Baby Einstein Refund: DVDs Don’t Make Babies Smarter

We’re going to file this one under, “DUH!” but if you bought Disney‘s Baby Einstein DVDs hoping your newborn would become a genius — or just because everyone else was buying ‘em — you’re entitled to a refund.

Yup, Disney is offering refunds on Baby Einstein DVDs purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009 in order to avoid a class-action lawsuit for “unfair and deceptive practices.” Essentially, Disney got in hot water because the CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) filed a complaint with the FTC about Baby Einstein’s marketing claims, citing the fact that there is no credible evidence that DVDs can educate infants.

Though the FTC brought no action against the company, Susan McLain, General Manager for The Baby Einstein Company said in a statement that the refund policy, which has been available for almost two months now, is a customer satisfaction program that is now being spun by the CCFC into “a false admission of guilt.”

She went on to say that, “We strongly believe that our consumers find value in our product, and we decided it to leave it up to those consumers.  That is why we extended a refund policy that was already in place.  Although [the CCFC] would like to claim otherwise, there is nothing extraordinary about a company’s willingness to stand behind its product. To the contrary, it is the strongest possible show of confidence in it.”

Customers can receive a refund on the purchase price (up to $15.99) for up to four Baby Einstein DVDs per household.

To receive your refund, visit BabyEinstein.com