CR says that an average cup of coffee has about 100mg of caffeine. While all decaf will have some caffeine, there are no laws that dictate how much caffeine is allowed in decaffeinated coffee.

Their results,

More than half of our decafs had less than 5 mg of caffeine, but some had quite a bit more. One of the six cups from Dunkin' Donuts had 32 mg; one from Seattle's Best had 29 mg; and one from Starbucks had 21 mg. Levels of caffeine in the decaffeinated coffees we tested varied within chains, but in our sample, McDonald's decaf consistently had less than 5 mg.

Our shoppers bought caffeinated coffee at the same chains, and we found a surprise there, too. Caffeine per cup ranged from 58 mg to 281 mg, providing less or more of a java jolt than you might expect.

We suppose it would be more correct to call the stuff "partially decaffeinated" coffee. If you are someone who is trying to avoid caffeine, you might want to limit yourself to one cup of decaf per day and not drink any before bed. Of course, most of our readers would probably prefer a caffeine IV if such a thing existed.

Is it really decaf? [Consumer Reports]

Consumer Reports offers a lot of valuable advice in their recent piece, Spend Less on Everything. Some suggestions: Use shopping bots and online coupon sites to find the best deals, consider using VoIP, and check Consumer Reports's website for advice on insurance, electronics, and cars before purchasing them.

Some broader, common sense tips come from Survive a Recession: making sure you don't get fired, having or building an emergency fund, trying to eliminate debt, living frugally, and pursuing additional means of income.

The Simple Dollar lists Forty Ways to Reduce Your Monthly Spending, including insulating your hot water heater, reviewing and reducing your subscriptions, and starting a garden.

Although we wrote about this in 2006, it's just as valuable today: Free Money Finance gathers 301 of its money-saving tips, including guidance on choosing car insurance, cutting your own hair, and saving money on babysitting, into one cornucopia of frugality here.

For even more useful advice, check out Consumer Reports's comprehensive recession guide: Smart Moves for Tight Times

Lastly, we would advise against just throwing away bones with plenty of meat still on them. Instead, take them home, throw them in a pot, add some broth, a potato—baby, you've got a stew going!

Some highlights:

• Interest rates can jump to as much as 27.99 percent retroactively. That's the rate Chase HealthAdvance's zero-interest plan charges, for example, if you miss a payment or don't pay off the debt in the promotional period. By contrast, the average fixed-rate credit card charges 11.9 percent, according to Bankrate.com.
• Consumers report that they sometimes feel pressured by medical providers to finance needed medical care, in some cases while sedated or recovering from treatment.
• Doctors and dentists have financial incentives under these arrangements to encourage patients to sign up for more expensive treatments and to steer them to extended financing plans that take a smaller cut of the practitioner's fee.
• When hospitals persuade patients to tap unused credit, those patients can lose the power to bargain for discounts or even obtain charity care

Overdose of Debt [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: Getty)

• Take out the filter and vacuum off debris. Wash it in warm, soapy water. Rinse the filter let it dry completely, then reinstall. If the filter is very dirty or your usage increases significantly, clean the filter more often.
• If dirt and debris have bypassed the filter, you will need to remove the front panel and vacuum dust and debris from the coils.
• Replace a deteriorated filter.

Protect Your Investment: Maintain your air conditioner [Consumer Reports]

(Photo: Maulleigh)

2000 Honda Insight MPG: 51
Estimated cost: $4,760 - $6,350

2004 - '06 Toyota Prius MPG: 44
Estimated cost: $15,000 - $20,775

2001 - '03 Toyota Prius MPG: 41
Estimated cost: $6,700 - $13,225

2000 - '05 Toyota Echo MPG: 38
Estimated cost: $3,260 - $10,325

2003 Honda Civic Hybrid MPG: 37
Estimated cost: N/A

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid/EX MPG: 37/31
Estimated cost: $12,270 - $20,350

2007 Honda Fit Sport (manual) MPG: 34
Estimated cost: N/A

2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback and sedan MPG: 34/33
Estimated cost: N/A

1998 - 2002 Chevrolet Prizm MPG: 32
Estimated cost: $2,475 - $2,475

1998 Mazda Protege LX MPG: 32
Estimated cost: $1,690 - $3,925

1998 - 2000 Toyota Corolla CE/LE MPG: 32/31
Estimated cost: $2,245 - $5,900


1991 - 2001 Acura Integra MPG: 32
Estimated cost: $3,255 - $14,700

2005 - '06 Scion xB (manual/auto) MPG: 32/30
Estimated cost: $8,250 - $14,175

2004 - '05 Scion xA (auto/manual) MPG: 31/30
Estimated cost: $7,725 - $11,200


2004 - '07 Mazda3 (manual) MPG: 30
Estimated cost: $10,085 - $20,025

2006 Mini Cooper (manual) MPG: 30
Estimated cost: $16,660 - $24,7500

16 sweet used fuel sippers [CNN Money]

36%-48%
Ideally, your total monthly debt payments shouldn't exceed 36 percent of your gross monthly income. But, Jones says, many people go above 48 percent, which should be avoided if possible.

In a perfect world debt payments wouldn't exceed 0% of our monthly incomes. Since our world is far from perfect, check out the rest of the rules here.

Your debt, 8 benchmarks for borrowing [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: Getty)

7. Consider where you shop.
Lean toward cards that will earn rewards at stores and services you use frequently. For example, airline and hotel discounts won't come in handy for those who aren't frequent travelers.

6. Project your spending.
Try to figure out how much you will likely spend per year and translate that into cash back points or reward points. Then, calculate how far that gets you toward your desired reward. Don't forget to subtract any annual fees. Move away from any card that makes you spend a small fortune for a minu
scule reward.

5. Favor Cash back.
Often times, points go unused which is a bonus for the credit card company. However, cash back will accumulate without you having to anything. Consumer Reports also found that cash back cards usually offer better rewards than point equivalents.

4. Do the math on do-good programs.
Charitable individuals might be attracted to reward cards that give to charities. However, the reality is that they usually pay very low rates. You would probably be better off going with a cash back card and donating the money yourself which would result in a larger donation and a tax deduction.

3. Skip credit card rewards if you carry a balance.
Since reward cards often have higher interest rates, the interest on the balance you carry will probably offset any reward. Look for a standard credit card with a lower APR.

2. Use airline miles fast.
If you manage to save up enough miles for a trip, use them quickly. You never know when one of the airlines will change their conditions or go belly-up.

1. Avoid temptation.
Research shows that credit card users will often spend more in their quest to earn points toward their shiny new prize, however, overspending for a freebie doesn't make good economic sense.

If you think about, what credit card company is going to give you something free unless it is making them more money? These companies have have enormous hives of supercomputers and datajunkies working nonstop to make sure they're making more money than they're giving you in rewards.

Credit card rewards are a real rip off [CNN Money]
(Photo: Getty)

From the Wall Street Journal:

These pools, unlike in-ground models — which usually require a construction permit — are less likely to be subject to local safety codes that call for measures such as fencing, covers or alarms, advocates say. Inflatable pools can be quite large, accommodating several adults and, in many cases, accessible by a ladder.

Donald Mays, senior director of product safety and technical public policy at Consumers Union, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, urges consumers not to buy such inflatable pools. He says that the sides are often pliable, making it easy for a child to topple in.

Mr. Mays also says that such pools' covers are usually designed to keep out debris but cannot withstand the weight of a person. He mentioned an incident in which kids playing on a cover of one of these pools got entangled and drowned.

"The fact is that when people buy these very inexpensive pools at drugstores or the supermarket, towns are not aware they are being installed ... and safety measures don't get put in," Mr. Mays says.

Here's some more pool safety information from Consumer Reports. A particularly useful tip:

Since every second counts, always look for a missing child in the pool first. Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool.

Child Drownings Rise, Spark Safety Concerns [WSJ]

Rise in child drownings prompts new warnings on pool safety [Consumer Reports]

Costco $962
AARP.com $1005
Wal-mart $1073
Walgreens.com $1153
CVS.com $1177
Independents $1192
CVS $1205
Safeway $1207
Shopko $1209
Publix $1219
Hannafor $1226
Walgreens $1276
Rite Aid $1302

Costco sells nearly all their goods at close to cost, so their primacy is no surprise. Results may vary, but it shows you shopping around, even for drugs, makes for a healthier wallet.

America's best drugstores [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: Getty)

Just don't share your toothbrush [Consumer Reports via Freakonomics]

To test, Consumer Reports takes glasses coated with a mixture of flour, egg yolk, sugar, and evaporated milk then puts it in an oven for ten minutes in order to simulate baked-on food. After the glass cools, testers place it in a scrubbing machine with warm water and one teaspoon of detergent. A counter then tallies the number of scrubs it takes to remove the food. Steel panels are dipped in beef fat and left to dry to test for grease removal.

Which dishwashing detergent works best? [ABC 7]
PREVIOUSLY: Inside The Consumer Reports Testing Facility

• Be open and friendly in your discussion with the salesperson, ask for them to "work with you" on the price
• Be discreet, don't broadcast to other shoppers that you're getting a deal
• Escalate to a manager if the salesperson isn't empowered to make a decision
• Do your research so you know the fair price to ask for
• Be creative, ask for free shipping
• Offer to pay cash so they don't have to pay a credit card transaction fee

Not surprisingly, the car dealers who sell the extended warranties disagree. A spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association likened the warranties to insurance for which, of course, policy holders as a group pay more than they get back to protect against the rare problem that is ruinously expensive.

Kenneth Weine, a vice president of Consumers Union, said the ad campaign is a way to further the group's mission, "to make the market a better and safer place for consumers."

From Consumer Reports:

But extended warranties sell costly "peace of mind" for repair nightmares that probably won't occur, according to a survey of more than 8,000 readers in December 2007 by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. We have long advised that extended warranties are a poor deal for almost every product. Now we have the first data showing that this advice applies to most new cars as well.

Bearer of Bad News Decides To Advertise It [NYT] (Thanks, Molly!)

RELATED: Extended Car Warranties Are A Ripoff

Small Sedan: Hyundai Elantra SE ($18,000)
Midsized SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe ($27,000 to $39,000)
Luxury Sedan: Lexus LS 460L ($77,000)
Family Sedan: Honda Accord ($22,000 to $31,000)
Upscale Sedan: Infiniti G35 ($33,000 to $35,000)
Fun To Drive: Mazda MX-5 Miata ($27,000)
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4 ($23,000 to $30,000)
Minivan: Toyota Sienna ($24,000 to $37,000)
"Green" Car: Toyota Prius. ($24,000)

A good starting guide if you're looking to pick up a new car this year.

Top Picks 2008 [Consumer Reports]

[via BoingBoing]
(Photo: Getty)

AT&T Sales Reps Gave Wrong Info On Termination Fees In Test [Smart Money via DSLReports]
(Photo: epicharmus)

TV Stars [Consumer Reports]

Overall rating / Company / Rating for Internet / TV / Phone
250 Verizon FiOS 84, 84, 82
222 Bright House 75, 69, 78
222 Cox 74, 69, 79
221 Verizon/DirecTV 73, 74, 74
221 Qwest/DirecTV 72, 74, 75
221 AT&T/Dish Network 72, 70, 74
214 Cablevision 72, 65, 77
208 Time Warner 71, 63, 74
199 Comcast 66 ,62, 71
188 Charter 61, 59, 68

Despite occasionally setting a house on fire, Verizon FiOS is clearly tops, while Comcast and Charter are scraping the bottom.

Internet, TV, phone [Consumer Reports]

Rank / Car / MPG (overall / city / highway)

12. Mini Cooper S 30 / 22 / 38
11. Mazda3 30 / 21/ 42
10. Kia Rio5 SX 30 / 23 / 36
9. Hyundai Accent GS 30 / 23 / 36
8. Honda Civic EX 31 / 22 / 40
7. Honda Fit automatic, base 32 / 22 / 43
6. Toyota Yaris automatic, base 33 / 23 / 44
5. Honda Fit Sport 34 / 26 / 39
4 .Toyota Yaris, base 34 / 26 / 42
3. Toyota Camry Hybrid CVT 34 / 28 / 41
2. Honda Civic Hybrid CVT 37 / 26 / 47
1. Toyota Prius CVT 44 / 35 / 50

(Photo: Getty)

ConsumerReports has more info about what this all means and which kinds of TVs you'll need the converter boxes for.

Rank / Model / % Satisfied
12 Chevrolet Aveo (sedan) 44
11 Ford Ranger 44
10 Mazda B-Series 44
9 Ford Freestar 44
8 Chevrolet Aveo (wagon & hatchback) 44
7 Chevrolet Equinox 41
6 Jeep Grand Cherokee (V6, gas) 41
5 Chevrolet Colorado (4-cyl) 40
4 GMC Canyon (4-cyl) 40
3 Bucik Terraza 34
2 Saturn Relay 34
1 Chevrolet Uplander 34

Bigger vehicles seem to dominate the list, perhaps their lower fuel economy leaves drivers sore at the pump in the face of rising gas costs.

Individual / Employer
71% / 53% Overall complaints with coverage
55% / 81% Insurance covered most costs
52% / 29% Premium is too high
45% / 31% Postponed needed medical care because of costs
41% / 28% Deductible is too high
26% / 16% Does not adequately cover costs of doctor's visits

Without fail, individual insurance is a much rawer deal than employer insurance, bad news for early-retiring adults, the unemployed, and the self-employed.

Mattel maintains that the cuff is within current standards for lead and does not need to be recalled.

A spokeswoman for Mattel, Fisher-Price's parent company, cited a statement on the company's Web site which in part reads: "The toy referenced in the Consumer Reports article meets the requirements set forth in the federal regulations and international consumer product safety standards, including the existing standards for lead content. Consumer Reports has applied its own standards and opinions concerning the product."

Patty Smith, Amazon's director of corporate communications, said the retailer decided to temporarily suspend sales of the medical kit after researching the issue.

"We decided it was the right thing to do for consumers at this point," she said.

Amazon pulls Fisher-Price Medical Kit toy [Mercury News]

PREVIOUSLY: Consumer Reports Finds "Troubling" Levels Of Lead In Unrecalled Fisher-Price Toy

Finally, an antidote to TV drug ads [Consumer Reports]

23% will spend less
22% will finish shopping right after Thanksgiving, down from 30%
45% will not finish shopping until the second week of December
20% will not finish shopping until December 24
66% did not make a budget last year
57% will not make a budget this year
8% went "way" over budget last year
24% regifted last year
27% of women regifted
21% of men regifted
19% most want electronic gifts
12% most want gift cards
25% of men want most want electronics
15% of women most want gift cards
13% of women most want electronics
71% say clothing is the number one gift they will buy
38% said last year clothing was the most disappointing gift they received

(1,003 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place over October 18-21, 2007. The margin of error is +/- 3% points at a 95% confidence level)

The program is certainly better than, you know, not having one at all, but does it impress Consumer Reports?

Nah. Kristi Wiedemann, Science and Policy Analyst for GreenerChoices.org, Consumer Reports' eco-riffic website, went shopping at Home Depot to see if the program lived up to its hype. It didn't.

She found misplaced signs, disorganized displays, labels that didn't really mean much of anything and products that were "green" because they met current environmental standards that really aren't that high in the first place.

Kristi also makes a good point about buying products that last. If you can use it longer and repair it when it breaks there's less of a chance it will end up in a landfill. Eco Options sort of leaves that part out.

When all has been said and done, Eco Options is better than nothing, but not as good as doing the research for yourself and making informed choices about what you buy.

Eco Options: An inside look [Consumer Reports]

10 most-hyped products and what to buy instead [Consumer Reports]
Consumer Reports reveals the ten most hyped kitchen products [Chatham Journal]
(Photo: Nancy Hugo, CKD)

The Consumer Reports blog announced crash results today on several new convertibles. It's always nice to see cars you can't afford damaged so badly that no one else can have them either.

The sturdiest of the newbies turned out to be the Volvo C70 and the Saab 9-3. You can check out the Institute for Highway Safety's results and watch the always-enjoyable horrific crash videos for 150-plus cars on the Consumer Reports website.

Since I don't own a car, I randomly selected the Honda Civic, model year 2001-2005, just as an example. The video ends with a young guy superimposed over the image of the wreckage. "Hi," he says with a barely concealed smile, "I'm Jeff from Consumer Reports. Now, let's look at that again in slow motion." Thank you, Jeff, thank you.

By the way, if you own a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, you might want to skip this. Ouch. —BRIAN FAIRBANKS

Read more on the Consumer Reports blog.

(Photo: Getty)

I had let myself go to seed over the past ten years. I was mentally acute but physically obtuse. I was lazy, weak, misshapen, and ashamed of myself, yet as a matter of bad habit it took quite an effort for me to decide to do something about it and then have at it. I knew I would not get in shape at home alone, so I decided to join a gym. I got over my argument that I could not afford it - I told myself that I would give up movies and computer rentals at the Internet caf to cover the membership fee.

On July 4, 2006, I visited the Crunch Fitness center at 13th and Washington Avenue in SOBE (Miami's South Beach). Crunch Fitness Representative Lewis Tyree scratched out an offer on his official offering pad: "Crunch Fitness, take these offers... to go... option 2: annual initiation $4, monthly $54."

On July 9, 2006, I returned to Crunch and accepted Mr. Tyree's offer. He asked me for a credit or debit card, and I said I would rather not give Crunch access to my bank account, that I preferred to pay by check every month, and that someone had mentioned to me that it was not advisable to authorize automatic charges because accounts were getting overcharged - not that I believed Crunch would do such a thing on purpose. Mr. Tyree said checks would be acceptable provided that I prepaid ten days before the beginning of each month. However, he would still need a credit or debit card to sign me up. I gave him a Visa card for the first month's charge, and told him it would be no good in the future because my bank was going to invalidate Visa in favor of MasterCard. "No problem," he said. I paid $43.10 for the remaining 21 days of July, which included the $4.00 one-time initiation fee, and was given POS Transaction receipt 92282. The $43.10 also included Florida taxes, which were not split out and stated on the receipt.

On July 20, 2006, gladdened by my decision to get in shape and having enjoyed using the Crunch facilities one hour every day for 11 days, I prepaid $57.78 for August, and was given POS Transaction receipt 113598, marked "Prepays." I did not understand how the amount was calculated, for no Florida tax was broken out. I spoke with Mr. Tyree and he assured me that I should not worry, that the initiation fee of $4.00 had been paid with my first month, and I would only have to pay a grand total of $57.78 every month.

On August 16, 2006, I retrieved from my mailbox a letter from Crunch Fitness, dated August 10, 2006, notifying me as follows: "The electronic draft of your monthly dues on 08/03/2006 in the amount of $48.43 was dishonored by your banking institution due to DECLINED. Based on the terms of your membership contract, a service fee may be added to your account...." I was instructed to make payment. "I knew it!" I said to myself. "It's a good thing I did not give them a good card or I would have been overcharged and might not have noticed it on my bank statement!"

On August 16, 2006, I called Crunch Fitness in New York. I was put on hold for nearly one-half hour. The accounting department informed me that the record showed payments totaling $100.88, and that $ 48.43 due for June dues. I insisted I had not signed up until July, and wondered why that information was not on the ledger. "Well," I was told, "the $ 48.43 was due for the initiation fee." "No way," I replied, "the initiation fee was only $4. I have all the receipts in front of me. Can't you look these receipt numbers and comments up?" "No," she countered, "you'll have to talk to the representative at the club." "But, I objected, "they told me the last time I was there that they do not have online access to the transaction record. And why should I have to call your representative to straighten out your mistake, which is very annoying to me, when you can pick up the phone and call him yourself?" "Okay, I will," she conceded, and abruptly hung up.

On August 15, 2006, I went to see Mr. Tyree with all my receipts. He said he knew nothing about the issue. No, the accounting office had not called him. He photocopied the 'RETURN NOTICE'. "There has obviously been a mistake," he said, and he promised to fix it the next day.

On August 16, 2006, I asked Mr. Tyree if the problem was fixed. "No, we have an issue I want to discuss with you," he said, and beckoned me to sit down at his desk. The accounting department had researched the matter, he claimed, and discovered that I did in fact owe more money, and that the reason it amounted to $48.43 was because a credit balance of $9 had been carried over from June. "But that is ridiculous and you know it," I said. "The matter is very simple. I join in July and paid for July and August, and that's it, period." To which Mr. Tyree responded, "You will have to bring in your bank statements." "No, Lewis, I am not going to give Crunch Fitness access to my banking information," I replied, irritated to no end, "your own receipts should be sufficient. Somebody ought to be auditing the Crunch bank statements, not mine." "Well, bring in the receipts," he requested. "Good grief," I complained, "I brought them in here yesterday and showed them to you, and you agreed this whole thing is a big mistake." He said he would have to see them again. Fuming, I went all the way home, got the receipts and returned. He examined them once again and said, yet again, "There has obviously been a mistake." He copied the receipts and said he would add my case to "the pile of others" on his desk. There were many such "issues" due to a change in accounting systems, he admitted. I asked him if the previous system had broken out the Florida taxes; he replied in the affirmative. I wondered out loud if Crunch was paying its state taxes since its accounting was so mixed up. I told him the whole matter was aggravating given the fact that the story kept changing, and that I had heard multiple complaints about the accounting system. "I must say that I am heartbroken by this hassle," I confessed. "After resolving to get into shape, and having my spirits lifted, to be jerked around like this is a big letdown. I expected this thing to be fixed right away and I want an apology. Mind you, I have no beef with you, I like this gym, and I would not want your pile of New York mistakes on my desk for handling, but if I do not receive an apology for this mistreatment, I will be inclined to raise hell."

On August 20, 2006, Mr. Tyree said the issue had been resolved. He did not apologize, however. He said he had suggested to New York that an apology be made directly to me via email or telephone call. He had been a gentleman throughout; it had not been his mistake, and he got it fixed: I supposed he felt he had no cause to apologize for the mismanagement of accounts. No apology was received from New York as of August 27, 2006. Later that afternoon, I brought up the issue with another Crunch representative who was aware of what was going on, and said I was very disappointed with the misconduct. "Crunch never does anything on purpose," he said. "Obviously not," I agreed, giving his organization the benefit of the doubt.

On August 25, 2006, during a casual conversation with a cashier whom I encountered in a shop near Lincoln Road Mall, the cashier mentioned that a friend of hers had joined Crunch Fitness. "They overcharged her bank account and gave her a bad time when she tried to straighten it out. She was angry and depressed by it," she said. "Well, I've heard several complaints like that around the gym," I said, "and the same thing just happened to me. I considered raising holy hell about it, but I decided not to go to the trouble of doing so as I had already had a couple of hours hassling with them and was heartbroken over having my positive attitude about exercising there nearly ruined." "My friend is still very upset," she said. "You're a writer. I think you should write a report for the papers because a whole lot of people are probably getting overcharged and don't even know it." "Well," I replied, "I can't say that Crunch is deliberately overcharging people, because one lady said she had gotten seven months free due to some foul up." "It doesn't matter," said the cashier, "their mistakes hurt everybody."

Those are the facts. I know we all have our legitimate peeves as consumers but only a few of us bother to make federal cases out of them. We prefer to just let things slide rather than to get all wrought up and make a big fuss. Surely someone else will complain, we reason, so let someone else do the dirty work.

Tolerance might be good for our mental health in the short term, but if nobody gets in the ring things are going to get worse in the long run. Forget the fine phrases in the corporate mission-statement advertisements that wax eloquent about customer service and usually mention "integrity." We have already gone from "the customer is always right" to "The customer is always wrong" to "We don't really care whether the customer is right or wrong."

Wherever there are transient crowds, the underlying attitude of bad management is "Take it or leave it, there's another one right behind you, so why should we care?" That appears to be the Crunch Fitness attitude. I like the gym itself. My health and strength is improving; for one thing, I can unscrew stuck lids off jars now. Yet I think Crunch Fitness should be openly judged for its mismanagement of member accounts.

"No Judgment" reads a Crunch Fitness motto. That's nice, but what would the world be without judgment? A Crunch instructor came up to me the other day as I was working out on one of the machines: "You do so many foolish things!" he exclaimed, and adjusted the machine for me. "He is quite right," I admitted, "but that is a foolish way to put it!"

Crunch Fitness has a good gym in South Beach, but the current conduct of its management indicates that Crunch Fitness may get crunched by competitors who know that people who treat people rightly are righteous and shall live long and profitable lives. The righteous thing for Crunch Fitness to do at this time is to hand out flyers to new members and also post notices throughout its centers notifying all members that the accounting system was changed and their assistance in detecting any errors to their accounts will be deeply appreciated, to the tune of one month's free membership for each error found.

I sent an invoice to Crunch CEO Jeff Feinberg this morning for breach of the adhesion contract, billing him for what it would cost (double-the-money plus large initiation fee) to finish out my Crunch membership term at EQUINOX, in lieu of which I said I would accept reinstatement of my Crunch membership. There was and still is a great deal of ill will towards Crunch, and you can see the flack on the Net, but as far as I'm concerned the cause of the harm was corporate mismanagement at the highest level - I was otherwise pleased with Crunch,

We asked if David had heard anything since sending the invoices. He said:

Yes, Sir, C.E.O. Jeff Feinberg reinstated my membership. I was seriously considering bringing an action pro se against the local Crunch LLC because of my intellectual interest in two points of contractual law - the complaint would not have been frivolous but my position was legally weak given case law. In fact the whole thing brought me a value of around $500 in good luck.

The membership billing fiasco hit the new management hard right off the bat, delaying the implementation of projects planned for the transition. Management places the blame for the fiasco on the faulty data migrated from the defective system of BALLY - now on the verge of bankruptcy. BALLY had long been the subject of billing-error complaints. The new management responded to the crisis, but I thought some aspects had been mishandled. I discussed those "hindsight" issues with Jeff Feinberg.

Despite the numerous bitter complaints, I could not get anyone to personally identify themselves AND give me factual information to check out and perhaps help resolve their issues.

The takeaway: only sign up for month-to-month plans with gyms. — BEN POPKEN

(Photo: JSonline)

The policy change comes after Consumer Reports (CR) was forced to withdraw an article saying a bunch of car seats failed "disastrously."

It turned out CR's lab tested the side-impact crash test at 70 mph instead of the government standard 38 mph. The error was the lab thought the struck car had to be moving at 38 mph after the impact, which would only be possible if it was hit at 70 mph. Oops.

Consumer Reports: Expert. Independent. Non-profit. Hey, two out of three ain't bad. — BEN POPKEN

Consumer Reports to take more input on tests after car-seat error [AP] (Thanks to Molly!)

PREVIOUSLY:
Consumer Reports President Apologizes For Infant Car Seat Test Mistakes
Consumer Reports: Um, About Those Car Seats...
Most Car Seats Fail "Disastrously" In Crash Tests

When it comes to safety regulation, NAM has traditionally pushed for a hands-off approach, urging the Commission to rely on educational campaigns and voluntary standards set by industry. So it will be interesting to hear Baroody's thoughts on the CPSC — and equally interesting to hear what the Democrat-controlled Senate thinks about the nomination.

The CPSC has been without a chairman since Hal Stratton left the Commission last July; and with only two commissioners, the agency has been left without a quorum, limiting its ability to issue new rules or take new action on large civil penalties against firms that have failed to report defective or hazardous products. We think it is very important the CPSC regain its full authority. However, it is even more important that — as an agency charged with overseeing safety of over 15,000 products, and ensuring that they do not pose unreasonable safety risks — the CPSC must be lead by someone who will champion the interests of consumers. Consumers Union will be urging Congress to carefully scrutinize Baroody's views, perspectives, and biases. If those views reflect the manufacturers' points of view, we have significant concerns with him running a consumer protection and consumer safety agency. In the coming next weeks we will be more carefully evaluating his background and urge Congress to do the same.

A birdie to keep your eye on, for sure. — BEN POPKEN

Bush to nominate Baroody as CPSC head [Consumer Reports On Safety]

In two separate student rooms, the plastic shades melted on the lamps. In one room, this caused the build-up of toxic fumes and the melted plastic from the shade burned a hole in the bedspread. The second instance involved another student who had turned on the lamp and, within 15 minutes, the shade melted and the heat began to turn a poster on the wall brown.

SUNY's notice warns the lamps are available at Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart. The former seems to have removed the lamp from their site, but good old reliable Walmart is still selling the luminous tinderbox. "Color shades include red, blue, green, yellow, white, and FIRE!" Ok, we made that last one up. If you have the lamp, beware. Only you can prevent campus fires. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

5-Light Lamp Issue [SUNY Fredonia via Consumer Reports]

Volunteers near our Yonkers, N.Y., headquarters received the flowers, then called a staffer who typically picked them up within a half-hour. We immediately measured and weighed the roses, trimmed their stems, and placed them in water with any accompanying flower food. We evaluated them over the next week.

Which rose should grace those lips that love's own hand did make?

CR's take. Consider ordering from a florist near the recipient (check the Web). Among rated companies, try ProFlowers, a good value, or Hallmark, which supplies a vase. Companies use FedEx, UPS, or DHL.

"Nothing says loving like flowers with a tracking number." - Shakespeare

— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

A rose is a rose. Or not [Consumer Reports]

A tight fit between the plastic skin and cardboard thwarted scissors.

Our tester grabbed a box cutter but hacked up the box as an unavoidable result.

After removing the clamshell and opening the box, she had to dislodge parts from a foam case, yank off one plastic bag covering the power cord and another protecting additional components, then pop perforations on smaller clamshells shielding the toothbrush heads.

Her work table was littered with sharp plastic shards.

Do clamshells really reduce theft? Are they cheaper to manufacture? What's up with the clamshells??? — BEN POPKEN

And the Oyster goes to... [Consumer Reports]

As you may have heard already, normally the side-impact crashes are tested at 38mph and this is what the results were reported under. However, it turns out the tests were conducted at speeds around 78 mph.

Consumer Reports is sorry for reporting this information and has promised to repeat the tests with scrupulous care and publish the results.

Make a mistake, apologize and then fix it? What an interesting practice for a company to follow! May others follow in their footsteps.

Full letter inside...

"By now, you've probably heard the news about my decision to withdraw the infant car seat report featured on ConsumerReports.org and in the February issue of Consumer Reports magazine. I took this action when we discovered a mistake in our side-impact crash tests.

We always strive to be accurate and fair, and I regret this error. Going forward, I want to make sure that our actions are as thorough and transparent as possible so that we preserve your trust as we continue to test, inform, and protect consumers. To that end, I'm writing you and the millions of other Consumers Union members to tell you what I know about the situation and what we're doing about it.

Here's what I know so far: One of our tests was intended to simulate how infant car seats perform in a side-impact crash at 38 mph. That's the speed at which many new vehicles are tested in side crashes by the government's auto safety agency. But upon reevaluating our data, we believe our tests simulated crashes that were much more severe than that.

Some of the questions I've heard involve our use of an outside lab to conduct the crash tests. While the vast majority of product testing by Consumers Union occurs in our own labs, we sometimes use outside contractors that have special test equipment or other expertise that we don't. This enables us to inform you about the safety, reliability, and performance of important products that we couldn't otherwise test.

That said, we expect all our testing to meet the same high standards, and our own staff oversees all projects. The board of directors and I are appointing a panel of experts to review this incident and determine what went wrong.

We're also retesting the infant car seats featured in our article as thoroughly and quickly as possible, so that we can publish our findings and help parents who are making this important buying decision. I've directed that we suspend the article's Ratings and other recommendations regarding specific car-seat models until this retesting is completed. In any case, I again stress the importance of what we say in the article: Any child car seat is better than no seat at all.

For 71 years, the staff of Consumers Union has worked hard to earn the trust of members like you and to build the stellar reputation we have enjoyed. We test more than 3,000 products each year, and errors like this one are rare. I apologize on behalf of Consumers Union and I promise you we're working hard to ensure that such an error does not happen again.

Sincerely,

Jim Guest
President"

— BEN POPKEN