Current Events in February 2017

3i Corporation of Hong Kong is recalling 317,100 Safford/Lakeview bar chair sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The legs can become detached from the center post at the weld, posing a fall hazard.

The firm has received 457 reports of the bar stool base breaking, resulting in ten reports of injury including head injuries, broken ribs, bruising and scrapes.

This recall involves allen + roth brand Safford model and Garden Treasures brand Lakeview model bar chairs sold in sets of four.

The chairs have a brown, aluminum frame and a beige sling fabric cover. The 4-foot-tall chairs swivel 360 degrees and have arm rests on each side of the chair.

The chairs, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Lowe’s stores nationwide and online at www.lowes.com from November 2008, to August 2016, for about $700 for the set.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chairs and contact 3i Corporation for a free replacement base and a repair kit.

Consumers may contact 3i Corporation toll-free at 866-267-7772 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.lakeview-safford.com.

Barberi International of Miami, Fla., is recalling its Sunmba Frozen Ajiaco (vegetable mix) product.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this product to date.

The recalled product was sold in 2-lb. plastic bags with the UPC number 85641400172 and a “use by” date of November 5, 2017, or earlier.

It was distributed in Florida from December 24, 2016, thru January 22, 2017, to the following stores:

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should discard it or return it to their local store for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Barberi International at (786) 845 0037 Monday thru Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm (EST).

Last June, Barack Obama signed an environmental bill into law that enjoyed rare bipartisan support from Congress. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, named for the senator who had drafted the bill years earlier before dying in 2013, was celebrated by some environmentalists, EPA officials, and Obama as the first real chemical safety reform the United States had seen in decades. 

Previously, all chemicals in commerce in the United States were regulated under the Toxic Control Substances Act of 1976, a law that environmental groups like the National Resources Defense Council said was deeply flawed and ineffective. The original TCSA law grandfathered in an estimated 80,000 chemicals without safety testing, allowing companies to sell products containing chemicals for which little data was available.

The Lautenberg act, an amendment meant to reform the TSCA, was supposed to give regulators the power to demand safety reviews for commonly-used chemicals and require safety testing for new chemicals before they enter the market. Change, as always, would happen incrementally. 

“Under the new law, we now have the power to require safety reviews of all chemicals in the marketplace," Jim Jones, assistant administrator of the of Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press release following the bill's passage.

Asbestos from Montana mine brings new questions

In late November, EPA officials announced ten chemicals that they would evaluate under the new law. "If it is determined that a chemical presents an unreasonable risk, EPA must mitigate that risk within two years," the EPA explained at the time. Included in that list was asbestos, which the agency has already acknowledged causes lung disease. The EPA had tried to implement a ban on many asbestos-containing products in 1989, but a federal court overturned the regulations.

About a decade later, residents in the town of Libby, Montana discovered that a W.R. Grace and Co. vermiculite mine just outside town had spread asbestos dust throughout the region. As many as 400 people died as a result, officials estimated. EPA officials from Region 8 spent the next 18 years overseeing the cleanup of a reported 2,000 properties nearby, as well as the mine itself. 

The local clean-up was coming to a close shortly before Trump took office. 

A warning for other homeowners?

Millions of homes and businesses across the country are likely still insulated with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, according to the Billings Gazette. But while the EPA implemented a local clean-up, the agency would not commit to informing the millions of other property owners across the country about the risks they faced, the local paper recently reported. 

“It’s too early to say what the result will be and what action EPA will take. TSCA requires these chemical risk evaluations be completed within three years,” the paper quoted an EPA spokesperson as saying. The spokesman's comments, made shortly before Trump implemented what has been described as a "gag order" on EPA officials, drew criticism from public health advocates, who accused the agency of dragging its feet.

With gag order, state of chemical safety is unclear

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Donald Trump has claimed in interviews that asbestos is "100 percent safe, once applied." Trump was also sued by undocumented Polish immigrant workers in the late 90s who said they were exposed to asbestos during the construction of Trump Tower.

What Trump's pro-asbestos, anti-EPA attitude means for the fate of asbestos regulations under the EPA remains unclear. News outlets reported last week that employees at some federal agencies, including the EPA, were instructed to cease sending news releases or social media updates to the public. A memo sent to the EPA, obtained by the Washington Post, said that "a digital strategist will be coming on board" to screen the EPA's comments, adding that, “Incoming media requests will [be] carefully screened.”

Asked about the asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana, and whether the EPA will warn other affected homeowners about the contaminated insulation, an EPA spokesman responded to ConsumerAffairs with a brief email: "Checking," is all it said. 

It's hard to find anyone who's entirely happy with their internet service, but New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman says New Yorkers are on target when they kvetch about their service from Charter subsidiary Spectrum-Time Warner Cable, alleging in a lawsuit that the company deliberately promises internet speeds it knows it can't deliver.

“The allegations in today’s lawsuit confirm what millions of New Yorkers have long suspected -- Spectrum-Time Warner Cable has been ripping you off,” said Schneiderman. “Today’s action seeks to bring much-needed relief to the millions of New Yorkers we allege have been getting cheated by Spectrum-Time Warner Cable for far too long. Even now, Spectrum-Time Warner Cable continues to offer Internet speeds that we found they cannot reliably deliver.”

Schneiderman's criticisms are echoed by the many reviews about Time-Warner and Spectrum submitted by ConsumerAffairs readers like R.P. of Saugerties, N.Y., who said, "These companies can call themselves whatever they want. TheTV service stinks. Those boxes they gave out don't work a lot of times or the pictures pixelate."

"I think their services should be looked into. Why should people pay for lousy service?" R.P. asked.

"Dramatically short-changed"

The complaint alleges that since January 2012 Spectrum-TWC’s marketing promised subscribers who signed up for its internet service that they would get a "fast, reliable connection" to the internet from anywhere in their home. But a 16-month investigation by Schneiderman's office – which included reviewing internal corporate communications and hundreds of thousands of subscriber speed tests – found Spectrum-Time Warner subscribers were getting dramatically short-changed on both speed and reliability.

Subscribers’ wired internet speeds for the premium plan (100, 200, and 300 Mbps) were up to 70 percent slower than promised; Wi-Fi speeds were even slower, with some subscribers getting speeds that were more than 80 percent slower than what they had paid for, Schneiderman's suit charges.

The complaint also alleges that Spectrum-TWC charged New Yorkers as much as $109.99 per month for premium plans that could not even achieve the speeds promised in their slower plans. And Schneiderman charges that Spectrum-TWC executives knew that the company’s hardware and network were incapable of achieving the speeds promised to subscribers but continued to make false promises about speed and reliability anyway. 

Schneiderman alleges that while Spectrum-TWC earned billions of dollars in profits from selling its high-margin internet service to 2.5 million New York subscribers, it didn't make the capital investments necessary to improve its network or provide subscribers with the necessary hardware.

It might take changes like that to make Zeke of Rochester, N.Y., happy.

"Our TW Cable service is awful! Every year our bill increases or they take away channels but we get ** service. Every time we use on demand or rent a movie the channels freeze. We have to reboot the box and it takes so long that we typically give up," Zeke said. 

Car sales may be slowing a little bit, but if so, you can't blame Volkswagen, which has been handing out cash to hundreds of thousands of "clean diesel" owners. The latest settlement, expected to total about $1 billion, will line the pockets of consumers who owned or leased a 3.0-liter TDI VW, Audi, or Porsche from certain model years. 

VW earlier agreed to pay nearly $20 billion to buy back cars and settle civil and criminal charges growing out of its use of deceptive software that allowed its TDI "clean diesel" cars to pass emissions tests, even though they spewed out as much as 40 times the legal limit of pollutants.

Most of the nearly 600,000 vehicles involved were equipped with 2.0-liter diesel engines. Today's settlement covers larger vehicles equpped with 3.0-liter engines, which were equipped with similar illegal devices.

3.0-liter settlement

Under today's settlement, VW will fully compensate consumers who purchased 3.0-liter TDI diesel vehicles through a combination of repairs, additional monetary compensation, and buybacks for certain models.  

Under the federal court order, owners of older vehicles (model years 2009-2012) will be able to sell their car back to Volkswagen at favorable prices and obtain full compensation for their losses.

Payments vary

Consumers are eligible to receive approximately $26,000 to $58,000 for a buyback, depending on the model, mileage, and trim of the car. These owners can also opt to keep their cars and receive an emissions modification that would improve their vehicle’s emissions, if a modification is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. Consumers receiving an emissions modification will also receive monetary compensation.

For owners and lessees of newer vehicles (model years 2013-2016; see detailed fact sheet) Volkswagen is expected to obtain regulatory approval for an emissions repair that brings the cars into full compliance with originally certified emission standards and does not materially reduce the performance of the vehicle.

If Volkswagen obtains EPA and CARB approval within the timeframe in the FTC Order, consumers will receive this repair and additional monetary compensation ranging from approximately $8,500 to $17,600. This means consumers with newer vehicles will receive the car they thought they purchased – plus a substantial additional payment. If an emissions repair is not available under the timeframe in the FTC Order, then Volkswagen must offer to buy back those models and provide lease terminations.

Certain consumers who leased an affected vehicle are eligible for substantial compensation. Options for lessees vary based on make, model, model year, and the availability of approved emissions modifications or repairs. Certain owners who sold their TDI vehicles after the Volkswagen defeat device issue became public are also eligible for compensation.

This chart shows the range of approximate payments consumers would receive under the FTC Order.

The order will return more than a billion dollars to consumers, with the total amount depending on future events. If no emissions repair is approved, and if the company must therefore offer buybacks for all 3.0-liter TDI models, Volkswagen may have to pay as much as $4 billion.

Cash for Clunkers

Volkswagen's court-enforced largesse is being compared to the "cash for clunkers" program the federal government rolled out during the recession, hoping to spur sales and get high-polluting older cars off the road.

The federal program doled out about $3 billion. Depending on how many cars it buys back or repairs, VW could hand out as much as $10 billion to American consumers, not to mention the billions it has paid in federal and state fines.

While all of this is sort of bad news for Volkswagen, it's good news for the automobile industry, which has seen sales slowing slightly in recent months, and not quite as disastrous for VW as you might expect.

Experts quoted recently by Bloomberg say they expect Volkswagen and Audi sales to show an increase of about 20 percent for January, followed by Honda with four percent, while other major brands all see decreases.

It might seem surprising that Volkswagen owners would be sticking with the brand even after the diesel scandal. But VW has always enjoyed exceptional customer loyalty and TDI owners generally loved their cars, which were noted for their excellent fuel economy, spirited acceleration, and good handling. 

"I vowed never to buy another Volkswagen product after the diesel disaster," said one Southern California motorist who was refueling a Tiguan recently. "But after I drove a Honda and a Toyota, I headed over to the VW dealer and drove home in my third Jetta."

VW's various court settlements prohibit it and its dealers from encouraging consumers getting buybacks to buy another Volkswagen, but the German automaker still managed to dethrone Toyota as the world's largest-selling car manufacturer last year. 

There were a few raised eyebrows earlier this month when Amazon announced that it would be creating 100,000 U.S.-based jobs by mid-2018. The widely popular online retailer had plans to open additional warehouses in Texas, Florida, California, and New Jersey – but another initiative may bring thousands of jobs to Kentucky.

The company announced today that it will be building a cargo airline hub in the northern part of the state at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Estimates show that as many as 2,700 people may be employed at the location eventually, but officials say only 600 full-time positions will be initially available. The created jobs are expected to include positions in personnel, piloting, ground support, management, and maintenance.

“As we considered places for the long-term home for our air hub operations, Hebron quickly rose to the top of the list with a large, skilled workforce, centralized location with great connectivity to our nearby fulfillment locations and an excellent quality of living for employees. We feel strongly that with these qualities as a place to do business, our investments will support Amazon and customers well into the future,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations.

Greater delivery speeds

It’s no secret that Amazon has been trying to create its own air transportation network. After revealing its first branded cargo plane last August, Clark commented that doing so would “[expand] our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for years to come.”

The Hebron hub received approval to lease 900 acres of land, and it would eventually house 40 Amazon Prime planes that would transport packages between warehouses. The Cincinnati Business Courier estimated that the project would cost approximately $1.49 billion, with Amazon standing to receive as many as $40 million in tax incentives from local government.

The move may prove to be beneficial to consumers across the U.S., who may experience faster delivery times after the hub is up and running. Amazon should also be able to cut some of its costs associated with working with third parties, although the company says its cargo planes are only meant to supplement cargo carriers.

Analyst Colin Sebastian estimated that the company will see a $400 billion-plus market opportunity for delivery, freight forwarding, and contract logistics. However, it has not yet announced a start date for the hub.

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, have reached a settlement with Western Union, resolving a multistate case brought against the wire transfer service.

The case goes back more than a decade, when widespread scams relied on Western Union to deliver money from victims. Scammers specifically told victims to use a wire transfer when they sent money. That's because money sent by wire can't be traced or retrieved.

While Western Union was in no way involved with any of the scams, prosecutors sought to hold it liable because the fraudsters relied on its services .

In addition to the states, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with Western Union in a separate case. In the current case, 50 states and Washington, DC will share $5 million.

"Far too many people have fallen prey to con artists, then lost thousands of dollars wired through Western Union," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The company said in an emailed statement that it has "significantly enhanced our compliance program in recent years by adding more employees with law enforcement and regulatory expertise, strengthening our consumer education and agent training, bolstering our technology-driven controls and having our Chief Compliance Officer report directly to the Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors."

Western Union said it has "increased overall compliance funding by more than 200 percent and now spend approximately $200 million per year on compliance, with more than 20 percent of our workforce dedicated to compliance functions."

Red flag

Madigan went on to caution consumers not to ever respond to requests to wire money upfront in order to claim a foreign lottery prize, pay bail for your grandchild, or pay overdue taxes to the IRS. Such a request, she says, should be a red flag that you are dealing with a scammer.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says con artists are good at dreaming up all kinds of schemes to convince consumers to wire them money.

“It is important for consumers to be aware of these types of scams because wiring money is like sending cash – once it’s picked up, it’s gone,” Schuette said.

The states pressed their case against Western Union, saying it should have been more diligent in detecting and preventing schemes in which its service was being used for illegal activity.

As part of the settlement agreement Western Union will be required to establish an anti-fraud program that will identify wire transfers that may be for shady purposes.

It requires warnings on forms that consumers use to wire money and training of Western Union personnel on ways to identify scam-related wire transfers.

Consumers' responsibility

It goes without saying that consumers, especially the adult children of elderly parents, bear responsibility for avoiding and keeping loved ones from falling victim to wire transfer schemes.

Here's a simple rule -- a wire transfer should not be used to send money to someone you don't know. There is no way to track it, or get it back, in the event of a dispute.

A transaction that you did not initiate, that requires payment by wire, is probably not on the up-and-up.

If you are confused about what to do, talk to a family member or local consumer authority before acting.

Higher education is under the gun. For years, students have paid astronomical tuition, usually requiring massive student loans.

All well and good if you come out of college with a six-figure salary. But unless you are a quarterback taken in the first three rounds of the NFL draft, that doesn't happen that often.

So is all college a waste of money? Not at all, but just like with all consumer products, some can deliver on their promises and some fall short. The problem is telling the former from the latter.

The Princeton Review says it can help, releasing its 2017 annual guide to "colleges that pay you back." In other words, colleges where a degree can quickly pay for itself. The Princeton Review has identified 200 schools that fit that description.

Return on investment

The review judged schools for their return on investment (ROI). It looked at academic strength, cost of attending, financial aid, graduation rates, and student debt.

"College is a major financial investment and we want to help students and their families get the biggest return on that investment," said Robert Franek, the Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief and lead author of Colleges That Pay You Back.

Franek says the colleges that made the cut offer great value. Students get a great education but also benefit from generous financial aid, helpful career services programs, alumni connections, and career opportunities like internships.

So what are the colleges that "pay you back?" According to The Princeton Review, here are the top five:

Top five

1. Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.)
2. Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.)
4. Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, Calif.)
5. California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, Calif.)

In specific categories, Massachusetts Institute of Technology stands out in career placement; Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., wins points for financial aid; and Bentley University in Walthan, Mass., was praised for its internships.

The project is an expansion of the Review's annual list of best college values, first published in 2004. It's designed to help students make the best decision for their selected field and financial resources.

"While 100% of our respondents viewed college as 'worth it,' worries about college costs and job prospects ran deep," Franek said. "Ninety percent reported financial aid would be 'very necessary' to pay for college, and 40% said their college choice would be the school 'best for my (my child's) career interests.'"

The Review's editors found the average grant to students with need is $25,150 and the median starting salary of graduates is $51,200, with a median mid-career salary of $94,377.