Appliance Importer Settles Charges it Failed to Report Safety Issue to CPSC
A North Carolina-based importer of appliances will pay $750,000 to settle charges that it failed to report consumer product safety issues related to ovens, said the Justice Department on May 14. Electrolux also agreed to set up a compliance program with internal recordkeeping and monitoring systems to keep track of hazards, after it allegedly failed to notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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According to DOJ, between February 2006 and November 2007, Electrolux knew about 22 consumer reports of flames shooting out of ovens that it imported. The incidents resulted in injuries ranging from singed hair to facial burns, said DOJ. But Electrolux allegedly didn’t immediately report the hazards to CPSC, even though its sister company in Canada, Frigidaire, had known about the problem since January 2005 and had already fixed the issue on its imported products by March 2006. DOJ alleged that Electrolux imported and distributed approximately 7,800 affected Kenmore ovens that were sold by Sears and other stores throughout the United States.