Tags
AFP/ London
The British branch of online retailer Amazon on Wednesday urged customers to throw away defective "hoverboards", two-wheeled scooters that have become a craze ahead of the Christmas season.
In an email, the company warned customers who had bought some models of the electric travel devices through its UK website that they were unsafe and should be disposed of because of "non-compliant" plugs.
"We've received information that your order purchased through the Amazon.co.uk website is unsafe for use as this product is supplied with a non-compliant UK plug," the email said.
It urged customers to bring their hoverboards to a recycling centre to be disposed of as soon as possible and said that they would receive an automatic refund in three days.
A separate email was sent advising customers that bought scooters with rechargeable lithium ion batteries that the tradings standards body had "raised concerns about the safety of some Self-Balancing Scooters".
"As a precaution, we want to share some additional information about lithium-ion batteries, as well as some safety tips for using products that contain them, and UK plugs," the second email read.
It comes after 15,000 hoverboards were seized by National Trading Standards, mainly due to electrical components that were non-compliant and could catch fire or explode.
Many of the seized hoverboards had plugs lacking fuses meaning they had a greater risk of overheating, cut-off switches which failed, and chargers and batteries that failed safety standards.
Hoverboards have been linked to a series of fires, prompting the London Fire Brigade to warn the public not to leave the devices charging unattended.
Retailer Argos said it had removed its Nevaboard line of hoverboards from sale as it did additional tests.
Watchdog the Retail Ombudsman urged businesses to remove the unsafe hoverboards from sale and warned they could be "held liable for any injuries caused by unsafe goods".
"Consumers who have already purchased a hoverboard, perhaps as a Christmas present, should contact the retailer and for their written assurance that it's safe and in particular that it has a compliant plug with a fuse," chief ombudsman Dean Dunham said.
It is illegal to ride the self-balancing scooters in public in Britain, because they are vehicles that don't meet regulations requirements.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
