Fall 2006
September 2006
To Everything There Is A
Season . . .
First it was Spring, then Summer, and now it is almost Autumn and the
General Electric defective refrigerator national Class Action Settlement is not yet finalized. But this is not bad news. On
August 21, 2006 a second Settlement Hearing was held before the Honorable John
Steele. At the hearing, his Honor heard the objections of two consumers:
Brent Davis of Texas, who was represented by Jeffrey Weinstein (no relation to
Scott Weinstein, Plaintiff's Attorney) and Catherine Cannivet who represented
herself (Pro Se). Judge Steele patiently listened to all arguments,
including Scott Weinstein (Plaintiff's attorney) who was - once again - seeking
immediate and final approval of the Settlement and payment of attorneys' fees.
Make no mistake - the benefits to the class action members who own the
specific 304 models included in the Settlement are fair, equitable, and
expedient. The deficiencies are in the notification process
and the administration of the claims. GE has been allowed to enjoy the dubious
position of being the Fox guarding the henhouse. With little
or no oversight, they have been granted the authority to arbitrarily decide who qualifies for
benefits and who does not. Consumers continue to report to us that
they did not receive any notice despite having previous contact with GE, and
denial of valid claims. The deception and unfairness of GE's (continuing)
course of conduct and consumer mistreatment makes it clear that independent
third party enforcement of the Settlement Agreement is absolutely necessary.
In December 14, 2000 New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced,
"Its unfortunate that it took a lawsuit by my office to force G.E. to
step up to the plate to do the right thing," Spitzer said. "Nonetheless,
this is very good news for consumers here in New York and across the
country.
"Because of our lawsuit, G.E. is finally doing what any good corporate
citizen should do, and that is to stand behind its product. G.E. has
admitted that its dishwashers are faulty and dangerous, and now itll offer
free repairs to make them safe."
Almost six years later, GE is still reading from the same playbook.
Damn the consumers until a higher authority forces them to act honorably and
responsibly.
After more than 2 hours of testimony at the Hearing on August 21, 2006, the
Judge announced that he would not render a decision that afternoon. As of
close of Court business Friday, September 8, 2006 his Honor has not yet
published his decision.
If you are a class member (or you have just discovered you are a class
member), we urge you to contact the GE Moisture Settlement Office at:
1-866-839-4463
to schedule repair(s) or request a Settlement Claims Package. If
you are a class member who owns (or owned) one of the defective refrigerators
and you did not receive Notice from General Electric, please complete our
Contact Form immediately and let us know! If you have been
denied any claims benefits by GE, please let us know that also!
Temperatures and Tempers
Rising
[*Editorial updated 09.10.06]
Summer temperatures are not the only thing heating up these days. The
GE class action settlement is as turbulent as our summer storms here on the Gulf
of Mexico. As we approach the new settlement hearing date (August 21,
2006) the reports we're receiving from consumers describing their struggle,
frustration, anger, and confusion when dealing with General Electric or the GE
Moisture Settlement Office makes our teeth hurt.
It just seems to us that if GE was truly dedicated to fixing the problems
with the defective refrigerators as they are to manipulating the legal system
with the assistance of Class Counsel in order to sabotage the settlement
benefits, no one would have any problems.
- Consumers would be satisfied and feel safe with their appliances.
- Attorneys' professional ethics wouldn't be challenged (and maybe there
would be a decrease in bad lawyer jokes).
- Politicians wouldn't be worried about having their feet held to
the fire in public because they value their corporate donations more
than their constituents' interests.
In the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Congress stated:
"Class action lawsuits are an important and valuable part of the legal
system when they permit the fair and efficient resolution of legitimate
claims of numerous parties by allowing the claims to be aggregated into a
single action against a defendant that has allegedly caused harm."
In addition:
"Abuses in class actions undermine the national judicial system . . . and
undermine public respect for our judicial system."
Class action lawsuits are supposed to be a fair and efficient
resolution of legitimate claims of citizens, not a venue for corporations to
manipulate and abuse for their own self-serving interests (as opposed to their
constitutional right to defend themselves against accusations of wrong doing.)
*This all boils down to the original Golden Rule: just do the
right thing! Or perhaps the K.I.S.S. Principle: "Keep It Simple Stupid".
In an April 2002 article, attorneys Elpidio "PD" Villarreal, Jeffrey
D. Paquin and Jennifer Boyens Victor of the
Paquin Victor
LLP Law Firm, describe GE's conflict management system:
General Electrics Integrated Conflict
Management System
"Building on its Six Sigma Principles, GE puts a conflict management
program to work and saves millions. GEs experience may serve as a tool for
other CLOs [editor's note: CLO=Chief Legal
Officer] to find ways to prevent and resolve disputes in their
earliest stages." [Click
HERE
for the full article.]
Just scroll down through the article and take a look at GE's complicated,
elaborate, and convoluted plan for solving problems. The
flowcharts alone (yes, this plan requires flowcharts!) show a
complete lack of corporate common sense. Why in the world does GE need a
manual to solve conflict when a simple adherence to the principles
of:
- ethics
- honesty
- fairness
- integrity
- customer care
- adhering to both the letter and the spirit of our laws
would probably save them hundreds of millions of dollars per year?
Finally, while GE boasts anywhere and everywhere of their passion for Six
Sigma (A measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a
disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any
process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service) you
cannot fail to appreciate the irony of the fact that the widow of Bill Smith -
the Father of Six Sigma - owned not one, but two of the defective GE
refrigerators and suffered the same aggravation and outrage as everyone else.
The last time we spoke with Betty Smith, she said to us,
"If GE truly practiced Six Sigma, they wouldn't have had the problems
with these refrigerators. GE is definitely not a Six
Sigma company!!!" (emphasis Betty's)
For a wonderful tribute to Bill and his wife, read "Remembering
Bill Smith, Father Of Six Sigma".
If this is your first visit to our website, you will find a treasure trove of
information, advice, support and sympathy. If you are one of our many
returning friends, we continue to keep you up to date as events unfold.
Hang in there!
|
Cathy Cannivet
Gadfly |
Nancy Grogan
Editor |
Heartfelt Thanks
We received this communication from
the mother of premature twin babies. Her situation with her 2003 GE
GSH22KGPC refrigerator was untenable and hazardous to her infants' health.
She had already lost more than $1000.00 in medications and special formula her
babies need to survive after 4 or 5 breakdowns and repairs, so she turned to us
for help in desperation. She was living out of a cooler once more.
We knew something had to be done fast. Waiting 4 to 8
weeks for parts and service was beyond our comprehension. So we turned to
a kind and reliable source who we knew would do the right thing and help
this young mother. We were right. Within hours of contacting this
Mensch, a new and reliable refrigerator was on its way.
While we would love to publicly acknowledge and thank this wonderful person
and their organization, we fear they would be inundated with demands for similar
service. Therefore they must remain anonymous (for their own sake) to
everyone else. But you know who you are, and we thank you from the bottom
of our hearts for your kindness and integrity.
Heads Up Techs!
Due to the shortage of GE replacement parts, here is a quick solution if you
are waiting for an evaporator fan motor. Whirlpool part FSP 482731
can be rigged following the suggestions provided by our good friend Jedi the
Appliance Guy. You will find photos and brief descriptions of the process
on this
page.
FAQ's
There are some questions we are
asked repeatedly, so here they are with answers!
I'm getting rid of my GE
appliance. What brand should I buy?
Based upon our
research, we recommend
Whirlpool.
The reasons are:
-
Whirlpool
dishwashers,
dryers,
microwave ovens,
ovens,
ranges,
refrigerators, and
washers have all earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval1.
In fact, there is not a single General Electric product on any of Good
Housekeeping's lists!
-
Independent appliance repair
technicians tell us that Whirlpool has the best customer service and
stands behind their products.
-
Whirlpool is the official supplier
of appliances to
Habitat for Humanity. (Whirlpool Extends Commitment to Habitat for
Humanity: Will Support Every Habitat Home Built Around the World by 2011).
We believe that Whirlpool's commitment to humanitarian causes, is a direct
reflection of their appreciation of consumers.
1
The Good Housekeeping Consumers' Policy, published in
every issue of the magazine, states that if a product bearing the Seal
proves to be defective within two years of purchase, Good Housekeeping
will replace the product or refund the purchase price.
I'm handy and
understand how to repair appliances. Can you recommend a good online
source for parts and answers to my repair questions? (Besides, I can't
wait two months for the GE part and/or Tech to arrive.)
Our
recommendation has no peer - steer your computer to the home of the Samurai
Appliance Guy, Jedi, and Pegi at
Samurai Appliance Repair Man. Explore
the repair forums for answers to your problems/technical questions. If you
don't see what you need, post your own question. These are appliance
professionals who give excellent advice. From there, jump to their
parts portal and order what you need.
For a great
example of how this group will walk you through the problem solving process,
view Jedi's
response to a GE refrigerator owner with a frozen dispenser. And in
another thread, read about one consumer's tribulations over
moisture-related issues.
My model is
not included in the Class Action Settlement, but my refrigerator has all the
same symptoms and problems. What are my options?
Simply put,
Small Claims Court. You will have to find General Electric's Registered
Agent in your state (the person who accepts legal documents on behalf of an out
of state company). If you go to your state's government website, you
should be able to find the information there. GE's corporate address is:
General
Electric Company
1 River Road
Schenectady NY 12345
# # #
As soon as we get
caught up with our website updates, we will post a FAQ page addressing more
questions and solutions.
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