Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Call state over
tainted food items

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Question: I bought a can of clam chowder from a national manufacturer and found a piece of plastic in it. At first I thought it was part of a denture, but it seemed like it came from those ties that telephone repair people use to tie several lines together. Who do I call to complain?

Answer: Call the state Department of Health's Food and Drug Branch at 586-4725.

Inspectors will look at the evidence and take a photograph but probably refer the matter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Maurice Tamura, chief of the state Food and Drug Branch.

"It's probably an isolated incident," he said, but added the FDA would be the one to try to determine where and how the contamination occurred.

Q: Can something be done about the disgusting pile of rubbish on the mauka end of Kapahulu Avenue, right under the H-1 freeway overpass? It's very visible, it's been there for months and it's getting bigger. All the tour buses that leave Waikiki headed for the freeway have to pass that.

A: We passed on your complaint to the city, which has set up an Environmental Concern Line to take reports about any kind of illegal dumping. In the future, call 692-5656.

The city passed your complaint on to the state Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction of the area under the freeway overpass. We were told the area was cleaned, although there was a strong likelihood that the trash would return.

Auwe

To the East Honolulu restaurateur for the unprofessional manner in which she handled our complaint regarding a gift certificate. After purchasing it, we noticed it had a one-year expiration date, in violation of state law that requires that gift certificates be honored for a minimum two-year period. We called the restaurant manager, whereupon she sarcastically responded that we "just put any date on it, then," and hung up. When we returned to the restaurant to cancel the transaction, she childishly made a face at us behind our backs as we left. In an industry where success depends largely on word of mouth, customer good will and satisfaction are priceless assets. Be assured that we will inform all our friends and family of this unpleasant experience. -- Emma C.

The state law (Hawaii Revised Statutes 481B-13) on gift certificates does require restaurants and other retailers to honor such certificates for a minimum of two years from the date of issuance.

If there is an expiration date, the date must be shown on the face of the certificate, said Stephen Levins, of the state Office of Consumer Protection.

If there is no expiration date noted, the issuer has to honor the certificate for as long as the company remains in business.

Levins points out, however, that the law applies only to certificates in which the issuer has received full payment for its face value. It does not cover gift certificates issued at a discount or as a bonus.

"For example, you're a retailer and you donate a gift certificate to a silent auction, then the gift certificate law does not apply," Levins said. "Under definition of the statute, 'gift certificate' only means something that was paid full value for."

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Useful phone numbers

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See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com