(InvestigateTV) — This Week on InvestigateTV: Watchdogs say companies don’t do enough to alert customers to dangerous household goods. Plus, illegal and banned products are sometimes easily found for sale online. Lee Zurik speaks with to the chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission about what can be done. WHERE TO WATCH ICYMI – Watch last week’s episode.
Defective: Failed Recalls: Consumer advocates, victims and lawyers say the consumer product recall system is broken and leaves defective and deadly products in American homes and for sale on online marketplaces and at garage sales. While companies may spend millions marketing their products, when there is an issue, federal law has tied the hands of the CPSC to compel manufacturers of defective products to make recalls more broadly known and to offer strong incentives to consumers to return or destroy dangerous items. An InvestigateTV analysis of CPSC data shows that since 2000, the agency has had to re-announce the recall of dozens of products because the original alert did not reach the ears of consumers and, in many cases, continued to cause harm. Plus – we look at cases where babies died after the recall of the Rock n’ Play and speak to the chair of the CPSC about what can be done. We also find – and buy – recalled products on Facebook marketplace to prove the problems with recalls.
Defective: Border Catches: From flammability standards to lead paint restrictions, the federal government has a number of regulations for consumer products – and even bans some. But with so many products on the market and the United States’ high number of imported goods, these products still pop up across the country. We dig into the issue of banned and recalled products available nationwide, looking at items the federal government has caught before they ended up in someone’s home. The Consumer Product Safety Commission gave us inside access to its seizure procedures at the ports and its testing facilities. We also speak with a father who lost his child in a tragic accident with a now-banned type of pool drain cover – a type of product that is still found in some private pools and has been sold by major online retailers.
Defective: Lead Tests: Lead poisoning is still a real concern for parents. Our national investigative team found in the last decade, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has handed out more than 5,000 notices of violation for children’s products with too much lead - and those are just the products the agency caught. That’s why consumer investigator rachel depompa bought several toys online—to test them and walk you through the process.
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