Wal-Mart Fined $1 Million for Improperly Selling Non-Digital TVs
It's a digital age, that's for sure, and in February of next year, one of the last bastions of analog, over-the-air television, will go entirely to 1s and 0s. If you have an old TV still kicking around, you can get a converter box, but according to FCC rules, retailers are no longer allowed to sell new, non-digital televisions without some rather prominent warnings.
Faced with stockrooms full of the things it's no surprise that some retailers have been caught bending the rules a bit, with Wal-Mart being one of the worst offender, picking up a $992,000 fine.
The mega-retailer was far from the only one. Sears was hit with a $1.1 million fine and Circuit City for $712,000, while Best Buy got off relatively lightly with only a $280,000 fine. All that for apparently trying to clear out their inventory of old sets without warning shoppers about their imminent obsolescence.
No word yet on whether the fines will be paid to those shoppers who didn't get the info they were supposed to receive (unlikely), but if you were one of those unwitting buyers don't fear: The coupons the government is handing out for converter boxes should mean upgrading your set won't cost you too much.
From Reuters
