Consumer Protection News—

Local Company Barred From Building, Sierra Club Soliciting, Toy Recall

HARTFORD — The Department of Consumer Protection is recalling Galt Toys’ Mini Wooden Robot X-7 because of high lead content, Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr, said October 9. The agency is urging consumers to immediately take these items out of children’s reach and return them to the store where purchased for a cash refund.

“The tests we ran on these small robot toys found that the paint contains unacceptable levels of lead,” Commissioner Farrell said. “While federal law prohibits the presence of lead in excess of .06 percent, in the four units we tested, lead levels ranged from .88 percent to 2.7 percent. These levels are far too high for any consumer product, especially one designed for children.”

Department agents immediately removed all of the unsafe products from store shelves; however, parents who have bought these should ensure that children do not play with them, and return them to the store for a full refund.

Original Specialty Toys of Milford was distributor of these products in the state. The Mini Wooden Robot X-7 toys sold for about $4 in the following Connecticut stores:

* Learning Express at Goodwives Shopping Center in Darien

* Learning Express at on Post Road East in Westport

* Toys Galore ‘n More on Main Street in Kent

Galt Toys and Original Specialty Stores are both cooperating fully with this recall. The US Product Safety Commission has obtained its own samples for testing, evaluation, and possible national recall.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection product safety inspectors routinely visit nearly 400 hundred stores each year in search of unsafe toys. This year, agents have also conducted widespread recall effectiveness checks across the state following numerous national recalls of dozens of toys imported from China.

Action Against Builder

In other reports, the Department of Consumer Protection has revoked the New Home Construction Contractor registration of This New House II, LLC, whose members are John and Eileen Johannessen, of Litchfield, for violations of state laws regarding new home construction and unfair trade practices, Commissioner Farrell announced.

The Final Decision, signed by Commissioner Farrell on September 26, is in response to a complaint from a consumer who had contracted with the company in May 2005 for construction of a new home in Kent.

According to terms of the contract, the buyer paid This New House II, LLC an initial nonrefundable deposit of more than $97,000, and made additional payments throughout 2005 totaling more than $251,737 as of December 14 of that year.

According to the buyer’s complaint, the company did not perform a reasonable amount of work on the project and did not keep the buyer informed of the status of the project. As allowed by law, in May 2006 the buyer requested that his refundable payments be returned, but they were not. The contractor did not complete the house, nor did the company refund the buyer, who was then required to hire another contractor to finish the project.

The Department of Consumer Protection notified the company of the complaints filed against it in June 2007, held a compliance meeting as required by statute, issued a formal complaint on July 26 and held a hearing on the charges on August 24.

The Department found that the inaction of This New House II, LLC including its failure to complete the work contracted for and its failure to refund money to the consumer for the work not completed, constituted violations of the New Home Construction Contractors Act and Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.

As a result of the revocation of its registration, This New House II, LLC is immediately prohibited from engaging in new home construction.

Sierra Club Soliciting

In other news, The Department of Consumer Protection and the Office of the Attorney General announced that Sierra Club of San Francisco began conducting a telephone solicitation campaign October 8 that will end December 31.

Sierra Club has hired Telefund, Inc of Boston to conduct the campaign. According to the fundraising contract filed with the state, Sierra Club will receive a minimum of 0 percent of the gross funds raised from this solicitation.

According to the most recent financial report on file (for the year ended December 31, 2005) Sierra Club reported total revenue of $85,183,435. It spent $83,432,700 of which it spent $70,261,700, or 84 percent on its programs (the purposes for which the organization was formed), $6,878,300, or 8 percent on management and general expenses (primarily the costs of running the organization), $6,292,700 or 8 percent on fundraising.

Telefund, Inc will be required to file a financial report on the results of this solicitation campaign within 90 days after the end of the campaign.

Sierra Club is conducting a another telephone solicitation campaign, which began October 9, and will ending August 31, 2008.

Sierra Club has hired Harris Direct, to conduct the campaign. According to the fundraising contract filed with the State, Sierra Club will receive a minimum of two percent of the gross funds raised from this solicitation.

Harris Direct will be required to file a financial report on the results of this solicitation campaign within 90 days after the end of the campaign.