jikBMW Settles FTC Charges That It Required Consumers To Use Specific Parts, Service Centers Or Lose Warrantiesde

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(Jason Pope)

Under federal law, car manufactures are prohibited from threatening to revoke vehicle warranties based on where a consumer chooses to have their vehicle fixed. Apparently, a division of BMW didn’t follow that rule and now must change its practices to resolve charges from federal regulators.

The Federal Trade Commission announced this week that BMW agreed to settle charges that its Mini division – which handles all Mini Cooper sales – violated provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act by telling vehicle owners that the company would void their warranties unless they used Mini dealers and parts for repairs.

According to the FTC settlement [PDF], BMW told owners that in order to maintain a vehicle’s safe operation and value they must “have routine maintenance performed only by Mini dealers unless the representation is true and BMW can substantiate it with reliable scientific evidence.”

In order to resolve the charges, BMW must provide affected BMW Mini owners with information about their right to use third-party parts and service without voiding warranty coverage, unless the manufacturer offers the parts and services free of charge.

Additionally, the company is barred from representing that, to ensure a vehicle’s safe operation or maintain its value, owners must have routine maintenance performed only by Mini dealers or Mini centers, unless the representation is true and BMW can substantiate it with reliable scientific evidence.

A spokesperson for BMW tells The Detroit News that the company did not agree with the FTC’s claims but settled for the best interest of consumers.

BMW Settles FTC Charges that Its MINI Division Illegally Conditioned Warranty Coverage on Use of Its Parts and Service [Federal Trade Commission]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

jik5 Food Prep Tips For Reducing Pesticide Risksde

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When you buy a sack of potatoes with dirt still clinging to the spuds, you know they’ll need a wash before going into your dinner. But those completely clean-looking apples, peaches, and strawberries may carry a less-visible danger in the form of pesticide residues.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that that there are traces of 29 different pesticides in the average American’s body, so our colleagues at Consumer Reports recently published an extensive look at the pervasiveness of this problem and how consumers can best reduce their risk of chowing down on pesticides.

In the above video, CR gives the following food-prep tips for cutting down your risk of exposure to pesticides in produce.

1. Wash thoroughly.

Not just a spritz or a dust-off. You should wash fruits & vegetables under running water for at least 30 seconds to one minute.

2. Use a brush.

Help scrub off any residues by employing a clean brush for firm-skinned produce like apples and carrots. There are specialty brushes available for items like mushrooms and potatoes. Keep all your brushes clean by regularly washing with hot, soapy water, or by tossing them in the dishwasher.

3. Shed layers.

The outer layers of foods like lettuce and cabbage are where you’ll find most pesticide residues.

4. Go organic, especially if you’re using the whole item.

CR recommends that you buy organic produce whenever possible, as the use of synthetic pesticides on these items is limited. Organics are particularly important if you’re intending to use the outer skin of a fruit or vegetable, like a potato peel or lemon rind.

5. Organics still need to be washed.

Even though organic produce is grown using a limited range of pesticides, there’s no way to rule out cross-contamination from other crops. So it’s just as important to wash these foods as conventionally grown produce.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

jikParent Company Of Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff Will Include Nutritional Info On Beverage Labelsde

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(*Pasha*)

We know that the thought at the forefront of your mind while downing a shot of whiskey is “How many calories are in this?” It’ll be a lot easier to figure out now when drinking brands like Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff and Baileys, as parent company Diageo announced today it’ll include nutritional information on its products’ labels.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau gave companies the go-ahead to include information like calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein content on booze labels on 2013, but it’s a voluntary thing.

Diageo said in a statement Thursday that all its brands will display per serving nutritional information on drink labels, and has gained approval for the label on its U.S. products from the bureau.

“Consumers are increasingly discerning about what’s in their glass,” Diageo Chief Executive Officer Ivan Menezes said in the statement. “We are committed to ensuring our consumers have the best possible information from which to make informed choices.”

The company says it’s the first one to voluntarily disclose nutritional information on alcoholic drinks, and it could be a good way to stay in tune with the consumer trend of disclosing what exactly is in the products we’re eating and drinking.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikSuspected Walmart Shoplifter Kicks Through Ceiling, Tunnels Out Via Air Ductsde

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Escape from the Walmart ceiling.

We never imagined that the world’s greatest criminal masterminds would bother to shop-lift from Walmart. Yet a suspected shoplifter at a store in Alabama made an escape from the store worthy of a terrible spy movie. He was captured on surveillance camera climbing up into the ceiling, navigating air ducts, and then kicking his way down through the ceiling near the store exit.

The man was accused of stealing some clothes, and his daring escape was out of proportion to the crime he was being accused of. Evading justice may even put him in more trouble than the original theft…if he’s apprehended.

Security sat the man down in the McDonald’s restaurant within the store, and from there he punched through the ceiling and climbed up and through 20 feet of ducts. Store employees are calling him Spider-Man for obvious reasons, but would the real Spider-Man steal clothes before he escaped using not-so-secret tunnels? Where could you hide shoplifted goods in a spidey-suit, anyway?

Accused Shoplifter Turns Into Spider-Man For Escape [WKRG]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

jikBurger King Announces Limited Edition Whopper-Scented Colognede

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Did we miss some kind of memo that made it cool to smell like your food without the pleasure of actually eating anything? Because Burger King apparently feels the need to jump on the fast food scent train, announcing that it’ll bestow 1,000 bottles of Whopper-scented cologne upon the world on April 1.

Alas, as with Pizza Hut’s foray into food perfume, which was limited to Canada at first, only people in Japan will be able to get their hands on a bottle of burger cologne.

Burger King announced today that the April 1 date is not because this whole thing is an obvious April Fool’s joke, but because it’s Whopper day for the company, notes the Associated Press.

The Flame Grilled fragrance sells for 5,000 yen or about $40, along with the purchase of a burger with flame-grilled beef. Ketchup and mustard packets will also be available in case you want to squirt some into your hair to complete the effect.

Burger King has cologne for hamburger lovers [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikGraco Agrees To Pay $3M Fine For Delayed Reporting Of Car Seat-Buckle Complaintsde

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(Graco)

After Graco recalled about six million car seats last year in two sets of recalls because the harness’ buckles could get stuck, the company has now agreed to shell out $3 million to the government for being slow to report complaints about the tricky buckles.

Along with that payment, Grace has to spend $7 million on measures to improve child seat safety, reports the Associated Press.

This means a better way of registering seat owners so that if there’s a safety problem, they can be notified quickly and easily. It also has to work on better procedures to identify issues and make recalls happen faster.

Last year a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation looked into Graco’s behavior during what was the biggest child seat recall in the U.S. to date.

The trouble started when Graco announced it was recalling 4.2 million toddler seats in February 2014. But what about infant car seats? asked NHTSA in a letter to the company accusing it of playing down the recall with “incomplete and misleading” documents for consumers. Then in July, Graco gave in and issued a recall for 1.9 million car seats with the same sticky buckle situation.

Friday’s fine “uses NHTSA’s enforcement authority to not only hold a manufacturer accountable, but to keep our kids safe,” Mark Rosekind, the agency’s administrator, said in a statement.

The president of Graco Children’s Products said in a statement that Graco is sorry it fell short of NHTSA’s expectations when it came to gathering data about the recalls and spreading the word to customers.

“We accept this fine and the additional funding requested by NHTSA for a joint venture involving child passenger safety initiatives in the future,” said Laurel Hurd.

Graco fined for delayed reporting of seat-buckle complaints [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikFAA Clears Amazon To Start Testing Delivery Drone Flightsde

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Amazon is getting one step closer to the company’s dream of delivering packages by air, as the Federal Aviation Administration has given the company the go-ahead to start testing drones outside.

The FAA issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to Amazon Logistics, Inc., for what it calls an “unmanned aircraft design” that the company will use for research and development of its proposed Amazon Prime Air service, as well as crew training, the FAA says.

Lest anyone thinks drones will just start whizzing through the sky willynilly, there are some restrictions and conditions set in the certificate that Amazon must abide by in testing its fliers: All flights must stay below 400 feet and happen during the daylight, in clear skies.

The drone has to stay within the pilot’s line of sight at all times, as well as an observer. And whoever is flying the aircraft has to have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification.

From here, Amazon will have to provide monthly data about its test to the FAA, reporting the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, unusual hardware or software malfunctions, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions, and any unintended loss of communication links.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist