Money $$$ from the FTC rebates, LED light bulbs

[oil_film_movies]

Did anybody else get this remarkable check rebate thing from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) watchdogs?
Good watchdogs.

I bought $272 of these bulbs 8 years ago, and I just got a check to cover them! Early-ish consumer LED light bulbs.
They have been failing quite a bit, although half are still in service, albeit dimly in some cases.

I'm impressed by the federal government. How often do you get to say that?

In my case, I never even applied for the rebate check. The FTC, on their own, got with Sam's Club's computers and extracted who had bought these years ago, and cut the checks. Nice.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pre...lion-consumers-deceived-misleading-light

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is mailing 499,105 checks totaling more than $14.4 million to people who bought Lights of America brand LED light bulbs.

The FTC sued Lights of America Inc., Usman Vakil, and Farooq Vakil for violating federal law by overstating the light output and life expectancy of their LED bulbs, and falsely comparing the brightness of their LED bulbs with that of other light bulbs.

A federal court ordered the defendants to pay $21 million to the FTC to provide refunds and banned them from misrepresenting material facts about lighting products. People who bought Lights of America LED light bulbs between 2007 and 2011, and do not receive a check, can apply for a refund at www.ftc.gov/lights. The deadline to apply for a refund is October 26, 2018.

Check recipients are receiving full refunds. The average check amount is $28.86. Recipients should deposit or cash checks within 60 days, as indicated on the check.

If consumers have questions about the refund program, they should contact the FTC's refund administrator, Analytics Consulting LLC, at 800-419-4695."

 

[nthach]

I was an early(in the later wave in 2012-2013) adopter of LEDs - but not the Lights of America/Feit brand. I used Cree first and then Philips.

I won't be getting a check.

 

[oil_film_movies]

nthach, Cree and Philips should have been OK. I've had a couple of Cree's fail, but generally they are fine.
LED bulbs are great, overall, these days. Most efficient, and I think maybe durable enough, is a cheapie from Walmart, Great Value brand, doing 800 lumens using a mere 6.5W, in the standard A19 socket, and they weigh less than the older LED bulbs. ..... The FTC has our backs. Thomas Edison would have liked all these cool new LED bulbs.

 

[14Accent]

I still have the Insignia brand LED bulb I bought at BestBuy circa 2012. It's in a lamp that's on 24/7, all day every day. It's survived several moves, lots of vibration, and just keeps on ticking. It will flicker once in a great while, as in once every few months, but that's it. I love how it's constructed: solid base, glass casing, solid metal heat sinks.

https://www.geek.com/gadgets/review-best-buy-insignia-13w-led-bulb-1533530/

I've got Cree LED's in my kitchen, flood type in recessed bases. I've had them a little over 4 years and 2/6 have failed. I also have 6 fixtures in my garage that I filled with (GASP) dollar store Sylvania LED's. One failed almost immediately, the other 5 are still ok, although they get used very infrequently. HOWEVER, I also installed the dollar store bulbs in my front and rear outside entrance lights on my house, and those are also on 24/7. So far, so good. Those must be about 6 months old.

All hail the LED!

 

[anndel]

Thanks for the link and information. I just submitted my claim for $25 worth. I remember they were $10 each but local electric company - Hawaiian Electric Co. was giving $5 rebate for each pack of 6 bulbs. They sucked as they burned out after couple months of use, less than the 50,000 hours they claimed and believed it was the Feit branded LED bulbs.

 

[spackard]

There's a reason I call them Lights Out, America. Got burned on their CFLs, so I wouldn't touch their LEDs.

Crees have been good to me; one of six burned out and I got mailed a replacement. Lumen maintenance has been great.
In both Cree and LOA, both were A19 base, burned in open fixtures, aimed sideways or 45 degrees from vertical, plenty of air circulation.


LOA is located close to CARB in Diamond Bar, CA. I figured they had to be in bed with legislators in order to keep pumping out their junk for so many years. Notice the Feds are the ones who cracked down on them, not the state.
Also, the local SCE rebates always covered LOA and Feit Electric, but not Cree.

 

[oil_film_movies]

anndel, similar to my experience. I bought several from Sam's Club years ago, and I returned some because they sometimes were duds, did not work, right when new even! Others burned out later, not returned.
I still have a bunch of them in operation, but they dim gradually, and show a lot of manufacturing variation, probably made in China.

spackard, I don't know how a company like Lights of America can expect to sell too-dim bulbs & ones that fail without expecting to have costly recalls later. Its too easy to test light output, right?! ....Of course, if the company would have declared bankruptcy earlier, and the owners just fled with whatever $$$ they could abscond with, that would have been more clever (criminal really) on their part.

Originally Posted by spackard

LOA is located close to CARB in Diamond Bar, CA. I figured they had to be in bed with legislators in order to keep pumping out their junk for so many years. Notice the Feds are the ones who cracked down on them, not the state. Also, the local SCE rebates always covered LOA and Feit Electric, but not Cree.
CARB and/or SCE could have simply tested the lumens light output to officially approve them. A lumens test is very easy. Bribes to make them skip that crucial step? Also, like you say, once they found out they fail like crazy, in high percentages, you'd think they would stop the rebates and warn everybody at the least.

I have to admit, WE as consumers could have tested these bulbs:
Test Steps:
1. Enter closet and close the door.
2. Stuff towels in the slits and/or do this at night with little light leaking in from the outside.
3. Turn on the light bulb under test.
4. Have a light meter with you, preferably.
5. Compare to a comparable incandescent light bulb.

Those light meters are a little pricey, especially the decent hand-held ones like Hollywood lighting directors carry around for shoots.
Maybe there is a way to measure light output using a phone-camera app or something (???).
Of course these LED bulbs in question here are quite directional, so our test would have to bounce light around in a small room to spread it around better. Approximate test anyway.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by spackard

LOA is located close to CARB in Diamond Bar, CA. I figured they had to be in bed with legislators in order to keep pumping out their junk for so many years. Notice the Feds are the ones who cracked down on them, not the state.
Also, the local SCE rebates always covered LOA and Feit Electric, but not Cree.

PG&E covered the cheap Chinese CFLs and LEDs I've seen that flooded the dollar stores and 99 Ranch. Never again will I use those, my dad bought a few and I swapped in quality Philips bulbs instead.

I know there's apps to turn a iOS/Android device into a light meter - you also need the dongle that plugs into the USB/Lightning port or something that slips over the camera. It's more for photographers and video/cinema use and is focused more on exposure but it will probably give you lumens or color temp readings.