Home Shopping Network Agrees To Pay $800k Civil Penalty

Chris Walters — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:18:48 EST

HSN has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $875,000, according to a CPSC press release, settling allegations that HSN "failed to report in a timely manner, as required by federal law, serious injuries and hazards with the Welbilt Electronic Pressure Cookers." The CPSC alleged that from 2001 to 2004, HSN received "at least 25 reports" from consumers that the cooking appliance was potentially unsafe. (In 2005 the cookers were recalled.)

"Under the Consumer Product Safety Act," writes the CPSC, "Manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report to CPSC information about products that could create a substantial risk of injury to the public or that create an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death."

"Shopping Channel HSN Agrees to Pay $875,000 Civil Penalty" [CPSC]

Time Warner Charges You $0.23 For The Coupons Included In Your Bill

Carey Alexander — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:02:41 EDT

Time Warner charged Nick $0.23 for the Home Shopping Network coupon included in his monthly bill. The "Adhsn fee" listed on his bill was an oversight, according to a Time Warner representative, who defended the omnipresent charge as something that is usually "just bundled somewhere else." Nick writes:

I'm a Time Warner customer in Charlotte, NC and recently got my August bill. Looking over it as usual, there is a new fee "ADHSN Fee" of 23 cents. I know FCC and taxes, but ADHSN I didn't comprehend. After calling customer service the agent was perplexed and finally realized that they were charging me for the Home Shopping Network ad/coupon they included in my bill. Apparently, they claim this charge has always been there, it's just bundled somewhere else. I think they are full of crap. Plus he claimed he couldn't remove it. So now I have to pay to be advertised to. 23 cents to 100,000 cable customers is $23,000 to put little useless ad in my cable bill. Shouldn't the home shopping network foot the bill?

Telecoms and cable companies revel in passing every imaginable cost on to the consumer, aided by staff neologists who obscure fees with nonsensical and misleading names. Fighting a $0.23 charge is about principles. If you really want it off your bill, call back and escalate to a supervisor.

We called Time Warner to ask if charging for coupons was standard practice. Though they have yet to get back to us with an official comment, one Time Warner representative offhandedly remarked: "Oh God, I hope it's not standard practice."

Consumerist: home shopping network

Home Shopping Network Agrees To Pay $800k Civil Penalty

Time Warner Charges You $0.23 For The Coupons Included In Your Bill