Akai Not responding to phone calls or emails to honor warranty or help me at all! Woodland Hills California

I bought a Akai PDP42Z5TA 42" Plasma Television in September 2008. Sometime in the following week I got a Black and multi-colored 3 inch stripe down the right side of the screen.

I have a 1 year warranty from Akai and purchased an extended warranty through Square Trade. Akai has not returned one of my many phone calls nor any of my emails pleading with them to direct me to someone who can fix the television under their warranty. Square Trade will not pick up the warranty services until the end of the manufacture's warrantly and I think it is unfair to me to have to keep a broken television. Not to mention they were the first call I made when my attempts to reach Akai yeilded no results, so they are aware of the problem and they may not honor it at all.

I had even left a message and email stating I'd be willing to consider paying for the repair out of my pocket, I just wanted my new television to work and that yeilded no response.

This situation has caused me such stress in my releationship that I had to move out just so I wouldn't have to look at that damned TV that I emptied my savings account to buy. My partner is not very happy. This has been a horrible experience for me on so many different levels that extend far beyond just getting screwed over by Akai and it has affected my personal life as well as my normal happy mental state. I do not have thousands of dollars to just lose like this. It is very dis-heartening that they get away with selling faulty products and the consumer has to take the 1k hit in the pocket. This is not the economy to be holding thier consumers with such disregard. Is there a class-action suit pending against them?

AJ
Enola, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.