Consumer Ally

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is issuing a crib recall and warning anyone with Generation 2 Worldwide or "ChildESIGNS" drop side cribs to stop using them following reports of the deaths of three babies. At least a half million of the cribs are believed to have been sold by the now defunct company.

"Infants and toddlers are at risk of serious injury or death due to strangulation and suffocation hazards presented by the cribs," the CPSC said in a written statement. "CPSC staff urges parents and caregivers to stop using these cribs immediately and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby."

Toymaker Schylling Associates, which makes classic toys including many with the Curious George and Thomas & Friends brands, was accused of knowingly selling tens of thousands of its products that had lead paint in violation of federal law, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced.

Although the company denied it broke any federal laws in agreeing to the settlement, Schylling agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty. The toys were sold in 2001 through 2003 but were not reported to the government, as required by law, until 2007, when they were recalled.

"Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers have a legal obligation to ensure that no banned products are introduced into or distributed in the U.S. marketplace, and to inform CPSC as soon as they become aware of information that must be reported under our laws," CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in a written statement. "We will continue to penalize companies that do not follow these basic requirements."

If you've bought a wonderfully smooth, silky feeling piece of clothing supposedly made from environmentally-friendly bamboo -- chances are you've been duped.

More than six dozen companies -- including some of the nation's biggest retailers -- are being warned by the Federal Trade Commission to stop mislabeling clothing and textiles made of rayon as being made from bamboo. In all, the FTC contacted 78 companies, including Wal-Mart, Target, Saks and Nordstrom, that they could be in violation of federal law by making the claim.

Just days after Disney Princess and the Frog necklaces were recalled for containing the heavy metal cadmium, another Disney branded jewelry line is being recalled for lead, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

This time it's charms sold with Tiny Tink and Friends Children's Toy Jewelry Sets. More than 250,000 sets contain excessive levels of lead including Tinker Bell's Lil' Tinker Bracelet, Rosetta's Rosebud Key Chain and Silvermist's Water Lily Necklace.

A metal connector that links the charm to a necklace, bracelet or keychain is the part that contains lead. Sets with plastic rather than metal connectors are not subject to the recall.

Necklaces sold by Walmart as souvenirs of Disney's most recent princess movie -- "The Princess and the Frog" -- are being recalled because of high levels of the heavy metal cadmium, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The recall by jewelry and trinket maker F.A.F. Inc. was prompted by Disney, which made it clear that it would not allow makers of its licensed merchandise to produce them with cadmium. Walmart recently cleared its shelves of products that tests had shown contained cadmium. Walmart also said it would work with the CPSC as the safety agency decided how to handle the unregulated carcinogen, which is also toxic to young children.

Coca Cola has come up with a great way to make more money: Give you less Coke for more money and get you to think it's doing you a favor.

Coca Cola is branding the 7.5-ounce cans as "90-calorie portion-control mini-cans." That translates into they want you to keep drinking Coke, which you might not do if you were concerned about all 140 calories of sugar in the 12-ounce cans.

A third stroller has been recalled out of concern its hinges could break or sever a child's fingers. CYBEX umbrella strollers sold by Regal Lager were recalled in the U.S. and Canada, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced.

The company told the CPSC it had been told of one child whose finger got caught in the hinge mechanism used to open and close the strollers. The child suffered a broken finger.

About 1 million of the popular Maclaren strollers were recalled in November after a dozen reports of children having their fingertips severed in the hinge mechanism. And last week, Graco recalled 1.5 million of their strollers after five children suffered fingertip amputations in the hinges on the strollers' canopies.

Expect to see another major recall of strollers for the same reason over the next couple of weeks.

Regal Lager said it sold about 1,100 of its Chinese-made strollers in the U.S. and 90 in Canada. The models being recalled are Ruby, Onyx and Topaz. They were sold from August-November 2009 for $140-$260.

Those who have the strollers are asked to stop using them and request a hinge cover retrofit kit from Regal Lager. Regal Lager can be reached weekdays from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Eastern at (800) 593-5522. The kits also can be ordered through Regal Lager's Web site or by email at info@regallager.com.

Starbucks is recalling glass water bottles it has been selling this month after 10 customers reported either the glass stopper or bottle had shattered, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Starbucks told the CPSC eight of the reported incidents resulted in cuts. The company has sold 11,000 bottles in the U.S. and 1,200 in Canada.

The 20-ounce clear glass bottles were sold this month at Starbucks, Target and Safeway for about $9. They were made in Taiwan.

If you have one of the bottles you are asked to stop using them immediately and return them to where they were purchased for a full refund. Starbucks will also give anyone returning the bottles a free drink of any size.

For more information, call Starbucks weekdays between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. at (877) 492-6333.

You'd think if you paid $5,000 or more for a fancy, side-by-side refrigerator you wouldn't have to worry about the doors falling off. You'd be wrong.

Liebherr-Canada Ltd. is recalling its built-in, 24-inch wide single-door refrigerators -- often used in pairs to make a side-by-side -- because the doors can come loose and fall off, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. Only about 2,700 of the German made refrigerators were sold in the U.S. from January 2005 through November 2009. The units cost $2,500 to $3,000 for each single-door model; $5,000-$6,000 for side-by-sides. They are stainless steel or custom finished and are integrated into kitchen cabinetry.

It's easy to get sucked into buying a product based on what its label says -- after all, that's what the label's designed to do. And some of those label claims are regulated by the U.S. or monitored by the industry, and they actually mean something.

Others, though, have almost no meaning -- they're simply a marketplace come-on, and empty claims like "Made with Natural Goodness," "Kid Approved" and "Doctor Recommended" have become as common as those with legal definitions. Today, even regulated terms like "Healthy" and "Contains Antioxidants" have become muddied.

Haitians living in the U.S. are being targeted by a scam that convinces them to pay money with the promise of getting their relatives to this country, the Embassy of Haiti and the Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee announced.

Potential victims are contacted by phone or with fliers passed around in Haitian communities. They are told that if they wire $500, in return they will receive a package of documents and a confirmation number permitting them to go to the devastated island nation and bring five relatives to the U.S.

It is an unfortunate truth that those who can least afford to lose money are often targeted by businesses (and scams) intent on taking advantage of their weak position.

The folks at Mint.com put together an excellent graphic presentation of how lower income people get caught up in difficult situations and pay dearly called "The Shaft: How Companies Prey on the Poor." The raw deals users get with payday loans, "repair" credit cards and renting to own are detailed by the artist behind WallStats.com.

See it here. Be patient, the image is large and, depending on your browser, you might have to click on it to expand it for viewing.

It's a good primer on the perils of doing business with those who cater to those with lower incomes and the credit-challenged.

So what if that dude in the cubicle next to yours decides to get a masters degree, then grabs the promotion you wanted -- but the degree turns out to be fake? A number of high-profile cases over the years demonstrate that some people in middle and senior corporate, government and non-profit management are not above using a bogus credential to get ahead.

There's Sven Otto Littorin, for instance, a Swedish government official who got caught in 2007 boasting an MBA from "Fairfax University." (The degree has since disappeared from his CV.) Or Laura Callahan, a U.S. government executive who in 2003 stepped down from her job after claiming a doctorate in computer information systems from "Hamilton University." Two things are interesting about these two cases: One, anyone doing a background check could have discovered Fairfax and Hamilton are questionable alma maters. Two, Sven happens to be Sweden's minister for employment. And before the incident cost her career, Callahan was deputy chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Degree mills have been around a long time. Obviously they have allure. Who wouldn't want a real credential, for instance, for life experience? How many of us have earned the equivalent of a Ph.D in psychology just dealing with bosses and co-workers for a decade or two?

The Declaration of Independence says "that all men are created equal." Anyone who's ever dealt with a failed product or the world's most annoying customer service knows that not all corporations are created equal. But according to yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that undid crucial parts of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, a corporation is equal to a person, when it comes to freedom of speech.

The five conservative justices on the Supreme Court want you to believe that your voice is just as powerful as a multi-national corporation with money to burn. But can you afford to produce and air a commercial on prime time television saying what it is you love about a candidate or what you think needs to change in this country?

Can you afford to hire an award-winning Madison Avenue firm to produce your ad campaign and then pay the major networks to run that commercial over and over again? If you can't, how is your voice or my voice equal to that of corporations when they can outspend us billions to one?

Here to discuss what this radical Supreme Court ruling means to us -- the consumers -- is Walletpop's own Mitch Lipka, the Consumer Ally.

More than 7,500 chicken pot pies sold in 15 states to help schools raise money are being recalled after a consumer reported finding metal straight pins inside one of them.

Park 100 Foods, which made the pot pies being sold by the fund-raising firm Market Day, is recalling all those made on Oct. 9 at the company's Kokomo, Ind., plant, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced.