since it has a built-in dvd player. After reading all the negative comments, I'm buying either a Sylvania or a Magnavox tv w/dvd player.

Thanks

This is not just a Target problem, this can happen anywhere with any retail giant trying to create a cheap product and get away with it. People have to fight back. this HAS to be a class action suit. This is clear manipulation and exploitation of the consumer.

In the meantime, those of us who read the day-by-day complaints (and this is just the TV, not all the other Trutech products which are equally as bad), the only ones who can put a stop to this is us.

So make up WARNING labels. Imagine a surgeon general's warning. Keep it simple, black text on white label and put them in white space on the packaging.

Do NOT say: "This product is CRAP! Don't buy! You'll be sorry!" Because this will likely get noticed, pulled and marked with a Sharpie or another cover-up label.

Say: "CONSUMER WARNING: See http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/11611" If it looks like a normal piece of the packaging, the staff is not going to suspect sabotage so easily.

Please do this every time you go by a Target.
I am going to make it my regular mission.
If I have to invest half as much money into warning labels as I did Trutech garbage, I will have informed a lot of consumers and it's easy activism. The consumer warnings are all over the place, yet this is still being manufactured, Target is still making a bundle.

MY 20" TV/DVD PLAVER WAS PURCHASED IN FALL 2006 AS A RAFFLE PRIZE FOR MENTALLY CHALLANGED ADULTS. THIS WAS ONE OF THERE MAIN FUNDRAISERS. THE WOMAN THAT WON IT DONATD IT TO ANOTHER CAUSE FOR A SILENT AUCTION. I WON THE AUCTION AND REALLY NEEDED A NEW TV, WELL THIS TV GOES IN AND OUT. I CAN'T GET THE DVD TO WORK. BASICALLY IT'S A PIECE OF ---- I AM GLAD TO KNOW IT CAME FROM TARGET, THEY'LL NOT GET ANYMORE OF MY BUSINESS.

I LOOKED ON THE WEBPAFE FOR TRUTECH AND IT DOESN'T EVEN LIST TV'S. WAS THIS A FLY BY NIGHT THING.

I also have the 19" trutech with built-in dvd player. Within the first week, the dvd player had to be pulled open instead of using the remote. After a few months, the screen went black but the tv retained the audio. After returning the tv to target, they gave me an address where i sent the tv (still under warranty) and it cost me 30 bucks. Now the cable jack has pulled out from the back and I am told there is nothing they can do. What a joke.

I bought a 19' flat screen on black Friday of 2006, since I was repainting my house I decided to wait to put it up, so I left it in the box for a year... I began using it in December of 07' and now six weeks later the damn thing won't work... I get sound but no picture! I emailed the company and they still haven't responded. DON'T BUY TRUTECH ITS A TRUE PIECE OF GARBAGE!

I too bought a 26 inch piece of crap from Target. I have found no one to fix it, same problem as everyone else. No lights,no power,nothing. This TV was purchased 8 months ago. If anyone starts a Lawsuit against Trutech/Target count me in...

While I agree with everyone that the Trutech brand is not very good, I fail to understand that boycotting Target is the solution. They, like all the other companies (Walmart, Best Buy, Kmart) sell a "cheapo" line of products. You get what you pay for unfortunately. There's a reason they are the cheapest products in the store. This should be a complaint leveraged at ALL big box stores, not just Target. DON'T buy brands you don't know. Research before buying, and stay with brands you trust. Value is worth paying for sometimes. Target should remove this from their line or recall, that I agree. But to say I will never shop there again is a disservice to them. While they may contract their name on a product, rarely do companies have much control from that point onward. I'm sure they want to do something about it. I will still shop there, as I find their stores cleaner and quieter than most, but I will stay far from Trutech. Ours got about a year, which is good, but next time I will pay for a brand I trust and has good warranty.

After enforcing the return policy for this company for 14 years as an executive, I just faced the brutal reality of how frustrating it is when items are not what they seem to be. My son purchased the trutech picture frame for me for Christmas, flew out to Oregon to hand deliver and load pictures on it for me. He knew how much I loved the Sony one that I had given away last year as a gift. I raised my eyebrow when I saw the brand name because I knew they were junk and that we had made a ton of money selling them my last two years at Target. My son is on a pretty tight budget since he is a college student, so I didn't say a word when he couldn't get the flash drive or sd card to read on the frame. He tried to find a website to help him, ha... I asked if he had kept the receipt, of course he hadn't, he he had just bought it the morning before he got on the plane and the receipt was "probably" in the bedroom at Grandma's house. Well I tried to return the "junk" to the Beaverton, Oregon Target, asking if I could just upgrade to a known brand. They laughed in my face, apparently gifts no longer fall under the no receipt rule (you were allowed 2 returns without a receipt if it was a gift and you were exchanging it for something else in the store just a year ago this policy existed) Again the honest consumer pays for the crimes of the dishonest consumer! The American Way. I have a lovely frame now of black nothing...My son also learned a valuable lesson on this, purchase where they stand behind the product, keep the receipt, and never buy electronics from no-name companies.

I to have bought a piece of crap WARNING DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. DON'T THROW YOUR MONEY AWAY LIKE THAT. I bought a 19inch flatscreen lcd. Never worked out of the box. Unreturnable. Tnrutech would never return calls or email's. Target would no refund are exchane. GO TO WALMART OR BESTBUY THEY ATLEAST WILL TAKE RETURNS/REFUNDS/EXCHANGES.

I Bought my 19 inch on sale for about 80 bucks, and I've never had a problem with it. It's light, portable, and has it's own speakers. So, sucks to be you guys. I love mine.

I have read most complaints on these products and have to agee,that i would be angry as well. I have had the Ttutech 32 " lcd ,19 " tv/dvd/monitor and 17 " tv/dvd/monitor all for about 2 years. My son has used the 32" almost everyday and all day both playing his xbox and watching tv. I sometimes have to shut the tv off in the morning when i leave for work, meaning this thing runs almost all day every day. I have had not 1 issue with any of the tv's ( except i can't get a universal remote code ). No i don't work for the company nor Target. Good luck to everyone with an issue, i'll keep an ear open should i hear of any possibility of a fix with any of your problems.

Too bad i just found this site! We too bought a Trutech TV only 8 months ago! You guessed it...it's dead! I have talked to 4 different people only to be transfered one more time to the manufacturer, also known as Starlite (so don't buy those TV's from Target either). Once there I got an answering machine that told me to speak after the tone! I guess I am out my $270 for a piece of junk! The input jacks have never worked and now the DVD player is fried and it makes a noise that sounds like an alien landing when you turn it on. I have worked in retail and customer service for 8 years and would never treat one of my customers the way I have been treated. If you know the TV is junk then stop selling it! I will no longer be a Target customer!

my trutech TV does NOT WORK. It does not play any DVDs and is the slowest thing in the world. Target should give us all our money back.

I too purchased a Trutech model PLV16260 26 inch television that has stopped working. I took it back to Target to be told of course about their 90 day warranty. They did nothing for me. I also filed a complaint with the BBB in which everyone should do. I have also contacted a law firm in refence to a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer (Venturer Electronics Inc) and Target. I will post additional information once I receive a call back from the attorney. Target is stilling selling the product even though they know if is bad. That alone is bad business and I will never shop there again. I was provided with a number for Venturer for repairs [protected] in which I was told they only had a 90 day manufacturer warranty the same as Targets but they would repair it if I sent the television back and paid for the shipping. They won't even pay the shipping when they know they sold a bad merchandise. If you paid on your credit card you can probably dispute the charge and get your money back. I am going to attempt to send back to see if they are able to repair it. I will do my homework from now on before I make a purchase on a brand that I am not familiar with. But I purchased a Zenith that caught on fire so now days none of them are good products anymore. Send me an email if you would like to talk further.

i bought 19" trutech lcd tv and a trutech dvd player from target, 4 month later the remote stop working and the tv start acting up. i will not recommend anyone to buy garbage like that from target. stick to the name brand you. trutech is a piece of ###. that right i said piece of ### thats what trutech is.

RUN DON'T WALK AWAY FROM THIS JUNK!

I have a 17" Trutech tv/dvd combo. I purchased it for my motorhome.
Only used a couple of times when suddenly the dvd player stopped working.
Since I had it over 90 days, Target would not exchange it, so I have been trying with no luck to get some satisfaction from the extended warranty that I purchased through Target.
What a run around! I will never buy electronics and especially waste my money on a worthless warranty from Target again.

I bought an mp3 player from trutech and I can't put any songs on it it's pure crap!

Well, I bought my 19" TruTech on Black Friday of 2007. Cheapest ($199 USD)TV/DVD/Monitor out there with 1080i HD. After reading this, I returned it to and was happy to have stumbled here. Even from the beginning, when you changed channels, the signal would twitch. Minor but for being new, kinda told me where it was heading, exchanged it 2 more times, 1 didnt work, another had the same problem. It is amazing how bad the quality of electronics is here in the USA. (and how much corp. are getting away with it, which is the scary part) It seems more common, normal and convenient for corps. to have custormers return things than to make things with good quality)

It looks like my story has been written more than once. I had my t.v. about 5 months. I finally got a hold of the service dept. For tru tech (not easily) and they want me to pay for ship[ping back to them. also put a 30.00 check in for services. Then they will return it to me with some type of short term warranty. Target was no help at all. At least i am not alone. What ever happened to the customer is always right.

I brought me a Trutech television and the tv stopped working after only a year and half. Today I came home and the tv smelled of burnt wire I am extremely upset and wish I never wasted $500.00 on a tv that could not even last two years and the worst part of this whole situation is target is not going to refund me my money and they do not even sell this model any more Target knew this was a horrible brand and they still sole it... I am extremely upset.

I purchased a mp3 player at target and 1 week later it doesnt work. I took it back. A target accociate told me never to buy trutech item. There junk. Target destroys trutech.

Add me to the list of thousands that have a problem with a Trutech Product. From the blogs I've read, it is clear to me that Target has compounded the problem by simply ignoring it.

It is my opinion that Target KNOWS it has a problem with this product but chooses to sweep the thousands of complaints under the carpet. I have made many calls only to have Targets policy rammed down my throat each time. The manufacturer will not respond. Target should have had a recall and made refunds.

J

Same old story: tv set starting humming when changing channels, then the screen went blue, standby light flashing and no picture. Piece of junk!

If anyone on here still has their TV, and would like to sell it, please let me know, and I will buy it from you.Please let me know the size, model, if you have the stand, and the remote, as well as what you want for it.Thank You very much!

Tyler

Ok you people are complain about the GENERIC brand discount crap you buy at a store and it breaks with in a year. what did you expect it a generic brand and target should not have to cover for you when the policy was clearly listed to you every where in target and on your receipt. also walmart dose it to. except its called Duraband and they are the same company as well as audiovox. stop blaming target cus your to cheap to pay for a name brand

I also bought a Trutech 26" TV in May, 2006. Two years later I turn the TV on and no sound or picture. The red indicator light comes on but nothing else works. I called Target and was told to call the manufacturer, that they could not help me since over the 90 day limited warranty. I am so angry! I paid over $700 for that TV and matching DVD player. I WILL NEVER SHOP AT TARGET AGAIN OR PURCHASE ANY TRUTECH MERCHANDISE.

I have gone to www.1800customersupport.com and put in two complaints now with no response. I've called the 800 number in the rather small book that came with the TV but stay on hold forever and have to hang up.

I PURCHASED TWO T.V.S FROM TARGET A 19INCH AND A 13INCH PLUS TWO DVD PLAYERS ALL TRUTECH AND EVERY THING STILL WORKS THANKFULL I HAVENT HAD THE PROBLEMS EVERYONE ELSE HAS HAD BUT THE ONE THING I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IS I CANT REMOVE THE BLOCKS OFF THE CHANNELS AND I'VE TRIED TO CONTACT TRUTECH BUT THEY ARE NOT LISTED SO TO THE PERSON WHO STILL HAVE THE BOOK THAT CAME WITH THE TV PLEASE POST THE INFORMATION FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE TROUBLE TRYING TO CONTACT SOMEONE AT TRUTECH I'AM GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE TRYING TO FIND A NUMBER FOR TRUTECH BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO BUY ANOTHER TRUTECH T.V. MAYBE THE EQUIMPMENT THAT THEY USED TO MAKE THE T.V.S THAT I PURCHASED IN 2005 THEY DONT USE ANYMORE.

Anyone who is planning on filing a class-action lawsuit or needs me to help organize...please e-mail me. It is time to do something about Target/Tru Tech and Alco (so-called Venture Electronics...is that why this why they changed their operating name from Alco to Venture?

I brought a trutech tv/dvd combo on 1/16/07 & 3 months ago, the dvd player quit working & gives a message "no valid disc".

I brought a trutech tv/dvd combo 1/16/07 & the dvd quit working in Feb 2008. The dvd gives me a message " no valid disc".

I purchased a Trutech tv/dvd combo over a year ago but didn't have room for it in my office until a few months ago so by the time I used it for the first time it was already past the 90 day warranty time frame . The tv works fine so far but the dvd player has NEVER worked. Initially I thought I had a defective dvd, but I've tried several more since then and none of them work. I also purchased this from Target and I'm unable to make direct contact with Trutech to see about the problem. I guess the lesson I learned is don't buy anything unless you're planning on using it immediately.

Wow so much about the trutech after I bought one. I bought a PLV1615T 15 inch tv and the problem it has is one that is repeated so many times here. It started with a blue screen and then the light just flashes. I bought the tv on 8/28/06 for my daughters room. It came with a dvd player. The dvd player did not work out of the box so I returned it for another that also stopped working promtly there after. I have sent the tv to get repaired by the people on the warranty paper. [protected]. It will cost $45 flat rate to fix it. Sounds good but it cost me $31.72 to ship it there and will have to pay the return shipping also? Well I am going to get it fixed for my 6 year old daughter but if it goes out again in short order it will find itself on the business end of a 12 gauge shot gun. It a sad fact that we buy this crap from the same seller and nothing changes. I am sure that target does not read any of the blogs about the stuff they sell.

I got a trutech brfore see ing this and w would of not gotten it it did not have a remote so I e-mail target they gave me a e-mail and 1800 number they did get back with me in24 hours and a week later got a broken remote I will be returning the tv to target and I told target after shopping at target for 30 yrs I didnt think the woul be a walmark cheap china products

I bought a tru tech TV with a DVD player. The dvd player does not work, it always takes forever loading then says "no disk". I am very disappointed in this tv. I always have to hook up a dvd player to a tv that includes one. I called target, and they said they can't do anything with it since I've had it longer than 90 days. please let me know if anyone has had any luck in getting their tv fixed or money back. I am very frustrated! Maybe target will get the hint that they are selling a product that doesn't work.

Bought your Tv at Target on sale one year later the screen comes on just for a few seconds then screen goes black. You still have sound and can change the channel but the screen doesn't appear again. I would like the company to contact me.

I bought a Trutech TV/DVD at Target in Dec. 2007. Somehow the remote control got lost last week. I have gone through all sort of channels to find out how to get another.

Finally, standing for 45 minutes on the phone with the manager of my local Target beside me in the store I reached a company called Alco which promises they'll send me a replacement if I send them $20.50. They do not take credit cards.

Their number is [protected].. I was on hold for about 10 minutes. The address is Venture Electronics/203 Eggert Road/Buffalo, NY 14215.

Let's hope that this is a real company and they actually will send the remote.

These message board comments date back to a year ago. Buyer Beware: Check online message boards prior to purchase! Instead of checking into the brands reputation among customers, I purchased TWO small Trutech t.v.'s. from Target, at two different points in time. The first t.v. failed to work. Since I couldn't find that receipt of purchase, I used the second t.v.'s receipt to get a refund. Well, within weeks, the second t.v. also failed to operate. Although I provided my bank debit card to Target, along with the fact that the timeline was still within 90 days store policy refund limit, they wouldn't issue a refund because the receipt code revealed I had already received a refund on THAT t.v. Now I am stuck with a broken Trutech t.v. Lesson #2- Save receipts (even though Target has disappearing ink on their receipts).

I also bought the fine TreTech LCD flat screen, was bad 4 month after I purchased it, sent it back with 25.00 dollars for repair, worked fine for a few hours and again it's bad. I've learned my lesson to buy electronics at Target. I'm going to check with my states consumer affairs about the issue, Target should be liable for a year of warranty.

I totally agree with all the complaints this is the first tv i got from my mom as a promise since i had a older out of date tv which worked but i just wanted to upgrade due too the outputs on the front which i didnt have well anyways it was all good until my tv turned in to a green monster then i thought maybe because i didnt have cable so when i got cable it was cool for the next month then it turned into the firey pits of hell and when i went to take it back with the receipt TARGET said that there was nothing they can do because i didnt have the warrenty or the box to call the manufactor so i kept it and it worked fine after it was unplugged for a couple of days it work fine on and off and now its the firey pits of hell red again wtf like people dont always have money to buy expensive things and my mom thought oh wow not only is it a flat screen front tv nice size and a front outputs so that i hook my dvd player up with out a vcr its on sale for 88 dollars and brought it with her hard own money and now i dont have a tv at all which sucks so EFF TRU TECH we should seriouly take this to the news or something so that something is done from people like TRUTECH who plays on peoples hard own money and sell them crap because we dont have enough to buy more expensive items THANKS TRU TECH PEOPLE I HOPE YOUR HAPPY!

Have a two year old TruTech PLV16320 that failed to come on today (5-30-08). Called Alco and they said they'd fix for $145 and provide shipping both ways. Think I'll tear into myself. Ninety percent of the electronic failures in my stuff has been poor solder joints in high heat areas where the thermal cycling fatigues the joint until it cracks and either becomes intermittent or fails completely.