Montgomery Ward Recalls 20,000 Toy Telephone Sets Due to Burn Hazard
Montgomery Ward is recalling 20,000 toy telephone sets because the plugs resemble genuine electrical plugs, posing a risk of severe shock or burns to children.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).
Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.
Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a risk of severe shock or burns to children from a product hazard, but no injuries have been reported for this specific product, fitting the criteria for a high-risk product where injury has not yet been reported.
Plain-English summary
Montgomery Ward is recalling approximately 20,000 toy telephone sets that were sold through its mail-order catalog. The sets, imported from Yugoslavia, consist of two battery-operated toy telephones connected by a detachable cord. The two-prong plugs at the ends of the cord closely resemble genuine electrical plugs, which may lead children to attempt to force them into household sockets, resulting in severe shocks or burns.
While Montgomery Ward has not received consumer complaints of injuries from these specific cords, CPSC staff reported that an 8-year-old girl was burned earlier in the year when she forced a plug from a similar phone set distributed by another company into a wall electrical outlet. The ivory-colored sets feature functional intercoms, signal lights, and buzzers, with the name "Mehanotehnika" printed on the bottom of each phone. They have been sold through Ward's catalogs since 1975 and are advertised in the current Christmas catalog as a "Desk Phone Set" (number 48T20192) for $9.96.
Consumers who ordered the toy phones are being informed that orders are not being filled until the company can equip the sets with safe cords and plugs. Consumers who have already purchased the sets should return them to any Montgomery Ward catalog store for a full refund.
The recalled product
- Product
- Mehanotehnika toys telephone sets
- Manufacturer
- Montgomery Ward
- Category
- Consumer Product — Toys
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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