LG Fridge Consumption Ratings Fudged?

Australia's Choice Magazine, the down-under equivalent of Consumer Reports, is accusing LG of greenwashing, i.e. of making misleading claims with respect to its environmental features. Choice specifically claims that LG misrepresented the energy consumption of a high-end refrigerator model, and, following up, misrepresented to Choice the commercial availability of the model. Choice accuses LG of having a "checkered history of false and misleading claims."

Consumer Reports picks up the Choice report, and reinforces it by mentioning that,  "for some LG and LG-made refrigerators, Consumer Reports has also seen discrepancies between the energy use (in kilowatt hours of electricity) indicated on the Energy Guide labels and the measurements we get from our own energy testing."

In fact, the Department of Energy itself removed several LG refrigerator models (as well as LG-manufactured Kenmore models) from the Energy Star program, which selects low-consumption appliances through government-approved test procedures. This removal was later approved by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

That's three strikes for LG's appliance division. Do you trust LG appliances at this stage?  Let us know your thoughts.

Choice Magazine through Consumer Reports