NHTSA ordered the recall after Foreign Tire Sales told the agency that some of Hangzhou Zhongce’s tires were made without a safety feature, called a gum strip, that helps bind the belts of a tire to each other. Some of the tires had a gum strip about half the width of the 0.6 millimeter gum strip Foreign Tire Sales expected, the importer said.
Government Policy
Johnson & Johnson Sues The American Red Cross Over "Red Cross" Symbol
By 8.9.07
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations and prompted an angry response from the Red Cross.
Today's Tip For Adulterers: Don't Use 1-800-Flowers
By 8.8.07
A Texas man is suing 1-800-Flowers for $1 million after a thank you note from the web florist outed him as an adulterer. Leroy Greer specifically asked 1-800-Flowers not to send him a receipt for the cuddly stuffed animal and dozen long stemmed roses he ordered for his mistress. Despite his request, 1-800-Flowers sent a thank you note to his house several months later, prompting his wife to ask who the hell got flowers. She called 1-800-Flowers, which gladly faxed her a copy of Leroy’s order form that included the following message meant for his mistress: “Just wanted to say I love you and you mean the world to me! -Leroy.” Above The Law has the legalese:
Peter Pan Peanut Butter Coming Back For Your Children!
By 8.8.07
After several months of absence from store shelves due to a much-publicized salmonella problem, Peter Pan brand peanut butter is back, this time with a “100% satisfaction guarantee” and a redesigned container. The new batches are coming from a different production facility than the one that led to 625 Peter Pan-related salmonella infections in February of this year. So how does ConAgra Foods protect their brand and spin the product re-launch without reminding consumers why there needs to be a re-launch in the first place?
Mobile Carriers Must Allow Roaming For A "Reasonable" Cost, Says FCC
By 8.8.07
The FCC announced yesterday that commercial mobile phone carriers are obligated to provide roaming connections, including mobile voice calls, text messaging, and push-to-talk services, for a “reasonable” cost. This matters most to customers of small and rural carriers, whose sometimes pay as high as $0.79 a minute to access large carriers’ networks. The political response was as expected: Democrats said the FCC should have included data transfer, and Republicans said the “light regulatory approach” was just right. Sprint said the average roaming cost per minute was four cents, and that no FCC intervention was necessary. And then Sprint ate a newborn and cackled maniacally.
FDA Ban Fails To Catch 1 Million Pounds Of Chinese Seafood
By 8.8.07
1 million pounds of shrimp, eel, and catfish somehow slipped past the FDA’s ban on Chinese seafood. All seafood covered by the ban arrives at U.S. ports under an import alert, which ostensibly prevents the fish from leaving until private testing proves the absence of banned antibiotics and drugs. Chinese importers, resorting to tricks possibly gleaned from Wile E. Coyote, evade the FDA by shipping their contraband under the names and addresses of companies unaffected by the import alert. From the AP:
Packing Fudge: Woman Arrested For Stealing $70 Worth Of Fudge
By 8.7.07
A Maryland woman with a purse completely “packed” with fudge was arrested last week in the Maryland House Hotel where she was found, covered in chocolate and crying hysterically, on on a lobby sofa. The sofa was also stained with chocolate.
Lead-Tainted Charms From China Very Unlucky
By 8.7.07
The poisonous lead story continues this week with news that 20% of trinkets and charms sold in the United States still contain dangerous levels of lead. In a surprise to no one, “of the 17.9 million pieces of jewelry items pulled from the market since the start of 2005, 95 percent were made in China.” Here’s a good scare quote to drive home the danger:
Jewelry is perhaps the most dangerous place for lead because children can swallow an entire ring or pendant, causing acute poisoning, which can cause respiratory failure, seizures and even death, whereas neurological damage and learning deficiencies are often associated with exposure to lead paint. Many children also tend to suck on jewelry or put it in their mouths, allowing lead to be absorbed into their bloodstream.
Consumer Reports Names The Top Consumer Scams
By 8.7.07
Consumer Reports scoured the “files of dozens of government agencies, industry associations, and consumer groups that track crooked schemes” to find the scammiest scams around.
Fisher-Price Being Investigated By CPSC Due To Shoddy Track Record Reporting Defects
By 8.7.07
Fisher-Price has a shoddy track record when it comes to reporting defects and “injuries from defects” to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
By 8.6.07
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From now on, the TSA would like you to remove any XBOXs (or DVD players or Nintendos, etc…) from your carry-on during screening so they can be inspected. [USA Today]
Recall Aftershock: Consumer Safety Commission Brought Back From Near Death For Six Months
By 8.6.07
Congress just put your wiretapping dollars to work, by amending a homeland security bill to allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regain “its full authority to oversee the safety of thousands of household products,” says the Washington Post. The reprieve only lasts for six months, but during that time it allows the commission–which has been hobbling along in an inactive state since January because of an ongoing member vacancy–to meet and take action on matters of consumer safety with only two members present.
Now In Churches: ATMs!
By 8.6.07
Churches are stocking up on ATMs thanks to a new IRS rule that requires taxpayers to closely document their charitable giving. By placing an ATM in the lobby, congregants can collect a paper trail, and churches can collect tithings. It’s win-win. According to Time, the practice isn’t new:
Large urban churches have been accepting credit cards for several years, tapping into the Generation P (for Plastic) aversion to carrying cash. Pastors like to tell jokes about parishioners collecting Frequent Flier points on the way to heaven. A recent Dallas Morning News poll found that 55% of 200 local churches accept credit and/or debit cards.
Delta Flight Attendant Comes To Work Drunk
By 8.6.07
Sarah Mills, 26, a flight attendant for Delta operator Atlantic Southeast Airlines, was thrown off her flight for showing up to work drunk.
Stephen Colbert Weighs In On Botulism, Chinese Poison Train, Subprime Lending
By 8.6.07
Who’s reading us now? Stephen Colbert weighs in on a bunch of Consumerist topics with more gravitas than we can muster ourselves. Sorry we missed the whole “dentist puts boar tusks in your mouth while you’re anesthetized” story. We’ll try to do better next time.
Reservation Rewards Infects GameStop?
By 8.6.07
Coupon merchant “Reservation Rewards” has infected GameStop, according to reader Mike. For those of you who are not familiar with “Reservation Rewards,” here’s how it works:
Virgin Atlantic, British Airways Admit To Collusion, Prepare To Issue Vouchers
By 8.6.07
Virgin Atlantic and British Airways admitted last week to the Department of Justice that they colluded to levy excess fuel surcharges ranging from $10 to $100. Despite the admission, both airlines claim that passengers weren’t really overcharged.
Please Don't Ask IRS Agents To Change Their User Name Or Password
By 8.5.07
If you ask nicely, thoughtless, gullible, IRS agents are willing to give you their user name and change their password, according to a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General. The report condemns our tax collectors for failing to observe the most basic security measures, despite recent entreaties for employees to be extra vigilant about protecting sensitive taxpayer data. From the AP:
- “Only eight of the 102 employees contacted either the inspector general’s office or IRS security offices to validate the legitimacy of the caller.
