http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/total-recall--the-need-for-cpcs-reform-now http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/total-recall--the-need-for-cpcs-reform-now Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:37:41 -0500 http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/mixed-signals-how-tv-retailers-mislead-consumers-on-the-digital-television-dtv-transition One year from now 22 million Americans who rely on free over-the-air analog broadcasting will be at risk of losing access to TV. On February 17, 2009, analog televisions that receive over-the-air signals will go dark, unless they are retrofitted with digital converter boxes. For many Americans who are hearing about the transition for the first time, information about the change comes from electronic store retailers, where consumers ask what is necessary to maintain TV reception-- a primary source for news, information and entertainment. In an effort to determine America’s preparedness for the transition, the U.S.Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)Education Fund conducted a “secret shopper” survey at 132 locations of five leading national electronics retailers in ten states. The survey found that retail electronic store staff are largely uninformed and are not adequately preparing consumers for the impending transition to digital television. Our survey shows that the majority of retailers provide inaccurate or misleading information about the digital transition. Many sales clerks tried to persuade our surveyors to buy new, expensive digital televisions or high-definition televisions rather than explaining the availability of the less expensive option such as buying converter boxes, discounted by government coupons available to anyone who needs one. Specifically, staff at these132 locations provided the following inaccurate or misleading information about the digital transition. • 81% of the sales staff did not know about or gave out inaccurate information about converter boxes. • 78% of the sales staff provided inaccurate information about the federal government’s coupon program for converter boxes. • 42% of sales staff provided inaccurate information about the month of the digital transition deadline date. To protect consumers against misinformation or consumer fraud, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund makes the following recommendations. Retailers must ensure: • they adequately educate staff about converter boxes and the coupon program. • converter boxes are made available at fair prices. • consumers are informed of the availability of federal coupons. • analog TV sets remaining on store shelves are properly labeled. Additionally, the federal government must enforce penalties against companies that mislead consumers in an effort to reap greater profits from the sale of TVs to people who could get by with a low cost converter box, with its price reduced further by a $40 government coupon. The congressionally-mandated transition to a digital system gave broadcasters one of the largest public giveaways in the history of our nation. The value of the publicly owned airwaves used by broadcasters increased by billions of dollars, for which broadcasters paid nothing. The public lost out to powerful broadcasters when the decision to switch systems was made. Now, one year from the switch date, it looks like consumers are in danger of losing out again by unknowingly being steered toward the purchase of unnecessary, expensive equipment by uninformed or dishonest sales clerks. http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/mixed-signals-how-tv-retailers-mislead-consumers-on-the-digital-television-dtv-transition Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:23:38 -0500 http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/trouble-in-toyland For several years, we have reported that toys are safer than ever before, thanks to decades of work by product safety advocates and parents and the leadership of Congress, state legislatures and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Yet, as many have noted, 2007 has been described as the “year of the recall.” Millions of toys, including famous playthings like Thomas the Tank Engine and Barbie, have been recalled in 2007. Many of these toys have been from leading manufacturers like Mattel, and most were imported from China. Most of the recalls have been for hazards previously identified in this report—excessive levels of toxic lead, dangerous small magnets, and choking dangers. These troubling events have reminded Americans that no government agency tests toys before they are put on the shelves. These events provide a warning that as parents and other toygivers venture into crowded malls this holiday season, they should remain vigilant about often hidden hazards posed by toys on store shelves. The dramatic wave of toy, food and other consumer product recalls has spurred intense attention from policymakers to the problems of consumer safety generally and the limits of the long-neglected Consumer Product Safety Commission specifically. The CPSC is the nation’s smallest safety agency, yet it is responsible for 15,000 different products—from chain saws to escalators and from kitchen appliances to toys. Its current actual budget ($63 million) is less than half of what its 1974 startup budget ($34 million) would be today if merely corrected for inflation ($140 million). It has only one toy tester at its decrepit Maryland laboratory; worse, only 15 of 400 total staff (down from a 1980 peak of 978) are on duty full-time as port inspectors. That problem is exasperated because since the tragedies of September 11, customs inspectors and others that had buttressed this tiny force have been re-tasked. In addition to expanding the agency’s budget, policymakers are planning to give the CPSC more tools to hold corporate wrongdoers accountable and speed recalls, to ban toxic lead except in trace amounts and to greatly improve import surveillance. The holes in the product safety net can, and must be, repaired to restore the confidence of parents and other toygivers that the gifts that they purchase will bring pleasure, not worry. The 2007 Trouble in Toyland report is the 22nd annual Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) survey of toy safety. This report provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards. We visited numerous toy stores and other retailers to find potentially dangerous toys and identify trends in toy safety. This year, we focused on four categories of toys: toys that may pose choking hazards, magnetic toys, toys that are excessively loud, and toys that contain lead and other potentially toxic chemicals. http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/trouble-in-toyland Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:16:46 -0600 http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/mixed-signals-how-retailers-mislead-consumers-on-the-digital-television-dtv-transition One year from now 22 million Americans who rely on free over-the-air analog http://www.ncpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/mixed-signals-how-retailers-mislead-consumers-on-the-digital-television-dtv-transition Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:21:22 -0600