Best Buy to Pay Penalty to Settle Charges Over Recalled Items

Best Buy Co. will pay a $3.8 million civil penalty to settle charges that it sold recalled products including cameras, computers and washing machines, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday. The CPSC said the retailer sold about 600 already-recalled items from September 2010 through October 2015, including more than 400 Canon cameras.

"CPSC staff charged that Best Buy failed to implement adequate procedures to accurately identify, quarantine, and prevent the sales of" recalled products, the agency said.

A Best Buy spokesman said in an email that "we regret that any products within the scope of a recall were not removed entirely from our shelves and online channels. While the number of items accidentally sold was small, even one was too many. We have taken steps, in cooperation with the CPSC, to help prevent these issues from recurring."

The settlement doesn't constitute an admission of committing the offense, the CPSC said.

The CPSC said in 2014 that Best Buy sold certain products after their recall dates, among them Canon cameras that the agency said posed a risk of skin irritation, and other products with possible fire risks.

The agency said Monday that it accepted the penalty agreement provisionally in a 4-to-1 vote.

In August, Best Buy posted a higher second-quarter profit and raised its full-year sales outlook.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 03, 2016 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)

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