Perfect Fitness agrees to $425,000 penalty for failing to report defects
Perfect Fitness, a U.S. manufacturer of exercise equipment, has agreed to pay $425,000 in civil penalties to settle charges that it withheld information about its Perfect Pullup exercise handles breaking. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) alleged that, in June 2008, Perfect Fitness concluded that its exercise handles were defective. The company had retested the product after receiving a complaint about it and noticing a high number of returns. In July 2008, the product was redesigned to correct the defect.
Almost two years later, in March 2010, Perfect Fitness posted a notice on its website telling users that the old handles were “inferior” and that they could receive free replacement handles. CPSC alleges that, by the time Perfect Fitness posted this notice, they were aware of 23 injuries involving the handles. Perfect Fitness did not report the defect to CPSC until December 2010. By that time, complaints about the product had doubled and replacement requests topped 2,000. A formal recall was issued in February 2011.
According to federal law, a company must immediately report a known or suspected product defect to CPSC. The $425,000 penalty will resolve the allegations against Perfect Fitness. In agreeing to pay the penalty, Perfect Fitness denies knowingly violating the law.
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