Police say a man stole a truck and crashed it last month in Bellingham, Massachusetts, fleeing before being arrested in Rhode Island.
A 23-year-old Ashland man whose name is being withheld was allegedly on drugs at the time of the incident on Jan. …
Massachusetts
Recalled products can be dangerous – so why is it hard to get a refund?
Have you ever tried to return a product that was recalled? If your experience was not easy, you are not alone.
Learning that a product you have at home is being recalled can be alarming. And hearing that all you have to do is contact the company to get a replacement or refund, makes it sound like a simple process. But, according to an analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, of the 323 products that were recalled in 2023, only 47.9% of the companies made it easy for their customers to get a refund, 9.6% presented obstacles, and 42.5% made it very difficult or impossible to get any money back.
Teresa Murray is a consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG.
“It’s clear that the recall process is not working in this country,” explained Murray. “Many companies, about half of them with refunds, don’t require you to return the product. They have other ways to verify that you own the product, but the ones that are trying to make it a pain for consumers actually require you to return it.”
In some cases, consumers are required to register their product online and then wait for further instructions.
“The companies are very vague about what is actually needed.”
U.S. PIRG also found that some companies won’t even issue a refund – only credits or vouchers toward another purchase. And in other cases, consumers are required to take costly steps to return a very cheap product.
“We found many, many cases of products that were like $2 to $3, $5, (to) $8 and that they (the companies) were requiring the products to be returned for — no other reason,” said Murray.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it’s estimated that only 6 to 10% of recalled products are returned or discarded.
“These products are recalled because they’re dangerous. And that means that they should not be used,” said Murray.
In a statement sent to U.S. PIRG, a CPSC spokesperson said, “In any recall, the primary goal is to get the defective or non-compliant product out of the hands of consumers. We take complaints about challenges with recall remedies seriously and work with companies to address those problems when we hear about them.”
The critical issue with all recalls is making sure you discard the product or get it repaired according to the recall requirements to make it safe.
“We really want regulators and lawmakers to look at this closely and figure out how to make our homes, our yards, our toys, everything a lot safer,” explained Murray.
The best site to check for any recalls is: https://www.recalls.gov
That’s a one-stop shop for us government recalls through six federal agencies.
You can get the latest recall information, report a dangerous product or learn important safety tips. And you can sign up to get CPSC, FDA, USDA and NHTA recall notifications sent to you. If you face problems trying to return or receive a refund for a recalled product, you can file a complaint by visiting the CPSC’s recall
Lawyer sentenced for trying to bribe Medford police chief over pot business
The former Massachusetts lawyer convicted of trying to bribe a Medford’s chief of police to get a company’s marijuana business license approved has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Sean O’Donovan was arrested in June 2022 ov…
New migrant shelter in Roxbury already near capacity
A newly opened migrant overflow shelter at a Roxbury community center is nearing its capacity of 400 individuals, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Wednesday.
Wu, who said she visited the state-owned Melnea Cass Recreation Center Tuesday night around dinner time, stressed the safety-net shelter is a temporary operation as neighborhood residents grapple with their community programs being displaced.
“I think the state heard loud and clear that the pool is necessary for community, for all the multi-generational activity that happens in the neighborhood,” Wu said on Java with Jimmy Wednesday morning.
With the state’s emergency shelter system at capacity due to a crush of new arrivals and families experiencing homelessness, the Healey administration selected the controversial Roxbury site to relocate migrants who had been sleeping at Logan Airport. When Gov. Maura Healey and Wu toured the facility last week, they were met by protestors questioning why the state decided to open a shelter in a historically marginalized neighborhood and not a wealthier community like Wellesley.
Over their first weekend at the Cass, roughly 75 young people were enrolled in Boston Public Schools, and Wednesday marks their first day in the classroom at nearby schools, the mayor said.
A different community center has taken on some of the Cass’s programming, Wu said. Some tennis programs were relocated to spots in Jamaica Plain, she said.
A youth track club at the Cass now has a schedule to meet in various locations, an arrangement that Wu described as “really not ideal.”
“We’re still trying to find more, even for the next couple of months, a more permanent and stable situation for them, so we’re working really closely,” Wu said. “In addition to the dedicated programs, it was always open for anyone who wanted to come walk around and use that, so that’s a little bit of what I really worry about, as well, just this had been a space where you knew was always there.”
City officials worked with the state to identify other shelter options beyond the Cass, Wu said. More than 15 locations were under discussion, including city-owned buildings and schools.
“The state was really looking for somewhere that was ready to go with enough bathrooms, with enough showers, immediately for the families who had been at the airport,” Wu said.
The Cass will stop functioning as a shelter by May 31 and reopen as a recreation center and public pool, administration officials have said.
During her walkthrough of the Cass on Tuesday, Wu said she met some families who were previously staying at a hotel shelter in Revere. Most migrant families speak Spanish or Haitian Creole, she said.
“There’s a little bit of shuffling around — I’m not sure how everything is fitting together. But the kind of track area that had a floor put down and lots of cots in there with kind of blankets and bedding, and most of the families push their cots together to make a little family unit,” Wu said.
Wu reflected on another family she met, who came to Boston three months ago and have bounced around different locations in their quest to find a stable living situation.
“I keep saying this is not a problem about migrant families. This is a problem about housing that we had before anyone came, that we have across every community,” the mayor said.
She added, “We are a place where that housing barrier for our own residents is tens of thousands of people on the waitlist for BHA,” referring to the Boston Housing Authority.
Car crashes into the ocean in Lynn
A car has crashed into the ocean in Lynn, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
According to an NBC10 Boston crew on scene, the car went into the water off the Blossom Street extension. Aerial footage from the scene shows the car partially submerged near a boat launch.
No serious injuries have been reported and everyone has made it out of the car.
More details were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Man accused of hitting Yarmouth officer with vehicle will be charged
A driver who hit a police officer with a vehicle in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, this week is being charged, according to authorities.
The incident happened Tuesday morning on Route 28 near Rosemary Lane, Yarmouth police said.
The man, 76, was charged with failure to stay in marked lanes and negligent operation. His name wasn’t released.
The man’s license was suspended for immediate threat, police said.
The officer was alert when he was taken to a hospital in the Boston area, according to police. The driver stayed at the scene.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the crash, but police said the officer was working on a traffic detail and wearing high-visibility clothing.
The officer suffered multiple fractures in one of his ribs and a hip, according to police.
Yarmouth police were investigating what happened with the help of regional investigators.
