Price Errors Favor Arizona Customers

The latest test of the scanners used in Arizona stores shows that customers are more likely to benefit from mispriced items than pay too much for them.

The Arizona Republic reports that the annual test by the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures found that retailers undercharged customers more than $21,000, compared with overcharges of around $6,000.

A random test of more than 46,000 items in 2,600 stores showed nearly 1,400 undercharges in favor of the customer.

Group Releases 'Trouble in Toyland' Report

The Public Interest Research Group has released its annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report alerts consumers to the dangers and toxins in children’s toys.

Lead is still being found in some toys. Lead has been linked to chronic health problems like lowered IQ and behavioral issues. PIRG has singled out the Family Dollar peace sign bracelet and the Disney Fairies Tinkerbell watch.

Choke hazards continue to send kids to the emergency room. The group advises parents to avoid anything with parts that will fit inside an empty toilet paper roll.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has a product safety database that can be found at www.saferproducts.gov.

DIRECTV to Provide Consumer Refunds As Part of Deceptive Advertising Settlement

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and the attorneys general of 48 other states have settled an investigation involving DIRECTV. The states say that the sattellite TV provider engaged in deceptive and unfair sales practices.

DIRECTV customers who have unresolved complaints may be eligible for refunds. For information contact the Arizona Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-352-8431.

Arizona Joins Agreement with Visa, MasterCard

Arizona has joined 17 other states and the US Departnment of Justice in an antitrust settlement with Visa and MasterCard. The two credit card companies have agreed to change their rules to allow merchants to offer discounts, incentives, and information to consumers to encourage them to use less costly methods of payment, such as cash, check, debit or lower cost credit cards.

Merchants pay an acceptance fee every time they accept payment with a credit card. They pay higher acceptance fees for accepting reward cards which reward users with airline miles or cash rebates, among other things. The credit card companies’ current rules prohibit merchants from refusing to accept these cards or from encouraging consumers to use cards with lower acceptance fees. This will now change with the new agreement.

Tips for Holiday Charity Giving

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard offers some tips on how to avoid holiday consumer scams:

Make sure you know how your donation will be distributed and how much actually goes to the charity itself, rather than to administrative costs.

Except for the well known traditional bell ringers, don’t give cash and make sure your check is payable to the charity, not an individual.

Never give out personal information to a solicitor either by phone, mail or at your door.

And never give a donation to a charity that offers to take your donation directly from your account, or asks you to send a donation by courier/overnight express mail, or asks you to wire your donation. Donate directly to the organization, either in person—at an event sponsored by the charity—or through the US Postal Service.

AG's Holiday Consumer Tips

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has launched a special holiday web page to provide answers to common questions about holiday shopping, charitable giving and other consumer problems during the holidays. Additional shopping tips and alerts will be posted on the site each week throughout the Holiday Season. Visit www.azag.gov/consumer/holiday.

Report Says 95% of 'Green' Products Aren't

A new survey suggests that more than 95% of consumer products marketed as “green” make misleading or inaccurate claims. In its “Sins of Greenwashing” report, the TerraChoice marketing firm says only 4.5% of the products it studied made accurate claims. (But that’s up from 2% last year.)

A spokesman says the biggest problems are making claims without any proof and “vagueness.” To find out more about the survey go to sinsofgreenwashing.org.