The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says that HSN will pay an $875,000 fine for failing to report safety issues regarding its sale of The Welbilt Electronic Pressure Cooker (pictured left)
HSN, which was known as Home Shopping Network during the 2001 to 2004 time period in which the government agency said the offenses occurred, denied any wrongdoing or liability. The law requires manufacturers and distributors to immediately report safety issues.
The company's actions were termed a penalty, rather than a fine, but the results are simple semantics. The CPSC claims that the company received more than two dozen reports of consumers who were burned when the cooker's lid allegedly opened prematurely. The agency worked with Welbilt and HSN in 2005 to recall nearly 4,000 units in 2005. Those cookers were made in Korea.
"This simply shows that even a small recall can have major repercussions," said Consumer Help Web's George Bounacos. "We have been trained to think in terms of millions or hundreds of thousands, but in this case, the reported injury rate was more than 1 out of every 170."
Bounacos' comments came during his announcement of a new recall information portal for consumers. "Too many agencies announce recalls and investigations for the average consumer to learn about them all. Even when stores do comply, the second-hand market for used goods thrives, from eBay to consignment shops. RecallRecap.com will help consumers quickly check for free whether the product they're interested in was recalled, and if so, for what reason."
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