Best Buy has been hit with a $3.8 million civil penalty for selling a range of products, including several housewares items, which had been previously recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to the CPSC, the agreement settles charges that the home electronics retailer knowingly sold and distributed 16 different recalled products during a five-year period from 2010 through 2015. The CPSC said Best Buy’s settlement of this matter does not constitute an admission of the charges.
Best Buy, the CPSC said, failed to implement adequate procedures to accurately identify, quarantine, and prevent the sales of the recalled products across all of its supply channels. In addition, staff also charged that Best Buy, in some cases, failed to permanently block product codes due to inaccurate information that signaled that the recalled product was not in inventory. At other times, the blocked codes were reactivated prematurely, and in a few cases, overridden.
The recalled items sold by Best Buy included:
- iSi North America Twist ‘n Sparkle Beverage Carbonation Systems, recalled on July 5, 2012
- Sauder Woodworking Gruga Office Chairs, recalled on November 7, 2012
- Frigidaire Professional Blenders, recalled on September 19, 2013
- Gree Dehumidifiers, recalled on September 12, 2013
Other recalled items sold by Best Buy included various major appliances, digital cameras, televisions and a surge protector.
In addition to paying the civil penalty, Best Buy has agreed to maintain a program that is designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), including a program for the appropriate disposal of recalled products. The retailer has also agreed to maintain a system of internal controls and procedures.
