Got questions? Cool! We’ve got answers!
What is SafetyCheck?
SafetyCheck is a free service that updates you on product recalls and safety news that concern you most. We combine news and information that we receive from a variety of sources, including federal government agencies, manufacturers, trade associations, non-profit groups, safety advocates, informed sources and YOU.
How often do you update your site?
Daily. It’s a living, breathing organism, so if there are several news stories in a day, the site is updated continuously throughout the day.
Do you rank products?
Other sites like to “rank” products, then send you links to buy the products. We don’t believe in that tactic because it’s not transparent. Rather, we’re focused on getting you accurate information on a product’s safety, and let you know how you can respond if you need a replacement, need a repair, or if you are offered a refund. But, we do rate a company’s responsiveness to a recall and safety issue.
How does your rating system work — the 5 checkmarks?
It’s straightforward and objective, not subjective. Our rating system measures a company’s social responsibility and to what extent it informs the public and provides a remedy. We review information from a company’s web site, a press release, and any action the government takes. A company receives a SafetyCheck checkmark for each step of informing the public about a safety issue and whether it provides a remedy to its consumers.
- Check 1: The company has acknowledged and disclosed that a problem exists.
- Check 2: The company has a remedy, whether it’s a repair, replacement or a refund.
- Check 3: The company has provided a phone number and/or e-mail address for you to contact them about the problem.
- Check 4: The company has a generic link (such as “Product Recalls” or “Safety Information”) or product-specific text link on its home page that will lead you to a dedicated page with specific information about the issue.
- Check 5: The company prominently features a promotion on its home page regarding the issue with a link to more details.
Will you give a better — “4-check” or “5-check” — rating to a company that advertises with you?
No. We appreciate their business, but our check-rating system is clearly objective. They either inform their consumers about a recall or safety warning, or they don’t. They either promote their recall on their home page, or they don’t. They offer a refund, replacement, or repair — or they don’t.
Is a “3-check” rating bad?
No, not necessarily. In that case, the company has met minimum expectations in informing the public, providing contact information, and providing a remedy. But we hope more companies will take a few extra steps to better inform consumers.
Could a company’s recall be very serious, where a product injures several people, and they could still receive 5 checks?
It could happen occasionally. Remember, our check-rating system measures a company’s social responsibility, its efforts to publicize the problem at the time of the recall announcement, and to make things right for their consumers. We want to encourage manufacturers to be upfront, admit they have a problem and see that they are striving to reach out to their customers and provide a remedy and recourse. How severe a company’s products have injured consumers or worse is evident in the statistics we include in every article, when the statistics are publicly available.
Can a company’s check ratings change over time?
Yes. While the initial ratings are posted at the time when a recall or safety issue is announced, we can raise or lower their checks based on the information we receive from them, government agencies, and people like you.
How did you select the main categories on your site?
We found that most recalls and other safety concerns revolve around the same topics, such as consumer products you use in your home every day, as well as cars, food, toys, health, recreation, and travel.
How do your Alerts work? How many can I sign up for?
Our e-mail alerts are designed to give you specific news targeted to your interests. Sign up for as many as you’d like.
If you want to be updated on an entire category, such as Children’s Products and Toys, then check the box next to Children’s Products and Toys. With regards to automotive, if you only have one or two vehicles, you might just check the manufacturer’s name of the vehicles you own, so that you don’t receive all the car alerts. But here’s a suggestion: if you have an elderly parent, an adult son or daughter, good friends, or (in the case of automobiles) another brand you want to keep track of, then select more brand names on the Alerts page so that you can be up to speed. Then you can simply forward the SafetyCheck alerts to relatives and friends via e-mail…or post the SafetyCheck news on your facebook or twitter pages, and get the word out.
So, in a sense, it’s kind of like taking an inventory of the cars, appliances, and other items I own so you can just “ping” me when I need to know?
Exactly. There are so many recalls, it’s almost impossible to keep track of them individually. You’d be surprised at the number of recalls or warnings for the products you already own. And in most cases, you are entitled to free replacement, repair, or a refund.
With SafetyCheck, we’ll just let you know. So take a few minutes, check off the manufacturers of your cars, fridge, TVs, and some other household items. You can also add, delete, or change the brands at any time.
My car, appliances, and other items I purchase — you know a lot about me, right?
No. We don’t examine an individual’s selections. The Alerts tool is for you; it’s an automated system that simply matches a new article and feeds you the content based on your selections. Your privacy is very important to us. Click to view our Privacy Policy.
Will I receive alerts about previous recalls for a product or category, once I register?
You’ll only receive alerts about your products going forward. To check a product’s recall history, you can search our site, refer to the appropriate government agency (see Links), or look up the information on a manufacturer’s site. We’re constantly back-filling our content (going back in time) as well to give you a more complete history.
If I only select one or two alert topics and if no news happens, will I never hear from you?
You’ll probably hear from us at least once or twice a month, with news and updates about our site that we think will be of interest to you. Hey, we want to keep in touch, you know? Which reminds us, please make sure you place alerts@safetycheck.com in your address book, so that our e-mails don’t go to your spam folder. Thanks.
If you have an article about a recall, and I have that exact product with a story I want to share, should I take a photo or video of it and send it to you?
Absolutely! We want you to participate. With your input, you’ll help other SafetyCheck users pinpoint the problem and help clarify the issue for everyone. Keep in mind once we receive and post an image you’ve provided, you release all copyright claims to us. But please be sure you’re not sending us an image that is owned by someone else or another news provider. Check the Terms of Service for details.
Do I have to register or become a member to use SafetyCheck?
Nope. SafetyCheck is free to everyone. But if you’d like to receive e-mail alerts, post a comment, or submit an image or video that will be helpful to other users, then we need to know your e-mail address and other information you’ll find in our registration.
Why do you need to know my zip code, state, gender and year of birth?
For two reasons. First, when you register we never ask you for your street address, your phone number, or any financial information — we simply don’t need that information and we will never ask you for them.
Second, knowing your zip code and state gives us the opportunity to serve you with e-mail alerts that apply to your region, whether there’s a food-borne illness epidemic happening near you or if products have recalls only in specific states. The year of birth helps us comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, where we need to verify that all members are at least 13 years of age. For strictly our own education, we’d like to know who our audience is…so gender and year of birth can be useful in serving the right kind of content to you.
Do you sell products?
As an approved Amazon.com Associate, we link to Amazon.com, which offers a wide array of safety-related products…and of course, a whole lot more. We like the fact that we can customize their safety-related products to match our content. Clicking on a link to Amazon sends you to Amazon’s site. Personal, billing, and shipping information related to your purchase is strictly between you and Amazon.com.
