Smart Energy Solutions In the News

The one-year countdown to the transition to all-digital television broadcasting has begun, and one of the vital links in the information chain, electronics retailers, is not providing accurate information to consumers, according to a study released last week by the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.

The study was based on 132 "secret shopper" visits to retail stores in 10 states. The consumer advocates said that half of the store staff members approached failed to even provide accurate information about the transition date of Feb. 17, 2009.

The group's other findings:

• 63% of store contacts provided inaccurate information about converter boxes.
• 75% did not provide accurate information about the federal government's $40 rebate coupons to be applied to the purchase of digital converters.
• 13% of the stores were still selling analog televisions, and none of these sets were labeled with easy-to-read warnings about their approaching obsolescence.

"To consumers, it does not matter whether sales clerks were intentionally misleading our secret shoppers to sell more expensive items, or if they were simply misinformed. The result is the same: consumers will pay too much for unneeded equipment and services," said Johanna Newmann, policy advocate for Maryland PIRG.

The Consumer Electronics Association is actively supporting the informational effort behind the digital transition.

Its own market research, released Feb. 7, states that the informational effort by retailers and the government is working. The research indicated that consumers get most of their information on the transition from television spots, friends and family or research on the Internet.