I'm not sure if HIT Entertainment is the ultimate owner of the Thomas the Tank Engine name here in the United States, but the e-mail below sure does make it appear that way. I'm impressed at the tone used in this letter, even though I know it was heavily influenced by public relations and legal experts. At least they went through the exercise and are using the proper tone towards parents.
Also, RC2 has taken the time to send an e-mail confirming receipt of the trains we sent them, again stating that it will be 6-8 weeks before we receive our replacements. It does look like they are trying to do what they can to make the best out of this bad situation.
Below is the e-mail I received from HIT Entertainment:
Dear Thomas & Friends Customer,
HIT Entertainment is very sorry for the recent recall of a number of items in the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway range. The RC2 Corp. recall arose because the surface paint on the affected products contained lead in excess of CPSC standards. Lead can be harmful if ingested in large quantities.
We fully understand that everyone expects every single product that bears the Thomas & Friends brand must be safe for children. In this case some of the products manufactured under license by RC2 Corp. have fallen short of that expectation.
While HIT requires all of the carefully selected licensees who manufacture products sold under the Thomas & Friends brand to adhere to all safety standards, wherever those standards are applied in the world, that requirement was not met in this situation.
We have been working with RC2 to identify ways in which their processes can be improved to ensure the safety of all products that they manufacture. Although this recall only affects a small percentage of the total range of Thomas & Friends products, having even one item fall short of safety standards is unacceptable to us.
RC2's recall website (http://recalls.rc2.com) gives detailed information to allow customers to determine if any of the products you have purchased are affected, and on how to return any that should be replaced.
The Thomas & Friends website (http://www.thomasandfriends.com) has information about the recall and a link to the RC2 site for ease of reference. RC2 has also set up toll-free numbers, the details of which may be found here ( http://recalls.rc2.com/recalls_Wood_0607.html) for those who wish to have information by telephone, and HIT's own Consumer Services personnel in the US (toll free 1-866-894-6710) are also able to direct inquiries appropriately.
RC2 informs us that notices and posters with the recall information have been provided to retailers who stock the products, and they have been asked to immediately remove all affected products from their shelves and to put the posters up for consumers to see. In addition, we immediately discontinued sales of the affected products from the HIT Online Store www.HITshopusa.com, and also asked operators of "Day Out With Thomas" events to discontinue sales of the affected products.
All customers deserve to know that all Thomas & Friends products are safe for them. Nothing is more important to us than ensuring that this is the case, and rebuilding your trust and loyalty.
HIT Entertainment
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