Name of Product: John Deere 3000 Twenty Series and 4000 Twenty Series Open Station Compact Utility Tractors

Units: About 2,800

Manufacturer: Deere & Co., of Moline, Ill.

Hazard: The seat bracket to which the seat belt is attached could have been positioned incorrectly during the manufacturing process resulting in a poor weld. In a tractor roll over, the weight of the operator could cause the bracket to break off of the seat’s pivot plate.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

(more…)

Name of Product: Hampton Bay® Transitional Collection Fire Truck and Bulldozer Accent Lamp with Night Lights

Units: About 9,500

Manufacturer: Emess Design Group LLC, of Ellwood City, Pa.

Hazard: The glass window of the fire truck and bulldozer night light can become dislodged, fall and shatter into small pieces. This poses a laceration hazard and a serious risk of injury if ingested by a small child.

Incidents/Injuries: Emess Design group has received one report of the glass window of the lamp breaking in a store. No injuries have been reported.

(more…)

Name of Product: Suzuki 2006 Model Year Eiger ATVs

Units: About 300

Distributor: American Suzuki Motor Corp., of Brea, Calif.

Hazard: The mounting brackets used to secure the left-front suspension arm to the ATV frame may not have been welded completely and could break off during riding. If this occurs the rider could lose control of the ATV and crash, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

(more…)

Name of Product: LYCKSELE Chair Bed and Sofa Bed

Units: About 100,000

Manufacturer: IKEA Home Furnishings, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Hazard: Fingers can become caught in the folding mechanism of the chair bed/sofa bed, posing a laceration and/or amputation hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: IKEA has received one report of a consumer who has been injured when attempting to operate the folding mechanism. The incident involved a finger tip amputation.

(more…)

Name of Product: “Monica” and “Turbo 1200” Hand-Held Hair Dryers

Units: About 19,300

Manufacturer/Importer: Style Tronics Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.

Hazard: These electric hair dryers are not equipped with an immersion protection plug to prevent electrocution if the hair dryer falls into water. Such electric shock protection devices are required by industry standards for all electric hand-held hair dryers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

(more…)

Name of Product: Homeroom Bedroom Collection

Units: About 3,200 pieces

Manufacturer: Hold Everything, of San Francisco, Calif.

Hazard: The small cam lock covers can be easily removed, presenting a choking hazard to young children.

Incidents/Injuries: Hold Everything has received one report of a toddler removing a hardware cover from a dresser. No injuries have been reported.

(more…)

Canadian telemarketers have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they fraudulently marketed and sold credit card loss protection and healthcare discount plans to US consumers in violation of federal law. Their telemarketing boiler rooms have been shut down, and they will pay $200,000.

According to the FTC’s complaint, six Toronto-based individuals and their companies targeted US consumers, telling them that their company was affiliated with credit card issuers or banks and that consumers needed to buy “credit card loss protection” in order to avoid being held fully liable for unauthorized charges on their credit cards. In reality, under federal law consumers cannot be held liable for more than $50 of unauthorized charges on their cards – consumers do not need to pay for this protection. Operating as “National Credit Card Security,” the defendants charged consumers $249, often without authorization. The only things consumers received were useless “anti-fraud” stickers to put on their credit cards, and forms they were supposed to fill out and return to the defendants, listing all of their account numbers.

(more…)

Defendants Failed to Pay Consumer Redress

The marketers of Seasilver, an alleged phony cure-all, have been ordered to pay almost $120 million for failing to comply with an earlier order requiring them to pay $3 million in consumer redress.

In ads for Seasilver, the promoters claimed the product, a liquid dietary supplement containing aloe vera, phyto-silver sea vegetables, herbs, cranberry concentrate, and other ingredients, was clinically proven to treat or cure 650 diseases, including cancer and AIDS, and caused rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss without dieting. The FTC alleged that the claims were false and unsubstantiated.

(more…)

The Federal Trade Commission today announced its decision to challenge the Puerto Rico Association of Endodontists, Corp. (PRAE) for coordinating and carrying out agreements among its 30 competing members to set the prices they would charge dental insurance plans, and to refuse to deal with plans that would not accept the collectively determined prices. The FTC’s complaint charged that PRAE’s actions led to higher costs for consumers by hindering competition and restraining trade unreasonably in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. In settling the FTC’s charges, PRAE will refrain from engaging in such anticompetitive conduct in the future.

“Competing health care providers cannot collectively bargain or refuse to deal with health insurance plans that reject their terms,” said Jeffrey Schmidt, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “By challenging these kinds of anticompetitive practices, the FTC ensures that essential health care services will be available to consumers at prices established in an open, competitive market.”

(more…)

FTC Alleges Companies Made Deceptive Claims About Locations and Earnings

The Federal Trade Commission is charging a “location services” operator with falsely promising to find locations for their customers’ vending machines and display racks and making false earnings claims.

The operators, working under the names Prime Time Marketing, Prestige Marketing, Metropolitan Placement Services, and Best Locations, promised customers they would secure “profitable locations” in “high volume” or “high traffic” areas. One pitch promised locations in “sports bars, night clubs, grocery stores . . . convenience stores . . . gift stores in large hotels . . . restaurants . . . golf courses and country clubs . . .” The companies charged consumers $150-$6000, depending on the number and types of locations they were hired to find. In fact, the companies often did little or nothing for their customers. Many times they failed to find any locations for vending machines and display racks, or did not find as many as they had been hired to find.

(more…)