How to Comply with a Product Recall

Gifts are a big part of the holiday season, and anyone giving them hopes the recipient will cherish them. However, if the product is under a recall, the person giving or receiving the gift needs to know what to do.

Dealing with product recalls is easier if a person is prepared for them. While the media covers major recalls for products such as automobiles, most fly under the radar. With product recalls issued almost every day, it is impossible for the media to effectively cover them all.

For this reason, everyone should always make sure they are receiving regular information about recalls. There are many websites that post recent recalls, the biggest being www.cpsc.gov. When planning on buying gifts for someone else, particularly if the recipient is a child, it is wise to check this list before making a purchase. This website can also alert consumers of product recalls by sending daily or weekly email updates.

While stores will often take recalled items off the shelves and lock them out of sales, this may not happen to items bought from antique or second-hand stores that rely solely on price tags rather than barcodes to enter items into a cash register. It is important to remember that just because a store sold someone a product does not necessarily mean it is safe.

A recall will always have specific instructions on what to do with the product. Typically, these instructions are to return the item to the store where it they purchased it for a refund or repair. Sometimes they direct consumers to send the product away for a part that will make the product safe to use. In rarer cases, a company may send a repair kit themselves, so the consumer can fix the product on their own.

This process can take some time, so if someone already purchased a product as a gift that is part of a recall, it may be best to just return the item and purchase a new gift. No one wants to give a gift that may be unsafe, or face giving a gift only to have to tell someone it was part of a recall and there are now further steps to take.

No one wants to think about the possibility of giving or receiving a product that is part of a product recall. If that happens, however, there are clear steps to take when complying with a product recall and, even if it takes some time, the process will usually work out in the end.