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Recall of Drop-Side Cribs Continues 2009 Pattern

Feds acknowledge faster response is warranted

By James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 25, 2009
The recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo, is just the latest in a series of actions involving children's products this year.

In January, Stork Craftannounced the recall of more than 500,000 cribs. And this past summer, Simplicity announced it was recalling more than 500,000 cribs.

As part of the most recent recall, involving approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to stop using the recalled cribs immediately, wait for the free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side and not to attempt to fix the cribs without the kit.

However, obtaining the repair kit has not been easy.

• Teryn L. of Spanish Fort Ala., tells ConsumerAffairs.com that when she ordered the replacement brackets back in January, she was told they would be shipped and arrive in ten business days. After a month, she says, she received nothing, adding, "I have tried to call the company and I get a recording that says the mailbox is full or the number stays busy all day." Teryn says her daughter is now sleeping in a Pack-n-Play, which is not intended for sleeping full time.

• Iwona L. of Addison Ill., tells us of a similar problem. "I have been unable to contact them. The phone is constantly busy and the website is unable to download. How do they expect customers to get in touch with them without sufficient customer service representatives attending to the phones?"

Could be quicker

The head of the CPSC acknowledges that her agency did not move quickly enough to get the Stork Craft cribs off the market. "We were not advancing this case as quickly as possible," said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum in an interview with The Associated Press. "So, I put all of the resources for the agency on this project so that they could accomplish this goal of recalling the crib."

Alan Korn, executive director of Safe Kids USA, tells ConsumerAffairs.com that he's gratified by the increased attention being paid by CPSC. "There does seem to be that there's a new day at the agency," Korn said. "We're hopeful that the agency will be more aggressive for products like cribs, bassinets and playpens."

Korn stresses that "cheaper is not better," when it comes to infant products. He says the recalls are usually the lower price cribs "where the hardware is weaker - it's plastic, maybe the craftsmanship isn't there." If possible, Korn advises, parents should upgrade the crib purchases.

Safe Kids USA says that if there's any product that needs to be particularly safe for infants, its cribs because, says Korn, this is "where we leave children unattended for long periods of time." He calls incidents involving cribs, particularly when there are deaths, "very alarming."

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