Even small changes in behavior can save lives

FROM CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM

Some 48 percent of Americans don’t have a carbon-monoxide detector at home, 24 percent sometimes fail to fasten a seatbelt, and 39 percent often eat raw dough when making cookies, according to a nationally representative poll of 1,000 Americans conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

This is the second part of a two-part series that looks at risky behavior. The first half was published in the February 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.

• The poll reveals what behaviors Americans do which they probably shouldn’t, including:

• Occasionally using the top step of a ladder (31 percent).

• Sometimes having a beer while using a power tool or mower (13 percent).

• Letting their kids play on a trampoline (43 percent)

Also, the survey shows what behaviors Americans don’t do that they probably should, including:

• Having a rubber mat in the tub or shower (61 percent don’t)

• Changing batteries in smoke alarms yearly (21 percent don’t)

• Eating burgers only well done (32 percent don’t)

The results are revealing because these behaviors can cause real harm, according to safety experts at Consumer Reports and elsewhere.

According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, safety belts saved 15,147 lives in 2007.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that carbon-monoxide poisoning claims almost 500 lives in the U.S. each year.

The CDC notes that a common cause of food-borne salmonella infections is under-cooked or raw eggs, often found in cookie dough. Salmonellosis causes an estimated 1.4 million cases of food-borne illness and more than 500 deaths annually in the United States.

Based on Consumer Reports’ analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission data, more than 105,000 hospital-treated injuries in the U.S. in 2007 were linked to trampolines.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Hundreds of thousands of homebuyers may have been victimized

By Jon Hood

A class action lawsuit alleges that lending giant Wells Fargo profited off an unholy scheme with an appraiser owned by Wells Fargo’s parent company.

According to the suit, Wells Fargo requires borrowers to use Rels Valuation, an appraisal service owned by the same company that controls Wells Fargo. In turn, Rels, which uses third-party appraisers to perform the work, forces these vendors to come back with an appraisal that meets Wells Fargo’s expectations, and pays the appraisers well below market value for their services.

Despite the bargain that Wells Fargo receives on the appraisals, it continues to charge consumers the full amount for the service, and pockets the difference.

As described in the suit, Wells Fargo’s alleged scheme is exceedingly clever and complex. According to the suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Wells Fargo pressures subcontracting appraisers to report back with a price that will allow Wells Fargo to underwrite the loan without significant obstacles, regardless of whether the figure is accurate.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

Safety agency had looked the other way as phthalate-laden toys remained on shelves

By Truman Lewis

A New York federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) must see that toys containing phthalates are removed from stove shelves after a ban takes effect next week.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen filed suit against the CPSC last December, after the commission created a loophole in the congressionally mandated ban that is effective Feb. 10.

The loophole would have allowed retailers to stockpile and continue selling dangerous products as long as they were manufactured before the ban’s effective date.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

~Sandy G.