Home / consumerist.com rss archive / September-15-2007


Above And Beyond: Intermatic Replaces Your Functioning Timer Free Of Charge, As A Precautionary Measure
Reader Ryan installed an Intermatic Wall Switch Timer to control the lights on his porch, but was forced to reset the unit when the lights began to flash inexplicably. Ryan called Intermatic to make sure the problem wasn't indicative of a larger issue that could, say, burn down his house. He was blindsided by Intermatic's response.A few months ago I installed a timer on the front porch light at my new home. After looking through many models I found at Home Depot I finally settled on the Intermatic Digital 7-Day Wall Switch Timer SS7C. It worked perfectly for several months. Then, one day, my wife came home to find the front porch light flashing on and off. After pulling the battery and reseting the unit it seemed to work just fine.When it comes to electricity I'm a careful person. I didn't want some kind of short occurring and then come home to a smoldering pile of ash where my house used to be. So, I decided to go on the Intermatic website to see if there was some FAQ about...

Safety: Toy Prices To Rise 10%
Toys will be 10% more expensive next year thanks the toy industry's latest attempts to protect American children from defective merchandise. Toy makers will use the hike to offset the cost of retaining independent labs to both test for defective and dangerous toys, and provide a measure of PR security.Consumers could also see higher prices on other Chinese imports such as fish and children's apparel, but the big price gains in toys could be more jolting.Shoppers have become accustomed to cheap playthings from China because Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other discounters have waged cost-cutting campaigns. Critics say real safeguards were sacrificed to keep prices low, however.Prices won't rise until next year because most of the toys destined for this year's holiday season have already been manufactured and shipped.Higher prices are always undesirable, but this hike reflects a renewed awareness of the dangers that come with relying on uncertain foreign supply chains; hopefully it...

VoIP: Vonage Destroys Router, Refuses To Issue Refund
I have been a loyal Vonage customer for 3 years. Within the last year (I can't remember when) I purchased a new Linksys WRTP54G router to replace my existing router. This router has built-in Vonage voice ports. What Vonage and Linksys do not tell you when you purchase this router is that Vonage has 100% full access to your router and can do with it what they choose.What they chose to do with mine was update it to the latest version. This version has caused my Vonage service to stop working but left my Internet working just fine. I generally don't use my Vonage line to send calls I mainly receive and have all calls forwarded to my cell phone so I left it sitting there for a few weeks. I finally decided to call Vonage technical support for help. I work for a fairly technical company but do not like to flaunt my knowledge because I have been on the other side of the phone and know you have to cover the basics. I let them do whatever they need to do to fix the issue. It was pretty...

Chinese Poison Train: China Appoints Tough Anti-Poison Czar
Meet Wu Yi. The 68-year old Vice Premier, the highest ranking woman in the Communist Party, has been tasked with one mission: toss the Chinese Poison Train back into the rapidly industrializing nation's toy-chest.Her gentle, friendly demeanor can be deceiving: The highest-ranking woman in China's Communist Party hierarchy is Beijing's enforcer of last resort. In recent years, she has cleaned up the country's image after the SARS crisis, overseen the response to the AIDS epidemic, led tough trade negotiations with Washington, and shored up the mainland's shoddy record on intellectual-property rights.And now she's head of a new high-level food, drug, and product safety team. Although she has told some people that she plans to retire as vice-chairman after the Communist Party Congress in October, most expect her to stay on as China's top safety czar. "She's very, very good at getting things done," says James M. Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. "If...

T-Mobile: Your Bill Looks Fraudulent. Pay It Anyway
Reader Mitoko was shocked to find $1,000 worth of charges from an unknown phone number on her latest T-Mobile bill. T-Mobile refused to vacate the charges, even after admitting that the number that somehow latched onto her account was already under investigation for suspicious activity. One thoughtless rep suggested that Mitoko merely lost track of time while racking up the mysterious charges, and offered to bump her up to a more expensive plan. Mitoko writes:I checked my T-Mobile bill this month and saw that I was billed $1,169.84. A lot of the calls and text messages were made from 401 XXX-XXXX, a mysterious phone number attached to my account that I have never seen before.I called T Mobile and spoke with Cindy, who said the number is under investigation but the charges are valid even though the vast majority of it was from a phone number that does not belong to me. Cindy then said she will call me back 2 days from now on Friday and that the new number will be suspended....

News From The Swamp: Federal Government Boldly Declares: "It Is Impossible To Inspect Our Way To Safety"
Inspections will not keep Americans safe from potentially dangerous foreign imports, according to a Presidential working group representing 12 federal agencies. The working group believes that the sheer number of products arriving at our ports - goods worth $2 trillion, last year - make the development and deployment of an inspection regime impossible. The alternative inspires little confidence.Heath and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt explains:We're recommending the implementation of this strategy in six cross-cutting building blocks. Let me review them for you. The first is, advance a common vision. Let me give you some commentary on that point. There are many different organizations who have specific responsibilities. And in some cases, they have different priorities that need to be melded into one common vision. In other words, rather than just looking at whether the border is secure, we also need to make certain that the products that are crossing them are safe and...