Amazon stops selling hoverboards over safety fears

An Alabama man who recorded his hover board in flames claimed he also purchased it from Amazon.

News of the probe comes as Amazon halted the sale of nearly every model of hover boards. But Amazon wants to make sure it doesn’t sell you a device that will explode under your feet, and has reportedly pulled a number of hover boards from its site.

Swagway, which makes the self-balancing boards, said a “widespread notice” has been sent to sellers on the online retail site asking them to prove their products are compliant with safety standards.

In the wake of these incidents, hover boards have been banned by several airlines, and other online retailers-most notably Overstock.com-have stopped selling them.

At the time of writing, a search on Amazon.co.uk shows plenty of hover board accessories but only one actual hover board brand available to buy – a manufacturer called PEDA.

Earlier this month it was revealed National Trading Standards (NTS) have confiscated 15,000 of them at ports and airports around the United Kingdom since October over concerns about cheap and risky imitations.

If they are uncomfortable with the device after all the turmoil in recent weeks, they can get in touch with Amazon customer support to discuss returning their hover boards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating at least 11 reports of fires related to hover boards in 10 states in the past year, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Electricians who tested the imports found many had “illegal and dangerous” plugs and “inferior” batteries that failed during charging.

In a statement provided to The Verge, Swagway said, “Swagway already meets all those certifications and is happy that Amazon has made a decision to take steps to weed out the low quality boards”.

He said that where no assurances were given consumers should ask for a refund, to which they are entitled under the Consumer Rights Act, and report the matter to Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06.

Amazon has not yet responded to request for comment.