Hoover Company Inc.

In June 2004, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received notice of several vacuum cleaner incidents and requested Hoover provide a full report of incident information. Hoover submitted a full report, including 260 consumer incidents, of which 141 involved reports of fire. In April 2005, Hoover conducted a recall of 636,000 Hoover Self-Propelled Upright Vacuum Cleaners because of defective on-off switches. The plastic, upright vacuums were manufactured between May 1998 and November 1999.

Federal law requires firms to report to CPSC immediately (within 24 hours) after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial risk of injury to the public, presents an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or violates a federal safety standard.

The CPSC filed charges against Hoover for allegedly failing to report the sale of vacuum cleaners with defective on-off switches that can overheat and cause the vacuum cleaner to catch fire. Hoover has agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty. [CONSUMER AFFAIRS: HOOVER VACUUM]

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