Johnson v. Ashley Furniture Industries Claims Administrator

I haven't bought any furniture lately.   But I got this today:

SUMMARY NOTICE

THIS NOTICE ADVISES YOU OF A PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT WITH ASHLEY FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, INC. (“AFI”), ASHLEY HOMESTORES LIMITED (“AHS”), AND PARTICIPATING LICENSEES RELATED TO CALIFORNIA ASHLEY FURNITURE HOMESTORES.  THIS NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS -- PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

This summary notice informs you about the settlement of Johnson v. Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., Southern District of California Case Number 13-cv-02445-BTM-DHB.  Johnson represents a class of persons who were requested or required to provide, and did provide and had recorded, their personal identification information (which includes, but is not limited to, a customer’s address, ZIP code, telephone number, and/or email address), during a credit card transaction at an Ashley Furniture HomeStore in California between October 10, 2012 and December 2, 2015 in which the respective Class Member took their purchases with them at the conclusion of the transaction.

For additional information regarding this settlement, the full Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement (“Notice”) is available atwww.CAAFHSCreditCardClassAction.com, or from the Claims Administrator at Johnson v. Ashley Furniture Industries Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 40007, College Station, TX  77842-4007.

If you are a class member and you do not opt out and this settlement is approved you will receive a $25.00 merchandise voucher, which can be used for a limited time at the Ashley Furniture HomeStore(s) listed in the letter accompanying your voucher.

To exclude yourself from the case and settlement, you may send a request, postmarked no later than February 5, 2016, to Johnson v. Ashley Furniture Industries Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 40007, College Station, TX 77842-4007, listing case number 13-cv-02445-BTM-DHB and asking to “opt out” -- exclusion means you will not receive any benefits from the settlement, and you will not be bound by the settlement or any resulting judgment.  You can object to the settlement by complying with the applicable procedures in the Notice no later than February 5, 2016.

If you want to withdraw from the email marketing campaigns of AFI, AHS, and/or the participating licensees, please send an email with your request and current contact information to Admin@CAAFHSCreditCardClassAction.com, or send a letter with your request and current contact information to Johnson v. Ashley Furniture Industries Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 40007, College Station, TX 77842-4007.  Upon receipt of your request to withdraw, AFI, AHS and the participating licensees will take appropriate steps to remove you from their email marketing communications.  AFI, AHS and the participating licensees will not purge or destroy your information.  Class Members who opt out of the email marketing campaigns may still be contacted by AFI, AHS and the participating licensees for customer service issues, service or reminder notices, product recalls or similar matters.

I don't think there is a safe way to unsubscribe from this.  Going to leave it alone.

Bath & Body Works

New email the other day from Bath & Body works.  Subject line: "Hi!" with pleny of hearts.  Thank you for subscribing.  Now unsubscribing.

emily[samelastname559]

I got sent an invite for a family Christmas to open presents on a repeating basis.   I emailed back that I didn't know who they were.   Deleted the event from my calendar.

Change.org

I have signed petitions in the past with Change.org.  Imagine my surprise when I found one in my email for one I've never heard of before.   Also, there was a new welcome email.   In this particular case, the name with my email address appears to be a real one, but it doesn't relate to my name at all.  I'd publish the name here, but I found an associated Facebook account.   She is from California.

I was able to reset the password and then close the account.  Imagine my delight when the option to close said that the email address would never be able to be used to sign up again.   Goal!

TECNICO ELECTROMECANICO

I think I have gotten someone's technical support request for an electricity bill.   The PDF contains stuff like:

Ubicación Técnica: MX11002004-02-03-02 INSTALACION SANITARI

Planta: PLANTA 7

Oficina: 3340

Ceco: MX11003340 INMUEBLES/SERV GRLES

Coordinador: INM CORPORATIVO

Hope they got their power ok!

My EF

I was sent an email from an Anna G. about a language immersion program.  The message was mostly in French and led to a YouTube video.   Once upon a time, I took French in my 6th grade summer.   We learned some language basics and about Nutella.  

GovDelivery

An Emily in Washington, probably Seattle subscribed me to political mailings for Gerry Pollet and Jessyn Farrell.  I don't know who these people are, so I'm unsubscribing.

Curely

Apparently there is an app/service called Curely where you can talk to medical personnel about health questions and not get a diagnosis.  The latter bit I assume is a legal thing.  I got an email asking to confirm my account.   Nope.   Also, I'm not installing an app just to change a password and uninstall it.   I imagine if I do a password reset in a few months there will be lots of juicy health data this other Emily will have inputted.

commandcenterinfo

The other day, I got another Instagram account email.   I go to the account and it's cosplay and Power Rangers.   Nope.  Definitely not me.   I didn't confirm it and disassociated my address.   They haven't tried to re-add it yet, so it must not be important.

Comcast XFinity

I got confirmation for a cable installation appointment in my inbox!  For someplace in San Francisco.   Fortunately, I was able to use the contact information in the email to call Emily and let her know of the situation.   Apparently, I had talked to her before about a diner discount club and shoes.  

Emily was able to get things straightened out with the cable company.  I'm glad.

ILUVBUBU12

Ok, a new Kik account tonight.  This time the username was a bit on the creative side.   When I clicked that I didn't create the account in the confirmation email, the whole account was deleted.  Yay!

4shared

The other day I got a reminder to confirm a 4shared account.   I didn't create one, so I removed my email address from the account.

panda.girl34

It's been a while since I got an Instagram account opened with my email address.   I didn't confirm my email and disassociated it from my address.  Then I went to the website.   This girl likes fingernail art.   I don't think she took the photos herself.   They seem like they were taken from Pinterest or something.  

If the email is added back, it'll be my cue to hijack the account.

Ally & Lillian's 8th birthday

I got a delightful invitation to a children's Halloween-themed birthday party this weekend, occurring somewhere in Texas.   From the proximity, I think this Emily is the same one whose Victoria's Secret receipt got sent to me.  I RSVP'd no to the Evite and made a note that the hosts should attempt to contact Emily via phone or other means.  

Oh cute!   Looks like the girls have requested donations to a pantry in lieu of presents.  

I then got a second email forward from the host.  Still not the correct email address, so I replied with this blog address.  I'm curious if she'll see how long I've been receiving her email.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome

I got a strange email today from a woman named Molly.   Apparently she and this other Emily had a nice time over the weekend.   Emily promised to send her articles on cyclic vomiting syndrome.  I wrote back that she had the wrong address.  Nice time and vomit don't usually belong in the same sentence, but whatever floats your boat.

Uber

I got an email confirmation request from another Emily.  This time it was for Uber, as a rider.   Nope, didn't confirm it.   I did however reset the password.  I can see the last four digits of her credit card and all the places she has taken Uber rides.  I even got a phone number.  She lives in California, gets the San Francisco notifications, and travels between Compton and Los Angeles.  I even have a specific street address for each location.

I attempted to call the phone number but the person on the other end isn't able to receive calls.  I think perhaps her phone bill wasn't paid recently.  

If I wanted to shut down the account, I'd have to contact support.  There isn't an easy close account function.  Oh well.

Lisa [same last name]

I got an email asking that my email address be confirmed for an Apple ID account.  I assume it's for a backup/recovery purposes.   I added another email address to my Apple ID account to see what would happen.   You could possibly get instant messages and other services sent to the new address if confirmed.   No thanks.

Looking in the spam folder: Tampa

Do you ever just look through your spam folder?   I get lots of it because of all the different Emily's who use my email address.   In particular, many of the spam emails indicate that I live in Tampa, Florida.   I know a couple of people in that area, but I'm not there.

"Emily, I love your profile! Let's meet in Tampa!"

"Emily, refinance your home in Tampa!"

"Financial aid for people like you, in Tampa!"

"Unclaimed funds for Emily in Tampa!"

"Hey Emily, I'm sure you are living around myself at Tampa.
I'd personally to meet up with you if you're want by me?"

That's 63 Tampa related messages out of a total on 301.

MyChildCareGuide.com

I got an email the other day to confirm some review that I had supposedly written about a child care provider.   Nope, not going to touch that one.   Deleted.   If the other Emily really wanted something published, she would have used her actual email address.  The review is now lost in limbo someplace.

Jobrapido

I got an email today asking to confirm job alerts for a position called, "Companion."   I like Firefly as much as the next geek, but that's not the job for me.   The email stated that if no links were clicked from the email, no more email would arrive.   I looked up Jobrapido.com and it doesn't lead to a functional website.

Pandora

A long while ago, some kid opened a Pandora account with my email address without the dot.   I went in and changed the password.   Not much personal information in the account except for the horrid musical taste.  

Fast forward to this week.  I get a password reset request from Pandora.   I check the login to confirm that it still works, which it does.   I could always shut down the account, but that requires email correspondence and too much work.   I deleted all the radio stations and deleted the request.

emily*555

Another account created yesterday!   This time, it was for Instagram.   Again, I used the link in the email to disassociate my email address from the account.   If this account maker is persistent, I'll change the password and close it from within.

emily**97865801

Earlier this week I got another Twitter confirmation sent to my email address.   Nope, this definitely isn't mine.  I disassociated my email address.

AffairDating

Someone used my email address to try signing up for a dating service/infidelity helper!   Fortunately, this service requires email confirmation.  I'm not touching any of the links in the email.   One thing that is hilarious is the image of the woman used in the email.   There is something wrong with her.  I think her head is pasted on and there is definitely something wrong with her eyes.   It makes me think she's having a stroke.

Having an Almost Celebrity Email Address

Hi everyone.  I wanted to share this article my friend Beth found.   This poor woman is only a letter away from Fox News personality Megyn Kelly in her email address.   She's getting hate mail meant for someone else.

 http://gawker.com/angry-trump-fans-keep-emailing-this-poor-woman-whose-na-1728572462

emily*961@*.com

Good morning world.  This morning, I got an alert congratulating me of my new email account and asking if I'd like to migrate over my settings.   Disconnected it.   Maybe I'll email this Emily later on.   It doesn't usually work, but who knows?

Exchange LA

For the first time, I have received someone else's show tickets in my email.   I don't know how this other Emily was able to use them if I got her ticket instead.   I wonder if they gave her a difficult time at the night club last night.

2015-2016 Project-Based Learning High School Grade Contract

Hi everyone.  It's been a while since I received one of these mistaken emails.  This week's entry is from a Sharon F.  She sent a contract to be signed to make sure that some kid does his/her homework and to supervise.   I wrote back that I don't have a child and to check her email address.   She then removed my access to the file.

Dropbox

It's been a while since I got one of these wrong email address things.    I woke up yesterday to a welcome to Dropbox in Spanish, asking to confirm my email address.   I changed the password, kicked it into English, and then closed the account.

United States Post Office

I'm not the only one that gets these weird emails.  Steve got one about a change of address form.   He's got a name duplicate out in California who doesn't know his email address.  He followed through to make sure it wasn't our address being forwarded.  So far, so good.

Journey's

I got a receipt for some shoes purchased in Lubbock, Texas.   I called the phone number of the store with no luck.   I have the customer ID.   The next time I'm at the mall, I'll see if I can see what address is listed for it.

Samsung Smart Camera

I got two emails today with multiple pictures of tween girls on vacation.   The only text included is something to the effect of, "Keep these pictures please."  

What am I supposed to do with them?  It's supposedly from a smart camera, but the user isn't smart enough to send the photos to the correct email address.

emmy._.13

Well, that didn't take long at all.   Emmy is back with another Instagram account!   Looking at the picture, this looks like the girl who I first wrote about here months ago.  The next time she adds my email address, that new account is toast.

Update: she added my email account again. Same old song and dance. Reset password, permanently close account with now legitimate password.

emmy._.2003

This little Emmy added my email address to her Instagram account 3 times.   Each time I disconnected it.   On the last time, I changed the password.  I got into the account.  I now have her phone number.   Then I closed the account.   She had about 45 posts.   I don't think she'll be able to use that username again.  

isfahan

I was just invited to join a network called the Polyglot Club.  It's for connecting people learning multiple languages.  I'm not familiar with the person who invited me.  They are from Chicago.   I was able to unsubscribe.

Another Instagram

It's amazing that you can close an Instagram account before the other person can put anything into it.  

Firestone Tires

I am not shopping for new tires yet an account for service was created with my email account.   It's gone now.

EmilyG670

Meowchat is apparently a thing. It combines a dating service and an instant messaging app for swapping photos. A 17 year old girl from California signed up using my email address. Upon logging in, I was able to read her messages and see her status ("bored"). I closed the account.

Another day, another email account disassociation

Two new accounts opened this week.  One was for Kik and the other was for Twitter.   It's really easy to just not confirm the account.   There was enough space between the two logins that I don't think they are the same person.

Boris and the Las Vegas Excursion

A few months ago, someone sent me a friend request.   I didn't recognize this Boris person and dismissed it.

I got an email from him that included a spreadsheet of travel plans/expenses for a small group.

I informed him that I didn't know who he was.   Definitely the wrong Emily.

peace_out27

Another Emily opened a Skype account the other day.   She looks like like she's in middle school.   I've changed the password.   You can't close an account unless you talk to Skype customer service.   Too much work.

Vodafone Wi-Fi Community

I also got an email this morning welcoming me to Vodafon and Fon hotspots worldwide.   This particular email had a password reset in the text, so I used it and then closed the account.  

Dubsmash

I didn't know a service existed for putting together selfie videos with pop culture sound tracks.   I got a request to verify my email for the service this morning.   I didn't verify, but I was still able to change the password on the account and close it.  Verification in this point, did the account creator no good.

Kidzworld

I first started getting emails for Kidzworld back in 2013.  A kid had set my email address as her parent's.  I contacted the company in Canada and was able to get my email address banned from the system.  

I was very surprised to see a notification of a new app for the website in my inbox.   I was able to unsubscribe.   It's weird that they would send an ad to a banned account.

emily_too_cute05

I got a password change notification the other day.   So I changed it.  Then I closed the Kik account.   Ask and you shall receive.

Forever 21

This past Monday I got a panicked email from a gent named Martin.   He had accidentally sent a gift card intended for his girlfriend to my email account.   Forever 21 had already charged his credit card so he asked that I forward the gift back to him/Emily.  

Fortunately, they never sent out the email and Martin was able to get the present to his sweetheart.   I'm very glad.

Smart-Saver

This Emily must really have issues with money.   Today she's looking for credit cards, free samples, and coupons now.   I'm so glad that these accounts require confirmation before activation.  Won't Emily be surprised why she hasn't gotten responses from all these services?

Freebies Frenzy

This particular account I was signed up for promises free samples delivered via email.   That's highly improbable given that the content of email is digital.  Not everybody has a 3D printer and I doubt that's what this service is hinting at.   Nope.  Ignoring it.

Sky Card Finder

This particular Emily must have issues with credit.   I got some email for a credit card finding site she joined.   I doubt there would be any interesting personal information in the account at this time.  I'll just ignore it.

Office 356 Subscription

I just got informed that I have free access to Microsoft Office because some guy named Benjamin shared it with me!   Meh.  I already have Open Office.   The invite will expire in a few days.

Ann Garcia

I got another Pinterest account created the other day.  This time it was in English.   I barely use the one that I actually own.   Unsubscribed and unconfirmed.

Victoria's Secret

I don't often shop at Victoria's Secret.  Imagine my surprise when I got a receipt from another Emily in Texas.   I gave the store a call and actually got to speak to the cashier who rang her out.  I then called customer service.  Apparently, it's a one time thing.   She will have to enter an email address with each purchase.   

La Cantera 15900 La Cantra Parkway STE 6590 San Antonio, TX 78256 210-877-9059

5/11/15 11:41 AM Trans.: 5969 Store: ***** Reg.: 007 Till: 1007 Cashier: ******

SALE

PNK BIKINI SW 24.95 T   0667538420825 1 @ 24.95 PNK HALTER SW 49.95 T   0667538353475 1 @ 49.95 Subtotal 74.90    Total Sales Tax 6.18 Total 81.08   Debit    Visa   *********** (A)   Swipe    81.08 Total Tender 81.08 Change Due 0.00 TOTAL ITEMS PURCHASED =  2

Customer Copy

Not my style.  I even quoted the amount paid to the cashier.   

Pinterest

I already have a Pinterest account.  I just got a confirmation for a new one, in Spanish.   Nope.  Disconnected that one.

emily_gabby_forever

Yesterday, an Emily signed my email address up for Kik messenger.   Fortunately, there was a button to disconnect my email address.  Done.   If you are wondering what happens to these girls after they can't sign into their accounts, wonder no more.  They try again.  Repeatedly.  

emilytipan24

Another Emily just tried to use my email address as recovery for a new email account.   I've tried emailing these people before but it doesn't usually do anything.  If I get a response, I'll post it here.

Samuel

I just got an email to my husband, "Carlos" about my son, "Samuel" being accepted into a kindergarten in Seattle.  I also got a PDF with the kid's birth date and school address.   I replied to the email that I have no children and for them to check their email address again.

Pressed Juicery

This email was in my promotions folder.  I like smoothies, but this place is out in California.  I was able to unsubscribe.

Poshmark

This Emily is from Alabama and opened an account at Poshmark, a website for buying and selling clothes.   I was able to close the account right after she signed up.

ef*_306

I took an afternoon nap today.  When I awoke, I found two password reset requests for Trivia Crack.   I have many friends who play this game, but I never planned on opening an account for myself.   I guess I have one now.

I installed the app and found the user name.   I changed the password.  I also changed the user name to "ihaveyouraccount".  The account has no current scores in it.   I have received two more password reset requests since this evening.  

Account Killer doesn't have a method to close a Trivia Crack account.    I have written to customer service requesting that the account be terminated.   If that doesn't work, I guess I'll just keep throwing out the password resets.

_abigail_r567

Good morning world!  About a two hours ago, I got another Instagram account creation email   This time the girl's name is Abigail.   Nope.   Not going to confirm that one either.   Email address disassociated.

emily_fdoe

This Emily happens to have a follower named Steven.   It's not us, but anyways.   I've disconnected my email address.   Still no posts.

Emily Olson

Miss Emily Olson created created a Twitter account yesterday.  I disassociated from my email address (Clicking "I did not create this account.".  There are no tweets as of today.   The profile icon is the default egg.  

When I get multiple account creations in a row, I can't help but wonder if they are the same individual.

emily10189

The most recent Emily to add my email address to her Instagram account is a dancer.   There are memes about dancing, comments about flexibility, and also pictures of cupcakes.  She like Mexican food and amusement park rides.   Emily apparently likes the LA Dodgers and is affiliated or a fan of Center Stage Dance Company.   She has had this account since the beginning of March and only added my email address yesterday.   I have disconnected the account from my email address.

Microsoft Account

Someone just tried to open a Microsoft account using my email address as the verifying email address.   Thank goodness that this has a button that says, "If you didn't create this account, click here."   The account is now closed.

They wouldn't even be able to use the email address if it wasn't verified.   Why don't people think, "I wonder where my verification email is?"  It's with me.

Netflix

I was pretty disappointed that Amazon Prime stopped including many BBC television programs.  I was considering getting a Netflix account.   But someone already created one for me.   I unsubscribed from notifications, changed the password, and then changed the email address to something nonsensical.   Normally, I just close accounts, but there is no way to do so with Netflix.  The best you can do is depersonalize the information and leave it up there.  

I'm expecting the other Emily to open another account soon.   I'll just repeat the process again.

SALT: Money Knowledge for College and Beyond

Today I woke up to find a welcome email from $ALT offering to assist me with debt.   This worries me.   Any business that deals with financial information should at least use an email verification process when setting up accounts.  Otherwise, any unscrupulous yahoo could go to town with another person's financial information.  

I was able to quickly change the password and log in.   Turns out my doppelganger was born in 1977 in this case.  There wasn't any other information filled out in the profile section.   I closed down the account.

MovieStarPlanet

I got an email today informing me that my child has joined Moviestar Planet's website.   It looks like something from Monster High and Bratz dolls.

The email gave me the kid's email address and user name.  The email said I could contact the website with any issues, so I have.   I have also disabled all of the features the email said I could control.

It's sort of amusing to have the email address of the kid.   I could really play some head games if I was so inclined.

"Dear Alex,
I have a confession to make.  I am not your mother.   You are not my child.   Never have been, never will be.   I don't have the strength to mention it to you in person.   If you confront me about it, I will deny it."

I could send an email like that and every word would be true.

My Horse

A girl named Rylee sent me an invitation to play an Android game called My Horse.  It's a horse pet simulator.   I emailed her back and said I wasn't interested.   The picture above is her horse.   You can friend her if you use her nickname, AtomicPixie673.  Then I suppose you'll own a horse too, albeit a digital one.

Draw Something

Someone used my email address to open a Draw Something account.   I already have an account with Zynga for that.  If you email Zynga, they will close the account.  It should be done in 2 weeks.   It's weird that they sent me the password to the account without me even asking for it.

Unidad Educatica Inmaculada/OPSU

I got an email in Spanish yesterday about some kind of study and that I was being sent a password.   Sure enough I got the email with the password today.  It appears to originate somewhere in Venezuela.  I can't even get it translated because they used graphics rather than text.   Per the email instructions, I let them know that they have the wrong address.

freefutcoins.1

This afternoon I got an email about an Instagram account created with my email address.  To my surprise, it was about soccer rather than being the selfie repository of a teenage girl.  The subject of the account is money in the video game FIFA 2015.  The kid appears to have lots of in game currency and is using the account to give it to other online players.

I disconnected my email address and then did a password reset.  The password reset was then sent to a different address rather than one generated by the service.

Assurant.com

Today I got an email that said that a claim had been approved on a replacement phone:

Dear emily _______,

Good news! Your Premium Handset Protection* claim was approved on 01/27/2015. You will be notified when your replacement device has been shipped.

Thank you for the opportunity to assist you!

Regards,

Assurant Solutions

Claims Team I called the phone number listed on the claim and asked for Emily.   It was a wrong number.  I then called Assurant and spoke to a customer service representative.   He said that I was the first person to call in and report a wrong email address and he was very grateful for my honesty.   He says that the owner of the phone would need to contact them about the claim.   Seeing that the email address and phone number are wrong, I hope that the replacement phone at least shipped to the right physical address. I do have a Fedex tracking number now.   I suppose I can check.

EmiiGonzales14

This Twitter account was created last summer and I disconnected my email address.   Emily must have put it back.  This is her profile picture:

It popped up again because someone tagged her in a tweet.   I have once again removed my email address.  She has nearly 400 tweets, so closing her account would be mean.   I'll just have to see if she sends anything else.

13emmyisbest

I started getting email for this Instagram account on January 10 at around 1 am.  This is Emily's picture:

I disconnected my email address from her account 4 times.   Each time, she reattaches it.   The final time, I reset the password.  I now have her cell phone number.  I installed Instagram on my phone and uploaded the following image:

Then I disassociated my email from the account and requested a password reset for her.   If she adds me again, I will just close the account.  You'd think that it wouldn't be that difficult of a thing to learn.

I will do something about it.

My name is Emily and I have stumbled upon an unusual hobby.   Years ago, I acquired an email address with my full name while the service was in beta test.  This email address has no additional characters.  Since that time, I have received dozens upon dozens of emails intended for other people who just happen to share my name.  They forget that their email address may have additional characters such as a middle initial or numbers.  Instead they use mine.

I get everything including online loyalty program mail, family picture albums, social media accounts, and other people's receipts.  NPR had an article last September about these email doppelgangers.  I'm really glad that I'm not alone with this problem.

If it's something more frivolous, say a online music or social media account, I do one of three things: 1. Unsubscribe from the mailing list. 2. Disassociate my email address from the account.  3. Close the account.   Sometimes I contact the company and get my email address blocked from further use in their system.

I've also gotten important medical appointment reminders and invitations for job interviews for other people.   I could seriously mess up someone's life if I didn't try to get people pointed in the right direction.

I have kept a file of all the information on these presumptive owners of my email address since August of 2013.  It's quite a large file with a great deal of diversity of content and locations.  The other Emilys live everywhere from California to Uruguay.

Knowing your own email address is an important life skill. I just help people learn this lesson.   I hope you will find these writings entertaining and informative.  If you have experienced this phenomena, feel free to leave a comment.