Consumer alert!

Maytag is expanding a previous recall of various brands of refrigerators because they can overheat. In addition to 1.4 million recalled previously, another 46,000 are being called back.
For details, click here.

Psyclone Essentials and React four-dock battery chargers for Wii game systems can overheat and burn consumers.
Griffin International is recalling about 220,000 of the Chinese-made units.
For details on the recall and a photo, click here.

The Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers to be wary of Web sites that tout the new Cash for Clunkers car-buying program and assert that car buyers have to register for the program by supplying all sorts of personal financial information.
Such scam Web sites are popping up as a way for identity thieves to gather information.
The only officials Web site for the program is www.cars.gov
For more details about the scams, click here.

A search engine that will help you find sources for commonly prescribed drugs is available online.
Called Medtipser, it allows you to enter the name of a drug, the dosage and ZIP code or address. It then returns a list of pharmacies within 50 miles and indicates the recent price being charged for the prescription.

Federal agencies have been cracking down on companies marketing products touted as protection against swine flu.
A batch of new and existing products and supplements are making mention of swine flu, but there’s no evidence to support the claims.
The federal Food and Drug Administration already has sent warning letters to a half-dozen firms.

Step2 outdoor play sets sold exclusively at Toys R Us stores have hangers that can fail, causing a fall.
Details about the recall are available by clicking here.

State officials said today they have begun disapproving insurance rate requests made by automobile insurance companies that use insurance credit scoring as a factor in determining their premiums because the scores are unfairly discriminatory.
In 2005, state’s Office of Finance and Insurance Regulation set rules banning the use of insurance credit scoring. The insurance industry challenged the rules and the issue has been working its way through the legal system for the last four years. The issue is currently before the Michigan Supreme Court.
“Michigan consumers expect insurance companies to follow the law,” said OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross. “Rates filed with the agency are being evaluated carefully, on a case by case basis, to ensure they fully comply with Michigan law.”
OFIR has already disapproved seven rate filings that use credit scoring as a rating factor. Credit information has been found to contain such a high rate of errors that there is an unacceptable likelihood that persons will be misclassified, state officials contend, and insurance scoring discounts are not based on a reasonable classification system and sound actuarial principles.
Insurance credit scoring relies on behavior, including debt and bill payment history that is unrelated to the risk presented when purchasing an auto insurance policy. Instead of basing auto insurance premiums on factors such as a consumer’s driving record and experience, many insurers place huge weight on how high a credit score is, because statistics tell them that those with great credit file fewer claims.

President Obama’s various economic moves have spawned a spate of “economic stimulus scams” that are claiming a lot of victims.
The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers against getting sucked into these, which take various forms.
Read more here.

A Monroe resident was telling a friend that he had applied to 13 different places in the past month and hasn’t heard back from any of them.
It’s not unusual now, especially with a larger pool of unemployed workers from which employers may choose.
So it’s no surprise either that the Society for Human Resource Managements is predicting that hiring in manufacturing and services sectors will drop substantially this month. Its monthly employment report forecasts a 36 percent drop in manufacturing hiring and a 23.5 percent drop in service sector hiring compared to this time last year — the worst drop in the survey’s four-year history.
“The February forecast paints a clear picture of a down economy experiencing layoffs and hiring freezes,” said Jennifer Schramm, SHRM manager of workplace trends and forecasting.

Front wheel rims on certain Mavic USA bicycles can collapse because of weaknesses in the spokes. Details of the recall are here.