Have you ever tried to return a product that was recalled? If your experience was not easy, you are not alone.
Learning that a product you have at home is being recalled can be alarming. And hearing that all you have to do is contact the company to get a replacement or refund, makes it sound like a simple process. But, according to an analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, of the 323 products that were recalled in 2023, only 47.9% of the companies made it easy for their customers to get a refund, 9.6% presented obstacles, and 42.5% made it very difficult or impossible to get any money back.
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Teresa Murray is a consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG.
“It's clear that the recall process is not working in this country,” explained Murray. “Many companies, about half of them with refunds, don't require you to return the product. They have other ways to verify that you own the product, but the ones that are trying to make it a pain for consumers actually require you to return it.”
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In some cases, consumers are required to register their product online and then wait for further instructions.
“The companies are very vague about what is actually needed.”
U.S. PIRG also found that some companies won’t even issue a refund – only credits or vouchers toward another purchase. And in other cases, consumers are required to take costly steps to return a very cheap product.
“We found many, many cases of products that were like $2 to $3, $5, (to) $8 and that they (the companies) were requiring the products to be returned for -- no other reason,” said Murray.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it’s estimated that only 6 to 10% of recalled products are returned or discarded.
“These products are recalled because they're dangerous. And that means that they should not be used,” said Murray.
In a statement sent to U.S. PIRG, a CPSC spokesperson said, “In any recall, the primary goal is to get the defective or non-compliant product out of the hands of consumers. We take complaints about challenges with recall remedies seriously and work with companies to address those problems when we hear about them.”
The critical issue with all recalls is making sure you discard the product or get it repaired according to the recall requirements to make it safe.
“We really want regulators and lawmakers to look at this closely and figure out how to make our homes, our yards, our toys, everything a lot safer,” explained Murray.
The best site to check for any recalls is: https://www.recalls.gov
That’s a one-stop shop for us government recalls through six federal agencies.
You can get the latest recall information, report a dangerous product or learn important safety tips. And you can sign up to get CPSC, FDA, USDA and NHTA recall notifications sent to you. If you face problems trying to return or receive a refund for a recalled product, you can file a complaint by visiting the CPSC’s recall
