Home Depot continued to sell 28 recalled products
From fluorescent shop lights to fire extinguishers, medical cabinets, washing machines and rugs, a total of 28 products remained on Home Depot (HD) shelves after they were recalled, with fire, falls and lacerations among the hazards posed to consumers.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Home Depot are warning consumers of the recall involving about 2,310 items, more than half of which were sold by the retailer to consumers between 2012 and 2015. Another 1,010 were sent by the company to salvage firms or recyclers that may have sold them to consumers, the safety agency said on its website.
"Recalls are announced to protect consumers. It is irresponsible and illegal to keep selling recalled products after a recall is announced," CSPC chairman Elliot Kaye said. "I expect Home Depot to take all appropriate actions to prevent recalled products from being sold to the public in the future."
Home Depot reported the problem after realizing some of its checkout registers were not programmed to stop sales of the recalled items, according to spokesperson Stephen Holmes, who added the company conducted about 4 billion transactions overall during the three-year period.
"We alerted CPSC that items had gotten through, so this is a reminder to our customers -- we've tweeted it and put it on Facebook," Holmes said. "We take these things very seriously."
Consumers should stop using the recalled products immediately and contact the recalling firms to receive the remedies listed in the recall, which is either a refund, replacement or repair.
Home Depot can be reached at 800-HOME-DEPOT or 800-466-3337 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.homedepot.com and click on "Product Recalls" at the bottom of the page for more information.
While unusual, the scenario is not without precedent. Last summer, the CPSC announced a similar recall involving Best Buy (BBY). The electronics retailer and stores including Cow Boom and Tech Liquidators sold 10 different products, from cameras to gas dryers, after their recall in 2012 and 2013.