Home Safety and Regulations

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Wireless Christmas tree light controllers recalled because they can overheat

The company has received at least one report of a fire

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Mr. Christmas has issued a recall for 44,600 wireless decorative Christmas tree light controllers because they can pose a fire hazard. The company says the wireless receiver that plugs into an outlet can overheat.

The firm has received 10 reports of overheating, including one report of a fire. No injuries have been reported. The controllers were sold at Walmart, Target and Cracker Barrel stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com, Target.com and CrackerBarrel.com from Ju...

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    Here are the companies most favored by consumers in Q1

    The ConsumerAffairs Buyer's Choice Awards are based on verified reviews

    ConsumerAffairs, the reviews platform whose content and tools give consumers an advantage when making difficult purchases, has named 12 more companies winners of its quarterly Buyer's Choice Awards, based on AI-assisted decoding of consumer reviews in the previous 12 months.

    Awards this quarter went to companies serving three high-stakes aspects of homeownership—home safety, pest control, and flooring—and also companies that sell hearing aids, a category that’s grown harder for consumers to navigate due to new OTC offerings. 

    "Buying decisions that consumers make during significant life events are what ConsumerAffairs covers, our sole beat," said Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs. "Our Buyer's Choice Awards signify the companies that are really good at helping consumers make that one-time investment in something they’ve not had to understand until now."

    Each Buyer’s Choice Award is created after rigorous analysis of reviews reveals what aspects of that particular industry’s buying journey are most important to buyers. “The Buyer’s Choice Awards winners are proven by reviews and ratings to fulfill their customers' handful of super-high-priority needs,” Carman said.

    These five winners swept their industry’s awards by receiving each award given in their category:

    Empire Today won all the flooring awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price.  

    Orkin Pest Control took home each of the pest control awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price.

    Vivint won each award given in home alarms: Best Customer Service, Best Equipment, Best for Installation and Best Monitoring.

    Finally, Hear.com and Starkey Hearing Aids won all of their category awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff and Best Value for Price.

    Criteria

    How did ConsumerAffairs calculate the Buyer's Choice Award winners?

    In an era of rampant faked or unhelpful consumer reviews, reviews on ConsumerAffairs must be submitted by a verified reviewer and vetted by a human moderator for authenticity, minimum length and depth of insight. 

    The Buyer’s Choice Awards methodology then uses sentence-by-sentence analysis of reviews published in the previous year to calculate satisfaction levels for each aspect. Experienced auditors confirmed the accuracy of the AI-assisted sentiment analysis. 

    Each quarter in 2024, ConsumerAffairs will announce Buyer's Choice Awards in new categories and use its website to flag the winning companies with a signature badge designed to guide consumers in need to trusted companies. Winners of each Buyer's Choice Award are limited to three or fewer by the rigorous statistical bar for positive sentiment set by ConsumerAffairs.

    Multiple winners

    Who are the other multiple winners of 2024 Buyer's Choice Awards?

    Flooring: National Floors Direct (four wins: Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price) and LL Flooring (four wins: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, and Best Value for Price).

    Pest Control: Bulwark Exterminating (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff and Best Speed of Service) and Hawx Pest Control (one award: Best Value for Price).

    Home alarm: ADT (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best Equipment and Best Monitoring) and Vector Security (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best for Installation and Best Monitoring)

    Hearing aids: Audicus (two wins: Best Customer Service and Best Experience with Staff)

    For more information about the Buyer's Choice Awards and the recognized companies, please visit the awards page. One to three winners for each category will be recognized per industry, with new awards rolling out quarterly throughout 2024.

    ConsumerAffairs, the reviews platform whose content and tools give consumers an advantage when making difficult purchases, has named 12 more companies winn...